Best Platform to Sell Digital Products: What You Keep
Key takeaways
- Marketplace commissions, flat monthly fees, and payment processing (about 2.9% plus $0.30) stack differently depending on your sales volume.
- On a $9.99 ebook at 1,000 sales, the gap between a 30% marketplace cut and selling from your own site is about $2,340.
- Marketplace sales end the customer relationship, while selling from your own site lets you keep every buyer's email for future launches.
- Free-to-start platforms still charge payment processing on every sale, so check what features unlock only on paid plans before launch.
- You can run a marketplace and your own site in parallel: the marketplace pays for discovery while your owned list captures repeat sales at full margin.
The best platform to sell digital products depends on three things: fee structure, payout terms, and whether the audience ends up on your list or the platform's. For authors selling a $9.99 ebook, marketplaces like Amazon take a cut and keep the reader, while selling from your own site keeps more per sale. This guide runs the payout math at 10, 100, and 1,000 sales so you can see the difference in dollars, not adjectives.
Which platform charges the lowest fees for selling digital products?
Three fee models exist, and the cheapest one depends on your sales volume. Marketplaces take a percentage commission per sale. Flat-fee platforms charge a monthly subscription and let you keep the rest. Payment processing (typically 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction) applies on top of either model.
| Fee model | What you pay | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace commission | Percentage per sale | Etsy charges a $0.15 listing fee plus a 6.5% transaction fee on each sale (Etsy seller fee schedule) |
| Flat monthly fee | Fixed subscription | SaaS platforms like AuthorLoft, which states "You keep 100%" of sales |
| Payment processing | ~2.9% + $0.30 | Charged by Stripe or PayPal on nearly every platform |
What payment processing costs on top
Processing is the fee nobody budgets for. On a $10 ebook, Stripe's standard rate takes about $0.59, so even a "zero commission" platform leaves you roughly $9.41. At 100 sales a month, that's $59 in processing regardless of where you sell. The real comparison is commission plus processing: a marketplace taking 6.5% plus processing costs more per sale than a flat monthly fee once you pass a handful of sales, but costs less if you sell almost nothing.
How do marketplace fees compare to selling from your own website?
The fee math worksheet: three sales volumes
The numbers below are illustrative, so swap in your own rates before deciding. Assume a $9.99 ebook. A marketplace taking 30% leaves $6.99 per sale. A storefront tool charging 10% plus payment processing (roughly 3% + 30¢) leaves about $8.67. Your own site with only payment processing leaves about $9.33.
At 10 sales, that's $69.90 versus $86.70 versus $93.30. At 100 sales, $699 versus $867 versus $933. At 1,000 sales, $6,990 versus $8,670 versus $9,330. The gap between the marketplace and your own site is $2,340 at that top volume, which is real money for an author with one to twenty books.
Where the reader relationship changes the math
Fees are only half the ledger. When Amazon takes a cut, it also keeps the reader, so every sale ends the relationship instead of starting one. Selling from your own site means each buyer can join a fan list you own, and your email list belongs to you, not a platform. That list is what lets you sell the next book with no fee at all, which is why pairing a storefront with an author newsletter platform (https://www.authorloft.com/author-newsletter-platform) matters as much as the percentage you keep. A marketplace sale pays once; an owned-audience sale pays across every future launch.
Where can I sell digital products for free without upfront costs?
Free-to-start options that actually work
AuthorLoft is free to start and launches in about fifteen minutes, with your own site, email signups, pre-order pages with launch countdowns, and 100% of what you earn (compare it to duct-taping five tools together). BookFunnel offers free delivery plans for simple reader handoffs. For a beginner with one to three books, free-to-start means you pay nothing until a sale happens.
What free tiers usually trade away
Most "free" platforms still charge payment processing on every sale, typically around 2.9% plus 30 cents for standard US cards per Stripe's published pricing. Free tiers also cap features: fewer pages, weaker email tools, no course or companion-program selling. The honest trade: free gets you selling today, but check what unlocks only on paid plans before your launch depends on it.
How do payout schedules and payment processing differ across platforms?
Money arrives on three clocks: instantly, monthly, or after a marketplace hold. Instant payouts (Stripe-based stores) put cash in your account days after a sale. Monthly cycles pay you a lump sum for the previous month. Marketplaces can hold funds longer to cover refunds, which matters if you're reinvesting early earnings into ads or editing.
Payout timing also shapes what you can do with the money. If you're testing which channels actually move copies, waiting a month to see revenue slows every experiment you run. That's why it helps to track sales signals separately from payouts, as covered in https://www.authorloft.com/blog/which-social-media-drives-book-sales.
Before committing, check three things: minimum payout thresholds, whether the platform charges processing fees on top of its cut, and refund windows that delay your cash.
How do I sell digital products on Etsy versus my own site?
Selling on Etsy: the short version
Create a listing, upload your PDF or EPUB, set a price, and Etsy handles delivery automatically after purchase. Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee plus a 6.5% transaction fee and payment processing fees, and the buyer belongs to Etsy: you cannot export their emails or market to them off-platform. You also compete with every other listing for attention.
Selling from your own site: the short version
Set up a product page, connect a payment processor, and deliver the file or send buyers to your list yourself. Fees drop to processing costs alone, and every buyer's email is yours to keep selling to. The same logic applies to ebooks: Amazon's KDP pays 35% or 70% royalties depending on price and delivery costs, while selling direct keeps the full margin minus processing (Amazon KDP royalty rates).
The trade-off is setup and maintenance. A platform like AuthorLoft's features covers site, checkout, and email list in one place, which is why most authors duct-tape 5 different tools together to run their business otherwise.
What digital products sell well on each platform?
Ebooks and digital downloads
Ebooks fit anywhere, but where you sell changes who keeps the reader. Marketplaces work for discovery; your own site works when you want a fan list you own and 100% of each sale. Short fiction, novellas, and backlist titles often do better on your own site, where bundles and pre-order pages with launch countdowns make sense.
Courses and companion programs
Courses perform best where you control the checkout and the follow-up. A novel becomes a paid course or companion program on worldbuilding, plotting, or self-editing, sold to the same email list that bought the book. Marketplace buyers rarely convert into course students because you never get their email address.
Music
Music sells well as digital downloads and companion assets: sheet music, sample packs, lyric books, behind-the-scenes tracks. On your own platform, one release can pair a download with a mailing-list signup, so every sale grows a list you actually own rather than a follower count on someone else's terms.
When should a creator switch from a marketplace to their own platform?
Five signals it's time
First, the same readers buy twice, and you have no way to reach them directly. Second, your email list is growing faster than your sales, which means audience value outpaces per-sale margin. Third, fee drag shows up in your payout statements: at 100 sales a month, a 30% marketplace cut is real money you could keep. Fourth, you are paying for delivery tools anyway. BookFunnel, for example, prices delivery-only plans separately from plans that handle sales (BookFunnel pricing), so you may already be paying for infrastructure you could own. Fifth, you want to sell more than books: a paid course or companion program built from existing material.
Running both in parallel
You do not need to leave the marketplace. Keep it for discovery and new readers, and route every buyer toward a fan list you own. Offer a bonus chapter or discount code that requires an email signup, then sell book two directly from your own site. Most authors find the marketplace pays for audience acquisition while the owned channel captures repeat sales at full margin.
How do the major platforms stack up on the three criteria?
The scorecard
Run each option against the three tests from this article: what you pay per sale, when you get paid, and who owns the reader relationship.
BookFunnel is strong on delivery and reader handoff but is a delivery tool, not a storefront, so fees and payouts depend on where you actually sell. BookAuth and BookSpace both pitch author sites with selling built in, which solves the duct-taped-tools problem, but you are trusting each with your checkout and your list. StoryOrigin sits closer to the BookFunnel end: audience-building and delivery, not a full store.
AuthorLoft scores well on all three by design: free to start, launchable in about fifteen minutes, you keep 100%, and your email list belongs to you, not a platform. Selling and list-building live in one place instead of five.
Where AuthorLoft falls short
Honesty requires the same scrutiny here. AuthorLoft is new, so it lacks the track record and third-party reviews of older tools. Fewer integrations mean some workflows still need a manual step. If you want a marketplace's built-in browsing traffic, none of these owned-site options provide it.
FAQ
What are some digital products to sell besides ebooks?
Courses and companion programs built from your existing material sell well, especially worldbuilding, plotting, or self-editing guides aimed at readers who already bought your book. Music creators can pair downloads with sheet music, sample packs, or behind-the-scenes tracks. Short fiction, novellas, and backlist bundles also work, particularly on your own site where you control checkout and keep the buyer's email.
How much does Etsy take per digital download sale?
Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee plus a 6.5% transaction fee on each sale, and payment processing (around 2.9% plus 30 cents) comes on top. On a $9.99 ebook, that leaves you roughly $8.50 or less. Etsy also keeps the buyer relationship: you cannot export their emails or market to them off-platform.
Do I need an LLC or business license to sell digital products online?
In most US states, sole proprietors can start selling without forming an LLC, though local business license rules vary by city and county. An LLC adds liability protection and can simplify taxes once revenue is meaningful. Processing platforms and marketplaces ask for tax details like an SSN or EIN either way. Check your state and local requirements before launch.
Can I sell the same ebook on a marketplace and my own site at the same time?
Yes, and running both in parallel is a common setup. Keep the marketplace for discovery and new readers, then route those buyers toward an email list you own, using a bonus chapter or discount code that requires signup. The marketplace pays for audience acquisition while your own site captures repeat sales at full margin minus processing.