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E-Commerce · head to head

Gumroad vs Vendure

Gumroad logo

Gumroad

E-Commerce

Hosted storefront for selling digital products, memberships and courses on a per sale fee

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vendure logo

Vendure

E-Commerce

Modern headless GraphQL commerce framework

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Gumroad the fee is a flat percentage of every sale with no monthly plan to cap it, so a product that succeeds pays proportionally more forever, and past a certain monthly revenue a self-hosted cart plus a payment processor costs a fraction of it.; Vendure pricing is custom-quoted per project with no published tiers or starting price
  • They diverge on capability: Gumroad covers Digital product delivery, Vendure covers GraphQL API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gumroad and Vendure actually diverge.

Attributes where Gumroad and Vendure differ
AttributeGumroadVendure
Pricing modeltransactionquote
PlatformsWebSelf-hosted, Vendure Cloud
FoundedUnknown2019

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Gumroad

  • Digital product delivery
  • Memberships and subscriptions
  • Merchant of record
  • No monthly subscription
  • Discover marketplace
  • Hosted checkout
  • Licence keys
  • Email to customers

Only in Vendure

  • GraphQL API
  • TypeScript native
  • Plugin architecture
  • Admin UI
  • Multi-channel
  • Asset management
  • Order workflow
  • Faceted search

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Gumroad

  • An individual creator selling ebooks, templates or presets without wanting to run any infrastructurenot Vendure
  • A developer selling a small software product that needs licence key issuance and deliverynot Vendure
  • A writer or educator running a paid membership or course for an existing audiencenot Vendure
  • Anyone selling digital goods internationally who does not want to register for VAT across jurisdictionsnot Vendure

Vendure

  • B2B complex commerce workflowsnot Gumroad
  • Multi-brand and multi-currency operationsnot Gumroad
  • Custom pricing and contract managementnot Gumroad

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Gumroad

  • The fee is a flat percentage of every sale with no monthly plan to cap it, so a product that succeeds pays proportionally more forever, and past a certain monthly revenue a self-hosted cart plus a payment processor costs a fraction of it.
  • Sales that come through the Discover marketplace carry a substantially higher cut, so marketplace-sourced revenue is materially less profitable than direct revenue and the two need tracking separately to know what the channel is really worth.
  • The storefront is a Gumroad-hosted page with limited layout and branding control, so the customer experience is recognisably Gumroad's rather than yours, and there is no template language to extend it.
  • Stored payment methods cannot be transferred to another platform, so migrating an active membership requires every subscriber to re-enter their card, and the churn that causes is the real exit cost rather than any contract term.
  • Acting as merchant of record means Gumroad, not you, is the party in the customer's bank statement and in the tax records, which simplifies compliance but weakens the direct customer relationship and limits what you can do with the transaction data.

Vendure

  • Pricing is custom-quoted per project with no published tiers or starting price
  • Requires implementation partner or in-house development; no low-code or no-code option
  • GPLv3 free tier (Vendure Core) has different licensing than commercial product

Pricing, plan by plan

Gumroad

On request
  • Direct Sales$undefined/mo
  • Marketplace Discovery$undefined/mo

Vendure

On request
  • Platform (Self-hosted)$null/annual
    • Flat annual subscription
    • No GMV, order, user, or capability-based charges
    • Complete Platform feature set
  • Vendure Cloud$null/annual
    • Managed platform option
    • Same Platform feature set as self-hosted
    • Pricing not specified on website

Which should you pick?

Choose Gumroad if

  • You need digital product delivery.
  • You also want memberships and subscriptions.
Gumroad review

Choose Vendure if

  • You need graphql api.
  • You work on Self-hosted, Vendure Cloud.
  • You also want typescript native.
Vendure review

Questions people ask

Is Gumroad or Vendure better?
Neither clearly leads. Gumroad starts at On request and Vendure at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gumroad or Vendure?
Gumroad starts at On request and Vendure at On request.
Does Gumroad or Vendure run on more platforms?
Gumroad runs on Web. Vendure runs on Self-hosted, Vendure Cloud.
What is Gumroad best used for?
Gumroad is most often used for an individual creator selling ebooks, templates or presets without wanting to run any infrastructure, a developer selling a small software product that needs licence key issuance and delivery, a writer or educator running a paid membership or course for an existing audience, anyone selling digital goods internationally who does not want to register for vat across jurisdictions. Of those, an individual creator selling ebooks, templates or presets without wanting to run any infrastructure and a developer selling a small software product that needs licence key issuance and delivery are not what Vendure is typically brought in for.
What can Gumroad do that Vendure cannot?
Gumroad covers Digital product delivery, Memberships and subscriptions, Merchant of record, No monthly subscription. Vendure covers GraphQL API, TypeScript native, Plugin architecture, Admin UI.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Gumroad: How does Gumroad charge?

A flat percentage of each sale rather than a monthly subscription, with a higher rate on sales it sources through Discover. Check the current pricing page for whether payment processing is included in or added to that percentage.

Vendure: How is Vendure priced?

Vendure uses flat annual pricing with no charges based on GMV, order volume, user count, or specific capabilities. Pricing is quoted individually per project based on business requirements.

Source
Gumroad: When does it stop making financial sense?

When your monthly revenue times the percentage exceeds what a hosted cart subscription plus standard processing would cost. That crossover arrives earlier than most sellers expect.

Vendure: Does Vendure charge for the runtime?

No additional fee is required for the Vendure runtime. Organizations can deploy it on their own infrastructure at no extra cost beyond the platform subscription.

Source
Gumroad: Does it handle VAT on digital goods?

Yes. It acts as merchant of record and takes on calculating and remitting VAT and sales tax on digital sales, which is the main reason solo creators selling internationally choose it.

Vendure: What is included in Vendure's subscription?

The annual platform subscription includes B2B storefront capabilities, pricing engines, catalogs, search, integrations, operations, brands/markets management, platform support, security updates, quarterly roadmap calls, and commercial licensing with IP indemnification.

Source
Gumroad: Can I move my subscribers elsewhere later?

You can export customer records, but not stored payment methods. Every active subscriber has to re-enter a card on the new platform, and some will not.

Gumroad: Can I sell physical products?

It is built for digital goods. Inventory, shipping and fulfilment are not what it is designed around, so a physical catalogue belongs on a store platform.

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