TpTvs
Gumroad
TpT vs Gumroad for teacher sellers
Gumroad has no monthly fee and handles sales tax for you. Its fixed fees are high, though, so on cheap resources it keeps less than you'd think.
What you keep per sale
| Fees | Keep on $5 | Keep on $1.50 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| TpT Basic | 45% + $0.30 per resource | $2.45 | $0.53 |
| TpT Exclusive | 22.5% (+ $0.15 under $3) + $59.95/yr | $3.88 | $1.01 |
| Gumroad, your own link | 10% + $0.50 + card fees | $3.56 | $0.51 |
| Gumroad, via Discover | 30% flat, card fees included | $3.50 | $1.05 |
Card fees at 2.9% + $0.30 on a single-item order. Exclusive's yearly fee isn't spread per sale.
The fixed fees decide it
Gumroad's $0.50 plus the card's $0.30 means $0.80 comes off every direct sale before any percentage. That's 16% of a $5 resource and more than half of a $1.50 one.
- Against TpT Basic: Gumroad keeps about $1.11 more on a $5 sale. Below about $1.56, Basic actually keeps more.
- Against Payhip's free plan: Payhip keeps more at every price ($4.31 of $5, against $3.56), and neither has a monthly fee. See TpT vs Payhip.
- Bundles help: the fixed fees are per sale, so one $6 bundle loses far less than three $2 items sold separately.
Who brings the buyers
Gumroad has a marketplace, Discover, but teachers don't shop there the way they shop TpT. Expect almost every sale to come from people you send to your Gumroad link, from your email list, Pinterest, a blog or social media. A Discover sale costs a flat 30%: about the same as a direct $5 sale, and less than a direct sale of anything cheaper.
What Gumroad does well
- Sales tax. Gumroad is the merchant of record, so it collects and pays sales tax and VAT on every sale, like TpT does. Not tax advice.
- No monthly fee. You only pay when you sell, unlike Shopify or Stan Store.
- File delivery. Buyers get the PDF right after paying, with no extra app.
The catch is getting your listings in. Gumroad has no product import, so every resource is added by hand, and TpT has no export to copy from.
Questions
Is Gumroad cheaper than TpT?
Cheaper than TpT Basic for anything priced above about $1.56. On a $5 sale Gumroad leaves you $3.56 and Basic leaves $2.45. TpT Exclusive leaves $3.88, but Exclusive sellers can't sell paid teaching resources anywhere else.
Does Gumroad charge card fees on top of its 10%?
Yes, on direct sales. Gumroad takes 10% + $0.50, and card processing (2.9% + $0.30) comes on top. Sales through its Discover marketplace pay a flat 30% that already includes processing.
Can a TpT Exclusive seller use Gumroad?
Not for paid digital teaching resources. From January 1, 2027, Exclusive sellers can only sell those on TpT. Basic sellers can use Gumroad alongside TpT.
Every listing, ready to paste into Gumroad
LessonCrate turns your TpT store into one sheet with each product's title, price, description, images, grades and keywords, in the order Gumroad's form asks for them. Free preview, from $19.