The cheapest payment fee is not always the cheapest business
Compare a processor, a storefront and a merchant of record without treating them as identical products.
Three products that solve different problems
A payment processor helps you accept payments. A storefront can add product pages and file delivery. A merchant of record sells to the customer in its own capacity and handles the covered transaction-tax obligations. These services are not interchangeable just because they each deduct a fee.
Our comparison labels each platform’s role. The numerical ranking is an estimate under identical sales assumptions, not an endorsement or an assessment of legal suitability.
Price the work you would otherwise have to do
With a direct processor setup, budget for storefront hosting, delivery, customer support and any paid tax or billing products you need. With a managed seller platform, check what is included and which products or seller countries it permits.
Add the relevant expenses to monthly overhead and per-order costs. To compare different operating stacks, save a separate scenario for each. The quick comparison table keeps these business costs identical to show the effect of the fee schedule alone.
A monthly plan can win at a predictable threshold
Our Payhip presets show a free plan with a 5% platform fee, a $29.00/month Plus plan with 2%, and a $99.00/month Pro plan with 0%. Payment processing is separate on all three. Ignoring refunds and with identical processing, dividing the monthly plan-price difference by the transaction-rate difference gives the crossover. Free-to-Plus: $966.67 in monthly sales. Plus-to-Pro: $3,500.00.
Use the actual sales price and expected order volume. A plan that becomes cheaper in a successful month can cost more in a quiet month. Check Payhip’s current pricing.
Watch how a sales channel changes the fee
Gumroad direct sales and Gumroad Discover sales have different pricing. Our preset models direct card sales and includes separate card processing. It is not a Discover calculator. Direct-sale volume discounts also make a single percentage an incomplete description of a high-volume month.
Similarly, Lemon Squeezy’s non-US transaction supplement is separate from its base rate. International card processing, payout methods and recurring billing deserve their own checks before you choose a platform.
Choose for the next test, not an imagined scale
When you have no sales history, avoiding fixed costs may matter more than minimizing the theoretical fee at ten thousand orders. When you have consistent sales, moving to a paid plan may be measurable and sensible.
Keep a written record of what you compared: order count, refund assumption, included services and fee-check date. Revisit the decision when your product or sales channel changes, rather than switching platforms because a headline percentage looks smaller.