Starting a business is not a walk in the park, whether online or physically. But here is the good news! E-commerce platforms have made it easy to sell digital products all over the world regardless of where you are.
Selling digital products is a good avenue to start or expand your existing business. See our previous article on how to sell a digital product.
If you’ve been thinking of selling digital products, but are unable to choose and decide on the platform that suits your business.
In this post, we’ve outlined and explained a list of the best platforms for digital products, with their features, pros, cons, and pricing.
What are the best platforms to sell your digital products?
Here are the top ten platforms to sell your digital products online
- Payhip
- Gumroad
- Shopify
- Squarespace
- Woocommerce
- Sellfy
- Thinkific
- Podia
- Teachable
- SendOwl
Payhip
Payhip is a platform for selling digital downloads, online learning resources, coaching, memberships, physical products, and more.
This platform is like a one-stop shop for selling all kinds of products. It lets you do a lot, like having a website builder to sell your products and even adding them to an existing website.
It offers email marketing along with other marketing tools to promote your business and you get paid for your sales immediately after a transaction has been completed.
Special Features
- Digital downloads
- Online courses
- Memberships
- Marketing tools
- Customer reviews
Pros
- Allows you to set up your affiliate program
- You can use your custom domain name with any plan.
- Sync customers to mailing lists
- Offer coupons and run promotional campaigns
- Decent Website builder
- Free Plan
- It is very easy to use.
Cons
- Limited Payment Options ( Paypal and Stripe)
- Lack of SEO tools.
Pricing
Payhip offers three pricing plans. You get access to all features even with their free plan.
- The Free Forever Plan is $0 per month +5% of every transaction fee.
- The Plus Plan is $29, removes 2% for every transaction fee
- Pro Plan is $99 per month, with no transaction fee.
Gumroad
Gumroad is an eCommerce platform that allows creators to sell digital products, such as e-books, music, videos, software, and physical goods. It is one of the most popular and simple platforms for digital products.
One beautiful thing about Gumroad is that you can easily integrate it into your website and also use it as a standalone platform to sell your digital products and promote them on social media.
Gumroad is a good platform for beginners and those with only one product to sell because of its simplicity.
Special Features
- Analytics and customer management
- Payment integrations
- Email marketing
- SEO tools (See our article on Introduction to Search Engine Optimization for more information on SEO)
- Inventory Management
- License Key generator
- Discount codes
- Subscriptions
Pros
- Very fast and simple to integrate
- It is best for beginners who need a platform to promote their business.
- Free plan and affordable paid plan.
- It allows you to connect your online shop to your social media accounts.
- Set up your affiliate program and commission
- Supports dropshipping
Cons
- Gumroad does not support other payment options like Payoneer apart from Paypal.
- There is no custom domain in the free plan.
Pricing
- No monthly charges, they only take 10% out of every sale.
Shopify
Shopify is one of the leading e-commerce platforms. It is best for selling manufactured products. It allows its customers to create eCommerce stores, both for digital and physical products.
With Shopify, you can manage your website, conduct marketing campaigns, manage shipping and fulfillment, set up payment services, review analytics, and more.
If you’re trying out a new business idea as a small business owner, Shopify offers a free trial, which is a great way to start.
Special Features
- Shopify shipping
- Shopify blog
- Point Of Sale (POS)
- Theme store with over a hundred templates to choose from
- Inventory tracking
- Sales dashboard
- Integrations and customization
- Storage and bandwidth
- Automated delivery
Pros
- Payment processing for both online and in-person sales
- Access to 24-hour customer support
- User-friendly and flexible
- Built-in SEO and marketing tools
- Multiple integrations that make it easy to customize your site.
- Great for dropshipping
Cons
- Shopify does not support e-mail hosting.
- Pricing is expensive
- High processing fees
- Limited design options
Pricing: Shopify comes with a 14-day free trial. The Basic plan starts at $29/month,
Squarespace
Squarespace is a website builder that gives business owners the complete freedom to sell all kinds of physical and digital products. Some examples of Digital products sold on the platform are PDFs, E-books, and audio files.
Special Features
- Blogging capabilities
- Audio files support
- Newsletter sign-up forms
- Beautiful minimalistic bold and modern templates
- Built-in SEO features
- Mobile responsive
Pros
- User-friendly editor
- Drag and drop interface
- Beautiful modern designs
- Free domain with annual plans
Cons
- You can’t switch templates.
- Limited third-party integration.
- No multi-currency selling features.
Pricing
$6 per month
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a free, open-source plug-in for WordPress. It converts a content-driven WordPress website into a store, complete with product listings, a shopping cart, and, checkout, for users who want to sell online.
Special features
- Advanced SEO capabilities
- Payment processing
- Free and open-source plug-in
- Analytics and reporting tools
- Widely customizable themes
- Order and inventory management
Pros
- Advanced built-in features and plug-ins.
- They are available for anyone to modify and improve.
- Both free and paid variety of layouts for individual designs
- High scalability due to modular design.
- Supportive community.
- SEO friendly
- Inventory management
- Good Customer support
- Adequate security measures
Cons
- Its focus is on the US Market.
- For only WordPress websites.
- The many plugins available for Woocommerce can hinder excellent performance.
Pricing
Hosting begins with $6.95/month for the basic site
Domain name is $15/year
Sellfy
Sellfy is the #1 platform for selling digital products without a website. However, you can combine it with your website to have more control over design and brand presence. It is very easy to build your store at Sellfy. Sign up, add your digital products, customize your store, and start selling your digital products of all types. Ranging from ebooks, videos, audio & music, or any other files like PSD, and AI, to physical products and Print-on-demand to video streaming.
Sellfy is Ideal for creators and online businesses who hate complexity but want results.
Landing pages are all customizable. You can insert your logo, play with color schemes, and organize the layout.
Special Features
- Payments processing and security
- Built-in marketing features
- Simple store set-up
- Integrations
- Analytics
Pros
- Built-in email marketing tools
- Easy-to-use visual builder
- Website Embedded with “Buy now” button
- Offers 24/7 excellent customer support.
Cons
- Sellfy Does not allow Affiliate program set-up
- Limited customization options.
- Limited integrations
Pricing:
Sellfy prices for selling digital downloads start at $19/month with a 14-day free trial.
Thinkific
Thinkific is one of the most popular online course platforms that allows you to create, market, and sell courses, which could be in text format, video content, or downloadable files.
Special features
- Online course platforms.
- Customizable course website themes
- Built-in marketing and eCommerce tools
- Learning communities
- Custom mobile learning solutions.
Pros
- Offers a free plan
- Excellent customer service,
- Offers different payment methods at checkout.
- No transaction fees.
Cons
- No blogging tool
- Thinkific does not offer funnel features for course sellers to build their landing pages.
Pricing
Free plan ($0), Basic ($49/month), Start ($99/month), and Grow ($199/month).
Podia
Podia is the best platform to sell online courses, downloads, webinars, and other memberships based on subscriptions.
There’s support for email and affiliate marketing, and you can add a live chat widget to engage potential customers.
Special Features
- Email Marketing tools
- Webinars.
- Live chat
- Supports affiliate marketing.
- Membership sites and online communities.
- Blog builder
- Blog importer
- E-commerce features
Pros
- Allows users to upload unlimited files and videos.
- No transaction fees.
- 24/7 Support via live chat or email.
- Offers course membership plans.
- Offers webinars and live events.
- Beginner friendly
Cons
- No free plan, only 14-day trials
- Doesn’t support physical products
- Lacks advanced features.
Pricing:
Subscription plans are based on yearly plans.
Free plan available with transaction fees.
Mover ($390/year), Shaker ($790/year), Earthquaker ($1,790/year).
Teachable
Teachable is a no-code platform for creators who want to build more impactful businesses through courses, coaching, and digital downloads. It is one of the best platforms for selling educational and knowledge-based digital products online.
Special features
- Sales tracking analytics and student insight
- Supports Affiliate program
- Different forms of instructional media support
- Certificate management
- Billing and invoicing
- Advanced theme customization
- Integrations
Pros
- Access to live chat and email support
- Beginner friendly
- Offers free plan
Cons
- Limited control over the design of your course
Pricing
Teachable has no free trial.
It has a free and subscription plan.
SendOwls
Special features
- Advanced analytics and insights
- Integration
- Affiliate marketing
- Discount Coupons
- Multiple payment gateways
Pros
- Flexible payment options and subscriptions
- Very easy to use
- Integrates with popular marketing tools
Cons
- Limited customer service delivery
- No community groups
- Limited templates customization
Pricing
The SendOwl Starter Plan has a 3-month free trial.
For each sale you make (including those during your trial period), SendOwl charges a 5% order management fee.
Let’s Wrap it Up!
Apart from the eCommerce platforms listed above, we have other numerous platforms like Creative markets, Easy digital downloads, Member press, ClickBank, Digital product delivery, Bigcommerce, Kajabi, Fastspring, and so many others.
There are important factors to consider when choosing a platform to sell your digital products, especially as a beginner. Make sure it is user-friendly, budget friendly, easy to set up and manage. Also, ensure it is SEO friendly and has third party integrations.
The best platforms to sell your digital products, outlined in this article has the important features needed to sell your digital products.
Feel free to explore these websites, share your thoughts and let me know what you think about them.
