Skip to main content
Start for FreeBook a demo

How to sell digital products online

Short answer

Sell digital products on a marketplace like Etsy or Creative Market when you need buyers who are already searching, or on Gumroad, Payhip or your own site when you bring the audience. Most sellers start with one marketplace for discovery, then add their own site once repeat buyers and email signups make owning the customer worth it.

Two ways to sell, and which is yours

A marketplace that brings buyers

Etsy and Creative Market already have shoppers browsing printables, fonts and graphics. You get discovery on day one, but you compete in a crowded search result, the platform owns the customer relationship, and your shop looks like every other shop on the page.

Best for

First-time sellers who don't have an audience yet.

Your own site that keeps buyers

A store on your own domain keeps every buyer's email, lets you bundle and price freely, and turns one purchase into the next. You have to send the traffic yourself, from social posts, Pinterest or a newsletter. Replo builds the store on your brand, and its checkout takes one-time card payments for downloads.

Best for

Creators with followers or an email list to sell to.

Where to sell digital products and what each platform charges

Fees for selling digital products
Your own site (Replo checkout)Your Replo plan2.9% + $0.30 card processingReplo checkout runs on Stripe, and Replo's docs list no extra per-sale fee.
GumroadFree, no monthly fee10% + $0.50, plus 2.9% + $0.30 processingSales that come through Gumroad's Discover marketplace pay a flat 30% instead.
PayhipFree plan, $0 a month5% + Stripe or PayPal processingProcessing is modeled at Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 card rate.
Etsy$0.20 a listing6.5% + 3% + $0.25 processingOffsite Ads take 15% of sales they bring in, or 12% once you pass $10,000 a year.
Creative MarketNothing until you sellYou keep 50% of list priceCreative Market's half covers payment processing and marketing, and rates can vary by shop.

Marketplaces cost more per sale because they bring the buyer. Once most sales come from your own followers, a direct checkout keeps more of each sale and the customer's email.

What you keep on a $12 printable planner

Each platform's fees on one $12 sale, before shipping, taxes, monthly plans and any ads you choose to buy.

  1. Your own site (Replo checkout)$11.35 kept, $0.65 in fees
  2. Payhip$10.75 kept, $1.25 in fees
  3. Etsy$10.41 kept, $1.59 in fees
  4. Gumroad$9.65 kept, $2.35 in fees
  5. Creative Market$6.00 kept, $6.00 in fees

Launch checklist

  • Pick file formats anyone can open: PDF for printables, ZIP for bundles, PNG or SVG for graphics.
  • Buy your own product once and open the download on a phone and a laptop to test delivery.
  • Write a license that says whether buyers can use the files commercially, share them or resell them.
  • Make three mockup images per product that show the file in use, since buyers can't hold it first.
  • Write a refund policy for downloads before launch, because a file can't be returned once it's opened.
  • Check that every font, photo and graphic inside your file is licensed for use in a product you sell.

Build your digital product store

Replo builds a store on your brand with product pages, a license terms page and checkout for one-time digital purchases.

The prompt Replo starts from

Build a store for my digital products, [shop name]. Make a homepage featuring my best sellers, a product page for each download with mockup images, what's included and file formats, a bundles section, a license terms page, an FAQ about downloads and refunds, and an email signup that offers a free sample.
Build my storeStart for Free

Frequently asked questions

How do digital products work?
You make a file once, such as a PDF, template or audio pack, upload it to a store, and each buyer gets a download after paying. There's no inventory or shipping, so your main costs are platform fees and the work of bringing buyers to the listing.
Can I sell digital products on Etsy?
Yes. Etsy allows sellers' original designs offered as a digital download. An instant download listing holds up to five files of up to 20MB each, so large bundles or video need to be compressed, split or delivered from somewhere else.
Do I need a license for my digital products?
Yes, you should write one. A short license tells buyers whether your files are for personal use only, for client work, or for products they sell. Without one, buyers guess, and disputes over sharing or resale get harder to settle.
What digital products are easiest to start with?
Printables, planners, templates and short guides are the easiest to start, because you can make them with tools you already have and test demand with a single product. Pick something you already made for yourself or a client, then sell it to people with the same problem.

More selling guides

All selling guides

Keep reading