Gumroad vs Substack
A side-by-side look at Gumroad and Substack. On our scoring, Substack comes out ahead — but the right pick depends on your priorities.
| Platform | ||
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| SellingScene score | 4.0/5 | 4.0/5 |
| User rating | 4.1 | 4.2 |
| Reviews | 1,890 | 1,320 |
| Pricing | ||
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Pricing model | no monthly fee, flat per-sale fee | no monthly fee, revenue share |
| Transaction fees | 10% flat fee per sale (plus processing) | 10% of subscription revenue (plus processing) |
| Hosting & setup | ||
| Hosting type | Fully hosted (SaaS) | Fully hosted (SaaS) |
| Free trial | Free to start | Free to start |
| Staff accounts | Single account | Multiple authors |
| Product limit | Unlimited | N/A (subscriptions) |
| Payments & security | ||
| Payment gateways | Gumroad-managed (cards, PayPal) | Stripe |
| SSL included | Yes | Yes |
| PCI compliant | Yes | Yes |
| Gift cards | No | Yes |
| Catalog & content | ||
| Themes / templates | Simple profile storefront | Publication styling |
| App marketplace | Zapier & integrations | Limited integrations |
| Multi-currency | Yes | No |
| Multi-language | No | No |
| POS included | No | No |
| Abandoned cart recovery | No | No |
| Built-in blog | No | Yes |
| Tools & flexibility | ||
| Drag-and-drop editor | No | No |
| API access | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | No | Yes |
| Support channels | Email & help center | Email & help center |
| Actions | Read review | Read review |
Why pick Gumroad?
Gumroad is the fastest way for a creator to start charging for digital products, with a setup measured in minutes and zero monthly cost. The flat 10% fee is steep at volume, and the storefront is intentionally bare-bones.
Best for: Creators selling ebooks, files, and memberships fast
Read the full Gumroad reviewWhy pick Substack?
Substack makes launching a paid newsletter effortless, bundling publishing, email, payments, and a discovery network at no upfront cost. The flat 10% revenue cut is significant once you scale, and you build on their network, not your own.
Best for: Writers monetizing newsletters and subscriptions
Read the full Substack review