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Gumroad vs Shopify

An in-depth head to head comparison

In this article, read a side-by-side comparison between two no-code tools: Gumroad and Shopify. We'll compare pricing, the benefits, the drawbacks, give examples of what you can and can't build, as well as our overall recommendation.

What is Gumroad?

Sell music, comics, software, books, and films directly to your audience.
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What is Shopify?

Try Shopify for free and get more than just an ecommerce solution. Sell anywhere, to anyone, with Shopify's ecommerce platform and point of sale features.
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Pricing

Gumroad pricing

  • Free plan to list unlimited products has a 5% transaction fee with Gumroad branding
  • $10/month - $250/month based on number of customers ($10 plan includes up to 1,000 customers) to remove Gumroad branding, add your own CSS, use your own domain, HD streaming, and a lower fee (3.5% + 30 cents per transaction).

Shopify pricing

  • Free 14 day trial, but no free plan
  • $29/month - $299/month for all basic e-commerce features, site hosting, custom domain, and no branding. More expensive plans have lower processing fees, more reporting, and more staff accounts

Benefits

Gumroad benefits

  • Extremely easy to get started and use
  • Low fees
  • Active community

Shopify benefits

  • Market leader for e-commerce
  • Easy to use
  • Shopify app store has thousands of apps for just about any use-case
  • Conversion-optimized checkout
  • Very active community

Drawbacks

Gumroad drawbacks

  • Less features and complexity than Shopify offers for e-commerce

Shopify drawbacks

  • A bit limited for custom design without development work

What you can build

Gumroad use-cases

  • A simple landing page to collect emails
  • Sell digital products online, with lots of customization in how you can sell
  • Sell a membership
  • Sell physical products

Shopify use-cases

  • Robust e-commerce site with custom design
  • Dropship to sell without holding inventory

What you can't build

What you can't build with Gumroad

  • A marketplace (check out ShareTribe)
  • A custom web app (check out Glide or Bubble)

What you can't build with Shopify

  • A marketplace (check out ShareTribe)
  • A custom web app (check out Glide or Bubble)

Overall Recommendation

Gumroad recommendation

Gumroad is the best option for selling digital products online.

For selling physical products, Gumroad is a great simple option, but if you want a scalable e-commerce solution for physical products I'd recommend Shopify.

Squarespace and Webflow also have e-commerce functionality, but it’s more limited than Shopify.

Shopify recommendation

Shopify is the absolute best option for e-commerce stores.

Gumroad, Squarespace and Webflow also have e-commerce functionality, but it’s more limited than Shopify. In almost all cases I'd recommend Shopify.

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Unlock premium step-by-step tutorials building real apps and websites
Easy to follow tutorials broken down into lessons between 2 to 20 minutes
Get access to the community to share what you're building, ask questions, and get support if you're stuck
Access all of this with No-Code MBA Unlimited
Unlock premium step-by-step tutorials building real apps and websites
Easy to follow tutorials broken down into lessons between 2 to 20 minutes
Get access to the community to share what you're building, ask questions, and get support if you're stuck
Friendly Tip!
Companies often reimburse No Code MBA memberships. Here's an email template to send to your manager.

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