We have entered the era of side hustles. The era of being your own boss. Living in abundance. Owning your own sh$t.
Selling digital products online is one of the best – and quickest – ways to diversify your revenue stream and earn a passive income.
It’s time to get your creative juices flowing! We are here to help you out by letting you know the inside secrets on the 13 best marketplaces to sell your digital products on.
Whether you are just getting started on your journey into selling digital products online, or if you’re a seasoned digital product mastermind, this blog will help set you up with the best tools and platforms to expand your online business to the next level.
Follow along or skip ahead:
- Why sell digital products?
- How to choose the best marketplace to sell your digital products
- 13 best marketplaces for selling your digital products
- Comparing the top marketplaces
Related: 4 Ways to Diversify Your Income as a Freelancer
Why sell digital products?
Selling digital products is a great way to earn some extra change in your pocket without trading your time for money.
You may be wondering, exactly what is a digital product? Digital products are any intangible, virtual items that can be downloaded immediately after purchase.
The content can range widely depending on your niche and intent. Some common types of digital products are:
- Courses
- Spreadsheet or workbook templates
- Cookbooks
- Checklists
- Podcast episodes
- Videos
- Images
- E-books or research papers
- Sewing patterns
- Coloring sheets
- And the list goes on!
What makes selling digital products so great is the fact that there is no shortage of digital products that you can sell online… whether you dive into a super niche area of selling digital tamagotchi pet ID tags or a more broad category of selling printable cookbook templates, this virtual world is your oyster. You’ll never run out of stock (unless you choose to make it limited edition).
Here are a few more perks of selling digital products:
- Design once and replicate as often as needed
- Instant delivery with automatic shipping
- No need for warehouse storage or manufacturing
- Less room for quality returns or recall
- High profit margins
- Passive income
The digital product industry is booming, and creators are finding ways to create a sustainable living through highly lucrative digital product niches.
Digital products are changing the way that people consume products, and this evolving market is only trending upwards.
How to choose the best marketplace to sell your digital products
Once you have a digital product in mind that you would like to sell, how in the world might you choose a platform to sell your creations on? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered in this area.
There are so many different marketplaces available to sell your digital creations on, and it can seem daunting to try and pick the best one. No need to sweat – that’s why we have scouted and picked the very best marketplaces for you to sell your digital products on. All you need to do is choose the platform that aligns most with your business values and goals.
Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing the best marketplace to sell digital products on:
- Think about if you want to sell your digital products through your own website or through an ecommerce platform. Selling your creations through your own website allows you to reap 100% of the profits, whereas you may have to pay a small fee selling through a separate ecommerce platform. Both options have pros and cons for transaction fees: if you’re new to the digital marketplace, selling through an ecommerce platform takes the weight of all the logistics off your shoulders – whereas using your own website gives you more freedom and control.
- Consider the different payment options platforms have, as this will directly affect how you make a living. Choose the platform that allows you to get paid in the most convenient manner and which won’t continue to eat a lot of your profits as you scale.
- Existing ecommerce sites come with a built-in user base, meaning they already have regular customers frequenting the site. Having your own website would require more marketing techniques to drive customers to your business, but does come with higher profit margins – so consider both the pros and cons.
- Think about how you want your business account presented and managed, Evaluating the level of platform support is essential in case something goes amiss. It’s also important to have a reliable hosting account that’s both secure and well-managed. While you’re thinking of the details, don’t forget to assess the security practices of the platform as it will impact the data security of you and your customers. See the Thinkific security page as an example.
- Having a professional-looking website that looks good is a key factor. Some platforms may allow you to do whitelabeling at an additional cost, which allows you full access to brand it how you like. This becomes more important as you grow and sell higher value items.
- Think about what your niche is and who your customers are. You will want to meet them where they already are. Sell your digital products where you will gain the most amount of exposure and reach to your specific audience. Audience research can help you understand these needs.
With these factors in mind, let’s get to it!
13 best marketplaces for selling your digital products
We have curated a list of the best marketplaces to sell digital products on – these are the perfect platforms to display and sell your digital creations.
We made it easy to jump to the platform you’re most interested in. Skip to it here!
| Platform name | Best for | Pricing level ($ to $$$$) |
| New learners | $$$ |
| Selling templates | $ |
| Complete customization | $$ |
| Easy monetization plans | $$ |
| Global selling | $$$$ |
| Community building | $ | |
| Minimal content restrictions | $$ |
| Sales funnel tracking | $$$ |
| Integrated tools | $$ |
| Coders and technical teams | $$$$ |
| Branded checkout process | $$$ |
| Selling graphic design elements | $$$$ |
| Fast set-up | $$$ |
If you are looking to create and sell digital products, look no further than Thinkific.
Thinkific is an easy to use, dedicated online learning platform designed for both new and experienced creators. This platform can accommodate any size of business, and is the perfect option for those looking to scale as they eventually grow.
Thinkific specializes in course creation and management. Through this, creators can also set up custom websites to sell courses and other digital products. The Digital Downloads feature supports all different kinds of digital products including templates, guides, images, spreadsheets, music, images, and more. It also includes an AI-powered builder to kickstart your marketplace landing page, as well as multiple pricing options.
Best digital product to sell on this marketplace
Templates, guides, or how-to documents. Really anything that could be educational to your audience.
Key features
- Quick and easy digital download set up with friendly onboarding support for beginners
- Quickly upload, drag, and drop content to create the perfect landing page with AI-assistance
- Built-in marketing and e-commerce features to track new sales and upsells
- Community building tools to grow sales across your following and help your customers learn from each other
- Many different available apps and integrations to connect to your productivity platforms or content building tools
- 0% transaction fee to ensure you take home the most profit possible
Platform prices
- Free plan – 1 course, 1 digital download, and 1 community
- Basic plan – $49 per month for unlimited courses, 5 digital downloads, and 1 community
- Start plan – $99 per month for unlimited courses, unlimited digital downloads, and 1 community
- Grow plan – $199 per month allows 2 extra communities & bonus features
Tip – choose annual billing, and you’ll save 25%. If you decide to jump right in and try Thinkific Plus, you’ll receive a custom quote tailored to your specific needs. This is ideal for businesses who want to offer extensive programs, like employee or customer training, too.
Etsy is your one-stop shop for those unique and custom products you wouldn’t find anywhere else. It is the home of crafters and DIYers, making it the perfect place to start selling any kind of digital product.
Key features
- Huge built-in user base – no need to focus on marketing your products as much to make them visible
- User-friendly, straightforward platform that gives creators the visual tools needed to sell aesthetically-pleasing digital products that fit any niche
- Reach out to Etsy support specialists anytime you need a hand or tips for success
- Made-to-order files are automatically sent to the customer upon completion
- Option for an unbranded online store using Pattern – this allows you to build a website as unique as your brand
- Easily processes almost any currency from around the world to enable more international sales
Platform prices
Only a small percentage is taken from each sale, so it’s relatively cheap to start selling digital products on Etsy.
- Etsy Standard
- No monthly fee
- One-time set up fee of $15USD (or equivalent in another currency)
- Listing fees are billed for $0.20 (the charge applies again at listing renewal)
- You only pay transaction (6.5%), payment processing (3-4%), and offsite advertising fees (15% – optional for most sellers) when you make a sale
- Optional Off Site Advertising available at 12-15% per sale of Attributed Orders
- Etsy Plus pricing enables more marketing support and advertising credits, starting at $10USD per month
Read more: How to Sell Digital Products on Etsy
Squarespace is the marketplace that gives you the complete freedom to sell any kind of digital product through your own website.
Whether you’re just getting started as a creator or are an established brand, Squarespace offers a powerful ecommerce website builder that will help your business thrive.
Key features
- Choose website templates, designer fonts, and color palettes from their wide selection of options that best fit your business’ style and needs
- Their website builder is easy to navigate for beginners to use with flexible template styles that you can modify anytime
- Ability to add multiple tools such as setting up an online store, booking services, scheduling appointments, or adding third-party extensions
- Option to add membership sites – from virtual classes and workshops to newsletters, podcasts, and video series
- No coding experience required – customize your website with their simple drag-and-drop tools
- Free unlimited hosting, 24/7 support and security available, and dependable resources to help you succeed
Platform prices
Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial to test their service out, but after that their pricing models include:
- Personal – $23 per month to start selling digital content
- Business – $33 per month and enables checkout on a custom domain
- Commerce – $36 per month to enable powerful merchandising
- Advanced Commerce – $65 per month to sell subscriptions on your site
All plans include a 9% transaction fee on all digital products sold through the platform unless you are subscribed to one of the Squarespace Digital Products Add-Ons which offers lower transaction fees and additional content storage.
There is also the option to save up to 30% if you choose an annual plan. Each plan has their own unique features, and you can compare them to find the one that fits just right.
Gumroad is a marketplace that caters to anyone and everyone – they help you pave your own path and give you all the tools you need to figure out your creative ventures. This marketplace is great for beginners just starting out as entrepreneurs in the digital space.
Fun fact: a whopping $3,171,557 is the amount of income earned by Gumroad digital entrepreneurs last week, proving this marketplace can sell.
Key features
- Simple e-commerce platform that offers a wide selection of tools
- Create and customize your storefront with their all-in-one platform or choose to use your personal site instead
- Build a loyal following with simple posts, email newsletters, and automated workflows
- Accepting payments from a global audience
- Let your customers pay what they want or choose between one-time, recurring, or fixed-length payments in your currency of choice
- Creators can offer a “pay what you want” pricing model that allows customers to enter whatever value they’d like to purchase a digital product, making content more accessible to wider audiences
- Using Zapier, you can seamlessly connect your Gumroad account to thousands of different apps
Platform prices
Gumroad wants their creators to succeed, and not focus on fees or membership subscriptions. This is why their pricing model is very simple: they only take 10% flat of each sale and have no monthly charges.
Read more: How to Make Money on Gumroad
Shopify is a popular global commerce platform where you can build up your business of any kind, selling online or offline, however you want to run your business.
Key features
- No coding experience necessary – their helpful drag-and-drop store creator allows you to build the online storefront of your dreams
- Extensive list of custom templates
- Add more features and functionality to your storefront using Shopify apps
- Back your business with Shop Pay – the one-click checkout that’s built to convert
- Leverage of their marketing tools to help with SEO tips, social media, and content marketing tools
- Build custom email campaigns and access integrated messaging tools to connect with customers
- Use their data analytics to track your growth and progress
- Manage your money where you make it with their flexible funding
- Shopify offers 24/7 email and live chat support
Platform prices
You are able to start on Shopify for 3-days no charge, then enjoy $1/month for 3 months. Afterwards, they have different payment options with the ability to save 25% on yearly plans:
- Basic – $51 per month for localized global selling (3 markets)
- Shopify- $132 per month for lower card rates and more staff accounts
- Advanced – $517 per month for lower card rates and custom sales reporting
Something to note is that Shopify charges high transaction rates for card purchases, which may affect net revenue. For example, the card rates for the basic program are:
- 2.9% + 30¢ CAD online
- 2.7% + 0¢ CAD in person (in case you’re selling at an in-person event!)
- 2% 3rd-party payment providers
Shopify customers can purchase a social media selling add-on for an extra $7 CAD per month.
Shopify also offers Shopify Plus for businesses that want to take sales to the next level with complex strategies, products, and pricing. Plans are available on 1 or 3 year terms, and start at $2,300 USD per month.
Facebook is a well-known social media platform to help people connect to friends, colleagues, and now anyone in your niche! There are several tools that Facebook leverages to help people find others who are similar to them, but Groups stands out the most. With Facebook Groups, creators can either join an existing group or create their own.
Facebook Marketplace is an equivalent to Kijiji or Craigslist. While it’s typically used to sell physical goods in a local area, it can also be used to sell digital products via social media. The only con here is that Facebook doesn’t offer its own payments program through Marketplace, so you will need to rely on PayPal, Venmo, e-transfers, or a checkout process through a separate e-commerce platform.
Key features
- Groups can be made either public or private and can have exclusive rules for joining, participating, and selling
- Zero transaction fees for selling through Facebook
- Ability to also leverage Facebook Pages for creating a custom company profile for free
- Built-in messaging tool to communicate with potential buyers & send links to more information or trial content
- Meta Business Manager supports advertising across all Meta platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp
Platform prices
- Free to sign up and use Facebook Groups or Marketplace with no sales commissions
Read more: How to Sell Products on Facebook Marketplace (5 Best Practices)
Patreon is a popular tool used by creatives because it takes what has already been created and adds a paywall onto the front so that creators can earn sales and tips on their work. Patreon also has a very limited amount of restrictions on the type of digital content that can be sold through the platform so it’s a great place to sell content types or material with topics that are hard to sell elsewhere.
Key features
- Accommodates almost any type of digital product
- Membership management tools that make it easy to control subscriptions and new releases
- Fast multimedia upload times so you can start selling faster
- Ability to leverage the Patreon Marketplace as a marketing tool to grow sales
- Create individual product pages with customizable pricing and promotional tools
Platform prices
- Free plan – 5% fees on all sales
- Pro plan – 8% fees on all sales
- Premium plan – 12% fees on all sales
Kajabi specializes in creating virtual education tools like courses, digital downloads, and other shareable online resources. Where they really shine is through their great built-in marketing tools that make it easy for creators to track potential sales through a sales funnel, and then report on how and when purchases are made.
Understanding sales funnels is super key to growing your business. Being able to track how customers are finding out about your digital products lets you target those areas with more marketing, and then see higher results.
One thing to note is that Kajabi’s marketing tools are limited based on the plan you purchase (see more below). For example, the kickstarter plan only allows users to send to 250 contacts and have a total of 50 customers on the platform (with only one product and one sales funnel, too). Of course, this grows as you increase the plan level.
Key features
- Built-in marketing tool like an email builder, website builder, and sales funnels to track where revenue comes from
- All plans have zero transaction fees, just pay via a monthly subscription
- AI Creator Hub allows users to build sellable assets in just a few minutes
- Product templates are available for purchase from the Template Store to help kickstart the creative process
- Through the Expert Marketplace, Kajabi connects creatives with experts in the field to provide new tips and insights
Platform prices
Kajabi offers a 14-day free trial for creators to test out the platform. Paid plans include more marketing support, ability to sell more digital products, and AI-assistance.
- Kickstarter – $69 per month for 1 product and 1 funnel
- Basic – $149 per month for 3 products and 3 funnels
- Growth – $199 per month for 15 products and 15 funnels
- Pro – $399 per month for 100 products and 100 funnels
- Enterprise – custom pricing for large businesses
Creators can save 20% by purchasing an annual plan rather than paying monthly.
Podia is a professional website-building platform that puts your website, digital products, and community in one platform that’s easy to use. Positive online reviews show that current customers find the platform easy to use for beginners!
Key features
- Sell directly from your website and integrate many tools (like Facebook Groups) into one space
- No code or design skills needed, just drag and drop to build
- Flexibility to create paid communities, free communities, and memberships on a platform you own
- Email marketing (with premade templates) is in the same place as your website, digital products, courses, and community
- Your website is free forever so you can scale comfortably
Platform prices
Podia offers a free account with a full website that is yours to own. One limitation is that the Free and starter plans only allow creators to host one digital download and one coaching product at a time. To host unlimited digital products, you’ll need to purchase the Mover or Shaker plans. Fee collection varies depending on the plan you choose.
- Free plan – $0 per month and collects 10% fees on all revenue
- Starter plan – $9 per month and collects 8% fees
- Mover plan – $39 per month and collects 5% fees
- Shaker plan – $59 per month and doesn’t collect fees
If you choose to pay on an annual basis, you can save up to 55%.
Envato Market offers the ultimate creative subscription to help bring your entrepreneurial ideas to life – no matter what skill level. The two marketplaces under the Envato Market umbrella that are best for selling digital downloads include ThemeForest and Codecanyon. Though, there are plenty of other marketplaces that are available to sell through as your business expands its offerings.
Key features
- Maintain your identity, build your brand, and promote your work to the community – however you like
- CodeCanyon contains thousands of plugins, code and scripts for Bootstrap, Javascript, PHP, WordPress, HTML5 and more, allowing you to sell digital code-work
- From WordPress to Shopify themes, Themeforest is a great market to sell premium website templates and digital artwork
- Join the discussion with fellow Envato Market Authors to get help and feedback
- Simple and easy to use platform for staying on top of your sales and monitoring the best times to market your products
Platform prices
There is no initial setup fee for Envato Market, but all your products must be approved before you can start selling them. This marketplace charges an Author Fee that depends on your level of sales and if you are working exclusively on Envato Market.
- Non-Exclusive Author Fee: 55%
- Exclusive Author Fee: 12.5% – 37.5%
There is also an extensive list of buyer fees that vary depending on the type of product you’re selling and the marketplace that it is sold on. It is a good idea to reference this page with a detailed list of fees.
As a reminder, it’s important to tally up all expected fees and include your platform’s pricing strategy into your sales forecasting plan so that you can calculate the necessary amount of sales needed to earn a high take-home revenue.
SendOwl is an all-in-one marketplace that empowers creators and businesses to sell anything digital, anywhere online. This platform gives you the freedom to choose how, where, and when you sell your digital products.
Key features
- Integrate SendOwl with your existing website or blog – pair with platforms such as PayPal or Stripe
- Ability to sell anywhere with no-limit payment links (eg. sell on social media or use their API)
- Create your own checkout templates, custom checkout fields, embedded buttons, and email templates to provide a consistent branding experience
- Automate and scale your marketing workflows with 1-click upsells, cart abandonment, affiliate marketing, and product update emails
Platform prices
Creators can access SendOwl for $1 per month for the first 2 months, and earn 7 days for free. After that, they must get onto one of these monthly payment plans:
- Starter – $18 per month with 5% fees per order (with a minimum $0.89 order fee)
- Growth – $37 per month with $0.47 fee per order
- Pro – $89 per month with $0.28 fee per order
- Custom pricing available for high-volume selling
Creative Market is a world-class design marketplace that connects creators with a community of millions of potential customers. It is highly specialized for artists or marketing freelancers that sell branding packages, photography, fonts, illustrations, 3D renderings, and video work.
Key features
- Built-in user base, with a network of 10 million potential customers using the platform (ie. no need to build your own audience from scratch)
- No exclusivity lock-in – you can sell with them, on your own site, or anywhere else without penalty
- No per-product approval, your product will go live instantly
- Creative Market offers a “Free Downloads” section to earn brand awareness and lead generation
- Includes a simple messaging system to respond to requests from leads and customers
Platform prices
Setting up a shop on Creative Market involves no initial setup fees, but your account must be approved before you can start selling your digital products. Once your account is approved, shops will earn 50% of their list price for each sale. Commission rates do vary per shop/product.
Sellfy has all the features you need to successfully sell your digital products in one place. They give you the option to sell your products however you wish – whether it’s through your own Sellfy digital storefront or with their embed cart on your preferred platform.
Key features
- Grow your revenue with built-in marketing tools like affiliate programs and cart abandonment triggers
- Discounts and coupon codes available to incentivise your customers
- Let your customers choose how much they’d like to pay for your products with minimum pricing and no upper limit
- Add as many products as you want and have unlimited traffic to your store with no extra cost
- Host and distribute large digital files with up to 10GB per product
- Secure and safe transactions
Platform prices
Selly offers a 14-day free trial, and after that they have monthly plans with no transaction fees or hidden costs. All plans also support unlimited digital products, so you can scale quickly. One-year and two-year plans are also available with discounted rates.
- Starter – $29 per month for up to $10K in annual sales
- Business – $79 per month for up to $50K in annual sales
- Premium – $159 per month for up to $200K in annual sales
If you have more than $200,000 in sales per year, you can qualify as one of Sellfy’s high volume sellers and access a special pricing plan.
Comparing the top marketplaces
Whether you want to add selling digital products alongside your 9-5 job, or if you are looking to solely work as a creator, selling digital products online has some serious advantages.
When choosing the best marketplace to sell digital products for your business, choose the platform that resonates with your professional business needs and goals.
Think about what digital products you want to sell and compare which marketplace features are most important to you – we suggest using the free trials to your advantage to really get a feel for which marketplace works best for your business.
Looking for a platform that does it all? Learn more about selling digital products on Thinkific here.
This blog was originally published in September 2023, it’s since been updated in July 2024 to include the most up to date information.
