Is selling online courses still profitable?
Is selling online courses still profitable? Online courses average $127 per sale — 3x higher than other digital product types.
Gumroad's 10% Fee: The Highest in the Digital Product Space
- Under $1K/month revenue: Gumroad's 146,271-product marketplace justifies the 10% fee
- Above $3K/month: you're overpaying by $2,520-$4,428/year vs cheaper alternatives
- 41% of Gumroad sales come from organic search — marketplace SEO is real value for new sellers
- Established sellers with email lists get less marketplace value — consider switching above $1K/month
Written for educators and experts packaging knowledge for sale. Based on InsightRaider's analysis of 146,271 products.
Since the 2023 restructuring, Gumroad charges a flat 10% platform fee — the highest among major platforms:
| Platform | Platform Fee | Processing | Cost on $100 Sale | Monthly Plan | Payout | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gumroad | 10% | 2.9% + $0.30 | $13.20 | $0 | Weekly | Digital products, simplicity |
| Whop | 3% | 2.9% + $0.30 | $6.20 | $0 | Instant | Communities, memberships |
| Systeme.io | 0% | Included | $0 | $27–$97 | Weekly | Funnels, email, all-in-one |
| Payhip | 5% | 2.9% + $0.30 | $8.20 | $0 | Instant | E-books, courses |
| Lemonsqueezy | 5% + 50¢ | Included | $5.50 | $0 | Weekly | Software, SaaS licenses |
On a $100 sale: Gumroad takes $13.20. Whop takes $6.20. Lemonsqueezy takes $5.50. Systeme.io takes $0 (on paid plans starting at $27/month).
The fee difference is $7 per $100 sale. Sell 50 products/month at $100 and that's $350/month — $4,200/year you could keep by switching platforms.
For the exact breakdown of what Gumroad charges, see what percentage Gumroad takes.
Gumroad's Marketplace Advantage: 146,271 Products, Built-In Traffic
The counterargument: Gumroad has a marketplace. With 146,271 products and 43,884 sellers, it creates organic discovery that smaller platforms can't match.
41% of Gumroad sales come from organic search. Some of that is Gumroad's domain authority boosting product pages in Google. If you leave, you lose that SEO boost until you build your own domain authority.
For new sellers with no audience: the marketplace is worth 10%. Getting found organically is incredibly valuable when you have zero followers.
For established sellers with email lists: the marketplace adds less value. If 80%+ of your traffic comes from email and your own SEO, you're paying 10% for a marketplace you don't need.
For a deeper look, see How much money can you make selling online courses.
Fee Impact at Scale: What You Lose at $500, $1K, $5K/Month
The math gets worse as you grow:
| Monthly Revenue | Gumroad Fees | Whop Fees | Systeme.io Fees | You Lose vs Cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $66 | $31 | $27 (plan) | $39-$468/year |
| $1,000 | $132 | $62 | $27 | $840-$1,260/year |
| $3,000 | $396 | $186 | $27 | $2,520-$4,428/year |
| $5,000 | $660 | $310 | $27 | $4,200-$7,596/year |
| $10,000 | $1,320 | $620 | $97 | $8,400-$14,676/year |
At $500/month: you lose $39-$468/year vs alternatives. Not worth the hassle of switching.
At $1,000/month: $840-$1,260/year. This is the "start thinking about it" threshold.
At $3,000/month: $2,520-$4,428/year. Now it's real money.
At $5,000/month: $4,200-$7,596/year. At this level, Gumroad is actively expensive.
At $10,000/month: $8,400-$14,676/year. Staying on Gumroad at this revenue level is a financial mistake unless the marketplace drives a significant portion of your sales.
We break this down further in Is selling digital products still profitable in 2026.
Gumroad's Evolution: From Near-Death to $206M Platform
Context matters. Here's how Gumroad got to where it is:
| Year | Event | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Gumroad founded by Sahil Lavingia | Simple 'sell a link' concept |
| 2015 | Peaked at 175 employees | $7M ARR |
| 2019 | Near-shutdown, laid off most staff | Rebuilt as small team |
| 2021 | Creator economy boom | $142M GMV processed |
| 2023 | Fee change to flat 10% | Backlash from small sellers |
| 2024 | Continued growth despite competition | $185M+ GMV estimated |
| 2025 | AI product surge | Prompt packs become top category |
| 2026 | Current landscape | $206M+ tracked revenue, 146K products |
The 2019 near-shutdown is the part most people forget. Gumroad went from 175 employees to a skeleton crew. Sahil Lavingia rebuilt it as a lean operation.
Gumroad survived and grew to $206M+ in tracked revenue. But the 2023 fee change created a permanent split: small sellers stay (no upfront cost is attractive), established sellers increasingly leave (10% is too much at scale).
For context on why sellers migrate, see why creators are leaving Gumroad.
Related: Digital Product Revenue Trends.
The Verdict: When to Stay on Gumroad, When to Switch
Stay if: - Revenue under $1,000/month - You rely on Gumroad's marketplace for discovery - Simplicity is your priority (Gumroad is the easiest platform to use) - You're testing a new product and want zero upfront cost
Switch if: - Revenue above $3,000/month (saving $2,520+/year) - You have your own traffic sources (email list, SEO, social) - You sell subscriptions (10% recurring fee compounds fast) - You need features Gumroad lacks (advanced funnels, affiliate programs, communities)
Hybrid approach: Keep a minimal Gumroad store for marketplace discovery. Sell your main products on a lower-fee platform. You capture both the marketplace traffic and the lower fees.
Know Your Numbers Before You Decide
To make a data-driven platform decision, you need to know exactly how your products compare to the market. InsightRaider tracks 146,271 products with revenue estimates, competitive positioning, and growth trends.
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- Gumroad Official Pricing — Current fee structure
- Sahil Lavingia, "Reflecting on My Failure to Build a Billion-Dollar Company" — Gumroad founder on platform economics
- Gumroad Creator Blog — Official creator resources
How we analyzed this
- Sample size: 146,271 public Gumroad products tracked across 18 categories, covering $206M in estimated lifetime revenue.
- Revenue estimation: sales count × listed price. Validated against 30+ creators who shared actual numbers (±15–20% margin of error).
- Data window: 2024-01 to . Refreshed monthly.
- Exclusions:inactive products (no sales in 90 days), spam/test products (< 1 review or price = $0).
Limitations
- Revenue figures are estimates, not reported sales. Creators may use unlisted links or off-platform fulfillment that don’t appear in public data.
- Our dataset covers activeproducts only. Creators who quietly stopped selling don’t skew medians upward here, so real-world failure rates may be higher than reported.
- Category medians can vary ±15% depending on sampling period and seasonality. Always treat single data points as directional, not absolute.
Cite this
InsightRaider. (2026). Is selling online courses still profitable?. insightraider.com. Retrieved April 21, 2026. https://insightraider.com/en/answers/is-selling-online-courses-still-profitable
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