Home / Passive income / Digital products
How much do digital products really pay?
You make a file once and can sell it many times. Gumroad takes 10% + $0.50 a sale and Lemon Squeezy 5% + 50¢, and no platform can promise you buyers.
A digital product is a file people download, such as a template, a guide or a design. There is no stock to ship, so once it is made the platform fee is the main cost. The work comes first, and finding buyers is the part no platform does for you.
What do you need for digital products?
- A finished productThe work comes before the first sale.
- Your own workEtsy says digital items must be made or designed by you.
- A way to reach buyersNo platform promises you any.
What digital products really pay
| Item | Figure | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Gumroad | 10% + $0.50 | Per sale, on its own page |
| Lemon Squeezy | 5% + 50¢ | Per sale. It says some payments may have extra fees |
| Etsy listing | $0.20 | Per listing, plus its usual sale fees |
| Ko-fi | 5%, or 0% with Gold | Its own page says new creators can still join Gold at $12 a month. One guide says Gold has ended |
Our sums: on a $20 file, Gumroad’s fee is $2.50 and Lemon Squeezy’s is $1.50.
What it adds up to
| Sales of a $20 file | Gumroad, you keep | Lemon Squeezy, you keep |
|---|---|---|
| 10 sales | $175 | $185 |
| 100 sales | $1,750 | $1,850 |
| 500 sales | $8,750 | $9,250 |
Lemon Squeezy says some payments may have extra fees. Our sums on the numbers above: an example, not a promise.
When do digital products pay you?
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Gumroad | Varies by country, says Gumroad |
| First money | No published figure |
What is the catch with digital products?
- Publishing is not selling: no platform promises buyers.
- The fee is only part of the cost. Your time to make the product comes first.
- Lemon Squeezy says some payments may be subject to additional fees.
- The FTC has charged schemes that promised passive income from online stores, so check any course’s claims.
How to start with digital products
- Make one small productTest it before you build more.
- Do the sumTake the fee off your own price.
- Find your buyers firstKnow where they are before you start.
Read next
Way to earnVOLTIX referral program60% of the full price, every renewalTruth checkIs passive income real?Real, not freeTruth checkCan you really get paid to open a bank account?Check firstWay to earnSavings interest0.38% national rateWay to earnAirbnb hosting15.5% host service feeTopicMore in Passive income
Sources
- Gumroad pricing, checked 5 Nov 2026
- Lemon Squeezy: pricing, checked 5 Nov 2026
- Etsy Help: how to manage your digital listings, checked 5 Nov 2026
- Etsy Help: fee basics, checked 5 Nov 2026
- Ko-fi Gold, checked 5 Nov 2026
- Talks.co: how does Ko-fi work?, checked 5 Nov 2026
- FTC: crackdown on deceptive AI claims and schemes (25 Sep 2024), checked 5 Nov 2026