Best Creator
Platforms

The best digital product and link-in-bio stores in 2026

These stores sell ebooks, presets, templates and other files, often from a link-in-bio page. Fees range from zero on paid plans to 10% plus a per-sale charge.

Short answer. Beacons is the best pick for most creators who want selling downloads and links, at 7.7 out of 10. Payhip comes second (7.6). If cost matters most, Whop takes the least from $1,000 in sales.

What each platform takes from $1,000 of monthly sales
  1. Whop$57 taken, you keep $943
  2. Stan$88 taken, you keep $912
  3. Beacons$89 taken, you keep $911
  4. Payhip$108 taken, you keep $892
  5. Gumroad$209 taken, you keep $791

Cheapest plan for that volume, $10 average sale, US card processing added where the platform charges it separately, at 2.9% + 30¢ or the platform's documented rate. Taxes, currency conversion and app store fees not included. Try your own numbers.

Rankings

  1. 1

    Beacons

    7.7 / 10

    Best for: Social creators who mix product sales with brand deals. You keep $911 of $1,000.

    A link-in-bio builder with a built-in store, media kit, email marketing and Instagram auto-DMs, free to start.

  2. 2

    Payhip

    7.6 / 10

    Best for: Sellers who want a full store and low fees. You keep $892 of $1,000.

    A storefront builder for digital downloads, courses, memberships and physical goods, where every plan gets every feature and you pay to lower fees.

  3. 3

    Whop

    7.3 / 10

    Best for: Paid communities, trading groups and software sellers. You keep $943 of $1,000.

    A marketplace and payments platform for selling digital products, courses, communities and software, with its own checkout and payouts.

  4. 4

    Stan

    6.7 / 10

    Best for: Instagram and TikTok creators selling coaching and courses. You keep $912 of $1,000.

    A mobile-first link-in-bio store for selling digital products, courses, coaching calls and subscriptions for a flat monthly fee.

  5. 5

    Gumroad

    5.3 / 10

    Best for: New sellers who want to start without a subscription. You keep $791 of $1,000.

    A no-monthly-fee storefront for selling digital downloads, memberships and courses, with an optional marketplace called Discover.

Side by side

PlatformScoreWhat it costsKeep from $1,000
Beacons7.7Beacons takes 9% of sales on the Free and $10 Creator plans and 0% on the $30 Creator Plus and $100 Creator Max plans, plus Stripe or PayPal processing.$911
Payhip7.6Payhip takes 5% of sales on the free plan, 2% on Plus at $29 a month and 0% on Pro at $99 a month, plus Stripe or PayPal processing.$892
Whop7.3You pay Whop 2.7% + 30¢ per domestic card sale with processing included, no monthly fee, plus payout fees from $2.50 per withdrawal.$943
Stan6.7You pay $29 or $99 a month and Stan takes 0% of sales, but Stripe or PayPal processing still applies.$912
Gumroad5.3You pay 10% + 50¢ per direct sale plus 2.9% + 30¢ card processing, or a flat 30% with processing included on Discover marketplace sales.$791

How to choose

  • Per-sale fees punish cheap products. Gumroad's 10% + 50¢ plus card processing takes about $3.38 of a $20 sale, nearly 17%, and a bigger share of anything cheaper.
  • Run the numbers at your real volume. At $1,000 a month in $10 sales, our math puts costs at $57 on Whop, $88 on Stan, $89 on Beacons and $209 on Gumroad.
  • Know when to upgrade. Payhip Plus beats its 5% free plan above about $967 a month, and Beacons Creator Plus beats the 9% plans above about $333.
  • Want sales in your own Stripe or PayPal account? Pick Payhip or Beacons. Stan manages your Stripe account, Whop holds funds until you withdraw, and new Gumroad sellers can't bring Stripe.
  • Check who handles sales tax. Gumroad does it worldwide as merchant of record, Payhip covers EU, UK, US and Canadian tax except Quebec QST, and Whop charges 2% for its tax tool.
  • Marketplaces cost extra. Gumroad Discover sales pay a flat 30%, and Whop marketplace affiliates earn 30% by default unless you lower the rate. Payhip's marketplace adds no fee.

Head-to-head comparisons

Questions people ask

Which digital product platform has the lowest fees?

On $1,000 of monthly sales at $10 each, Whop costs the least: about $57 in platform and card fees on its Standard plan, so you keep $943. At higher volume, flat-fee plans usually win.

Can I use my own domain for a link-in-bio store?

On most of them. Beacons includes a custom domain from its $10 a month Creator plan, Payhip offers one even on its free plan, and Gumroad supports custom domains for your profile and products. Stan is the exception. It has no custom domain option, so your store always lives at stan.store/yourname, which makes moving later harder.

How fast do digital product platforms pay out?

Payhip and Beacons send each sale straight to your own Stripe or PayPal account, so timing follows those processors. Stan clears US sales in 2 to 7 business days, then cashes out in 24 to 48 hours. Gumroad needs a $100 balance and holds each sale at least 7 days. Whop withdrawals start at $10 and cost $2.50 for next-day ACH.

Is a free plan good enough for selling digital products?

For small or irregular sales, yes. Payhip Free has every feature at 5%, Beacons Free sells at 9%, and Gumroad and Whop charge no monthly fee at all. Stan has no free plan, only a 14-day trial, so you pay $29 a month before your first sale. At $300 a month in $5 sales, our math has Payhip Free at $42 against Stan at $56.

Scores use our published method. Fees were checked against each platform's own pricing pages; every review lists its sources.