Top 10 free platforms to sell digital products online

Why I Started Looking Into This #

So I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. You know how everyone seems to be selling something digital these days? E-books, printables, courses, templates. It’s everywhere. I wanted in, but then I realized I didn’t have money to throw at fancy platforms. Most of them want you to pay a monthly fee before you even make your first sale. That’s kind of backwards, right?
Anyway, I spent some time digging into free platforms. Not the ones that give you a tiny free trial and then hit you with a $50 monthly bill. I mean genuinely free to start. Some of them are solid. Some of them have quirks. Let me walk you through what I found.

Gumroad #

This one’s probably the most popular for a reason. You can set up a shop in like ten minutes. Seriously. I tested it. Upload your product, set a price, get a link. That’s it. They take a 10% cut on each sale, but there’s no monthly fee. If you sell something for $20, they keep $2 and you keep $18. Not bad.
The interface is simple. Maybe too simple if you want a ton of customization, but for just getting started it’s perfect. I’ve seen people selling everything from Notion templates to photography presets on here. One guy I follow sells a $5 PDF about meal prepping and makes a few hundred bucks a month. Doesn’t sound like much, but it’s basically passive income after the initial work.
The one thing that bugs me is the checkout experience. It’s Gumroad’s page, not yours. Customers feel like they’re on Gumroad, not your site. Some creators don’t mind this. Others do. I think for beginners it’s fine.

Payhip #

Payhip is similar to Gumroad but with a slightly different vibe. They have a free plan that lets you sell unlimited products. No monthly fee. They take a 5% transaction fee on the free plan, which is actually lower than Gumroad’s 10%. That’s a big difference when you’re starting out and every dollar counts.
What I like about Payhip is the built-in marketing tools. You get discount codes, affiliate management, and email collection right out of the box. On Gumroad you kind of have to figure that out yourself. Payhip also lets you add a “pay what you want” option, which is great if you’re not sure what to price things at.
The storefronts look a bit more polished than Gumroad’s. You can customize colors and fonts without paying extra. If you care about how your shop looks, this might be the better pick.

Selz #

Selz is another option that offers a free tier. They call it the “Starter” plan and it lets you sell up to 5 products for free. They take a 2% transaction fee on top of payment processing fees. So it’s not completely free, but it’s close.
I haven’t used Selz as much as the others, but from what I’ve seen, it has a cleaner, more modern design. If you’re selling visual products like art or photography, the presentation matters and Selz handles that well. The free plan is a bit limiting though. Five products is enough to start but you’ll outgrow it fast.

Etsy #

Okay, Etsy isn’t really a “digital product platform” in the traditional sense. It’s a marketplace for handmade and vintage goods. But a ton of people sell digital downloads there. Printables, planners, wedding templates, the list goes on.
The free listing is 20 cents per item, which is basically nothing. When something sells, Etsy takes about 13% total including payment processing. It’s not zero upfront cost, but it’s so small that most people don’t even think about it.
The advantage of Etsy is the built-in traffic. You don’t have to bring your own customers. People are already searching for what you’re selling. The downside is competition. There are millions of sellers. You need good photos and keywords to stand out. I spent weeks just figuring out tags and titles before my first sale came through.

Ko-fi #

Ko-fi started as a tipping platform but now lets you sell digital products too. The free plan is pretty generous. No transaction fees on donations and only a 5% fee if you choose to take them off the top. For shop sales, there’s no platform fee, you just pay the standard payment processing.
What makes Ko-fi different is the community feel. It’s not just a store. You can post updates, share behind-the-scenes content, and build a following. I think this is good for creators who want to be more than just a transaction point. If you’re building a personal brand around your work, Ko-fi gives you that space.
The shop itself is basic. Don’t expect fancy product pages or advanced customization. But for someone who just wants to put stuff up and start selling without a bunch of setup, it works.

Shopify (Free Trial, Then Paid) #

I know I said free platforms and Shopify isn’t free. But they offer a three-day free trial and sometimes extend it to a month if you find the right promo. I wanted to mention it because it’s the most powerful option on this list, and if you’re serious about selling digital products, it’s worth knowing about.
With Shopify you get a full-featured online store. Product pages, inventory management, analytics, integrations with pretty much everything. The catch is after the trial it’s $29 per month minimum. That adds up. But if you’re already making money, the investment pays for itself quickly.
I’d recommend using a free platform first to validate your idea, then upgrading to Shopify once you know people actually want what you’re selling. Don’t spend money before you’ve made money.

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing #

If your digital product is an e-book, KDP is basically the only game in town. You upload your manuscript, set a price, and Amazon handles the rest. They pay up to 70% royalty on books priced between $2.99 and $9.99. That’s actually really good compared to traditional publishing where you’d get 10-15%.
The free part is the upload and listing. Amazon doesn’t charge you to publish. They just take their cut when you sell. There’s also the Kindle Unlimited program where you can enroll your book and get paid per page read. Some authors make more from KU than from direct sales.
The downside is you don’t own your customer relationship. Amazon doesn’t share buyer emails with you. You’re building an audience on someone else’s land. I think it’s still worth doing if writing is your thing, but don’t make it your only channel.

Teachable and Thinkific (Free Tiers) #

These are course platforms and they both have free plans. Teachable’s free plan lets you create one course with up to 10 students. Thinkific’s free plan allows one course with unlimited students but fewer features. I tried both and honestly Teachable felt more intuitive.
If you’re thinking about selling online courses, these are worth exploring. The free tiers are limited but they let you test whether people actually want to buy from you. I know a teacher who made her first $500 on Teachable’s free plan before upgrading. She said the limitation on students actually helped her focus on quality over quantity.

Big Cartel #

Big Cartel is aimed at artists and makers. The free plan lets you list up to 5 products. It’s small but that’s enough to get going. They don’t take a transaction fee, which is nice. You just pay the standard payment processing through Stripe or PayPal.
The designs are artistic and unique. Not your typical e-commerce look. If your digital products are art-related or creative in nature, Big Cartel’s aesthetic might fit better than the more corporate-looking options.
I’ve seen ceramic artists selling digital coloring pages and pattern packs on Big Cartel. It’s a niche crowd but they seem loyal.

What I Learned After Trying All of These #

Here’s the thing. I spent about two weeks testing all of these platforms. Some I set up fully, others I just played around with. And I realized something important. The platform doesn’t matter nearly as much as the product.
I’ve seen people make thousands on simple platforms with simple products. I’ve also seen people spend months building the perfect store on the most expensive platform and make zero sales. Your product and your audience are what matter. Pick the platform that gets you started fastest.
For me, Gumroad was the easiest to set up. I had a product live in 15 minutes. Payhip was close behind. If I were starting over today, I’d probably go with Payhip because of the lower fees and better marketing tools. But Gumroad still has more users, which means more potential eyeballs on your products.
One more thing. Don’t try to be everywhere at once. Pick one or two platforms and focus on them. I made the mistake of spreading myself across five platforms in my first month and barely made any sales on any of them. When I concentrated on just Gumroad and Etsy, my sales tripled.
Start simple. Get something out there. Learn from the feedback. The platforms will still be there when you’re ready to grow.