If you're reading this, you're probably frustrated. Maybe Gumroad's 10% fee just took another chunk out of your latest launch. Maybe you're tired of stitching together five different tools just to run what should be a simple creator business. Or maybe you've realised that selling digital products on a marketplace platform will never give you the ownership and control you actually need.
We get it. That's exactly why we built BTS.
BTS is where creators turn content and community into real businesses. We're not a marketplace. We're not a tip jar. We're creator business infrastructure—one place to build something you own.
Let's be upfront: we are the alternative we're recommending in this article. We built BTS specifically for creators who've outgrown platforms like Gumroad and want something fundamentally different. We've already paid out over $1.4 million to creators, and more than 1,600 creators have made the switch to our platform. We're not writing this as a fake "unbiased listicle." We're writing this as the team who looked at the creator economy, saw the fragmentation problem, and decided to fix it.
So if you're searching for Gumroad alternatives in 2026, here's what we've learned about why creators leave—and what we built instead.
Why Creators Leave Gumroad
From our experience: "We've spoken with hundreds of creators who left Gumroad, and the reasons are remarkably consistent."
The fees are the obvious starting point. Gumroad charges a flat 10% plus $0.50 per transaction for direct sales. If customers discover you through Gumroad's marketplace? That jumps to 30%. Then add Stripe or PayPal's processing fees (typically 2.9% + $0.30), and suddenly you're losing 13-15% of every sale—or up to 35% for marketplace discoveries.
For a creator selling a $50 course, that's $7.50 gone on every direct sale. Sell 100 courses a month, and you're handing over $750. Over a year, that's $9,000 that could have gone into your business, your team, or your content.
But the fees are just the surface problem. The deeper issue is what Gumroad represents: a transactional platform that optimises for individual sales, not business building.
What we've learned: "The most successful creators don't just sell products—they build businesses. And Gumroad was never designed for that."
Here's what we consistently hear from creators who've left:
Fragmentation is exhausting. Gumroad handles your digital products, sure. But what about your community? Your courses? Your coaching? Your email list? Suddenly you're juggling Gumroad for products, Circle or Discord for community, Teachable for courses, Calendly for booking, and ConvertKit for email. Each tool has its own login, its own fee structure, its own learning curve. None of them talk to each other properly.
Ownership feels precarious. When your business lives across six different platforms, you don't really own it. You're renting space on someone else's infrastructure. If Gumroad changes their terms (which they do), raises their fees (which they have), or gets acquired (always possible), your business feels the impact immediately.
The marketplace model creates dependency. Gumroad's Discover marketplace sounds appealing—they'll help you find customers! But that 30% fee tells you everything you need to know about the relationship. You become dependent on their algorithm, their recommendations, their rules. That's not ownership. That's sharecropping.
BTS's take: "Creators deserve infrastructure that grows with them, not platforms that extract value from every transaction."
What We Built Instead
We started BTS with a fundamental question: what would creator business infrastructure look like if we designed it from scratch in 2024?
The answer wasn't another tool. It wasn't another marketplace. It was something different entirely.
BTS is the creator business infrastructure. Everything runs behind the scenes in one space. You bring your audience; we help you turn them into a real business.
Here's our philosophy: most creator platforms optimise for transactions, not ownership. They make money when you make sales, so they're incentivised to maximise transactions—not to help you build something durable. We took a different approach.
One place to build something you own. With BTS, your courses, community, content, and payments all live in one integrated space. No stitching together tools that never become a real business. No juggling six different dashboards. No wondering which platform owns your customer relationships.
Structure and momentum, not algorithms. We don't have a marketplace. We don't have a discovery feed. We're not trying to be a social network that shows your content to strangers. Instead, we focus on helping you build structure—the systems and infrastructure that turn effort into progress. You bring your audience from Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or wherever you've built your following. We help you monetise and serve that audience properly.
Modern, brand-forward design. We built BTS to look and feel like a modern creator brand—not back-office software, not a classroom portal from 2005. Your BTS space is something you're proud to share with your audience.
Our recommendation: "Based on working with 1,600+ creators, we suggest choosing infrastructure over tools every time."
The tradeoffs we consciously made:
We don't do audience discovery. If you're starting from zero and need a platform to find your first customers, BTS isn't the right fit. We're not a marketplace. We're infrastructure for creators who already have an audience and need to build something with them.
We're opinionated about simplicity. Some platforms offer hundreds of features, toggles, and customisation options. We've deliberately kept BTS streamlined. Most creators launch within a day—not because our platform is basic, but because we've removed the complexity that slows you down.
We prioritise ownership over features. Some competitors might have more bells and whistles. We've focused on making sure everything you build on BTS is truly yours—your audience data, your customer relationships, your business.
BTS vs Gumroad: Honest Comparison
Let's be direct about how we compare. No marketing spin—just the honest breakdown.
| Aspect | Gumroad | BTS |
|---|---|---|
| **Platform Fee** | 10% (30% via marketplace) | From 3.5% (Pro plan) |
| **Monthly Cost** | Free (pay per transaction) | Free Starter plan; Pro at $149/mo |
| **Community Features** | None (requires third-party) | Built-in |
| **Course Hosting** | Basic file delivery | Full course infrastructure |
| **Design** | Functional, marketplace-focused | Modern, brand-forward |
| **Ownership Model** | Marketplace-dependent | Creator-owned infrastructure |
| **Best For** | One-off digital product sales | Building a creator business |
Where Gumroad wins:
Gumroad is genuinely good for simple, one-off digital product sales. If you're selling an ebook or a template and don't need community, courses, or ongoing customer relationships, Gumroad's simplicity is a strength. No monthly fee means zero risk to try. Their marketplace can drive discovery if you're starting from zero.
Where BTS wins:
If you're building a real business—with recurring revenue, community engagement, courses, coaching, or any combination of these—BTS gives you everything in one place with better economics at scale. Our Pro plan's 3.5% fee means you keep significantly more of every dollar as your business grows. And because everything is integrated, you're not paying for five separate tools that don't talk to each other.
Our data shows: "Creators who switch from fragmented tool stacks to BTS typically save 15-25% on total platform costs while reducing their administrative overhead by hours per week."
Other Alternatives Worth Considering
In the spirit of being genuinely helpful, let's look at other Gumroad alternatives you might be considering—and our honest take on each.
Patreon
Pricing: 10% platform fee for new creators (as of August 2025), plus processing fees Best for: Creators focused on recurring supporter relationships
Patreon built the modern membership model, and they deserve credit for that. But Patreon monetises content, while BTS helps creators build a real business. If you just want fans to support your work with monthly tips, Patreon works. If you want to build courses, community, and scalable products, you'll quickly outgrow it.
Stan Store
Pricing: Creator plan at $29/month, Creator Pro at $99/month, 0% transaction fees Best for: Social media creators who need a link-in-bio storefront
Stan Store is solid for what it does—giving influencers a clean way to sell from their social profiles. But it's fundamentally a storefront, not business infrastructure. Once you need community, courses, or more sophisticated customer relationships, you'll be adding more tools anyway.
Teachable
Pricing: Starter at $39/month (7.5% transaction fee), Builder at $89/month (0% transaction fee), scaling up to $399/month Best for: Course creators who need robust LMS features
Teachable is enterprise software for course creators. It's powerful, feature-rich, and well-established. But it's also complex, expensive at scale, and focused purely on courses. If courses are your entire business, Teachable might work. If you want community, memberships, and coaching alongside courses, you're back to stitching tools together.
Podia
Pricing: Mover at $39/month (5% transaction fee), Shaker at $89/month (0% transaction fee) Best for: Creators who want courses and digital downloads in one place
Podia is a solid mid-market option. Clean interface, fair pricing, decent feature set. The 5% transaction fee on their entry plan eats into margins, and their community features are basic compared to dedicated platforms. Worth considering if you want something simple and don't need deep community functionality.
Whop
Pricing: Free to start, 3% platform fee on automated sales, plus processing fees Best for: Digital product sellers who want marketplace exposure
Whop is powerful and flexible—a sort of Shopify for digital creators. Their marketplace model (30% commission) is similar to Gumroad's. The platform itself is complex; there's a learning curve. If you love tinkering with tools and want maximum flexibility, Whop could work. If you want simplicity and momentum, it might feel overwhelming.
Circle
Pricing: Professional at $89/month, Business at $199/month, Enterprise at $419/month Best for: Community-first creators who need robust engagement features
Circle is excellent community software. But that's all it is—community software. You'll still need separate tools for courses, payments, and product delivery. It feels like back-office software rather than a creator brand. And their pricing adds up quickly when you factor in all the other tools you'll need alongside it.
Skool
Pricing: Hobby at $9/month (10% transaction fee), Pro at $99/month (2.9% transaction fee) Best for: Community-first creators who want gamification
Skool combines community and courses with a clean interface and gamification elements. The $99/month Pro plan is competitive. Our take: unlike Skool's classroom-style interface, BTS is designed to look and feel like a modern brand, not an online course portal from the early 2000s.
Kajabi
Pricing: Basic at $179/month, Growth at $249/month, Pro at $499/month Best for: Established creators who need enterprise-level features
Kajabi is the most comprehensive option—and the most expensive. If you have an established business and need every possible feature, Kajabi delivers. But it's enterprise software with enterprise pricing and enterprise complexity. For most creators, it's overkill that costs thousands per year.
Is BTS Right for You?
BTS's take: "We built BTS for a specific type of creator. Knowing who that is helps everyone make better decisions."
BTS is the answer when:
- You have an existing audience on social platforms (10,000+ followers, ideally)
- You have a clear value-niche—something specific you teach, share, or help people with
- You have or want to create digital products (courses, content, coaching, community)
- You want to own your business, not rent it on someone else's platform
- You're ready to build something real, not just experiment
Our methodology shows: "Creators who succeed on BTS share three characteristics: existing audience, clear niche, and commitment to building something durable."
BTS might not be right for you if:
- You're starting from zero and need a platform to find your first customers
- You only want to sell occasional one-off products with no ongoing relationship
- You prefer maximum feature complexity over streamlined simplicity
- You're not ready to invest time in building a proper business
When Gumroad might actually be better:
If you're just testing whether anyone will buy your first ebook, Gumroad's free-to-start model means zero risk. If you're selling one-off products with no community or recurring component, Gumroad's simplicity is genuinely an advantage. If you want marketplace discovery because you don't have an audience yet, Gumroad's Discover can help (though you'll pay 30% for it).
We're not trying to convince everyone to switch. We're trying to help you make the right decision for where you are right now.
Making the Switch from Gumroad
If you've decided BTS is right for you, here's what the migration process looks like.
What transfers easily:
Your audience. If you have customer emails from Gumroad, you can bring those relationships with you. Your content—courses, downloads, videos—can be uploaded to BTS directly. Your pricing strategy and product structure can be recreated, often improved with BTS's more flexible options.
What you'll need to recreate:
Your storefront design (though BTS's modern templates make this easier, not harder). Your product pages and descriptions. Any automations you had set up with third-party tools.
Timeline expectations:
Most creators launch on BTS within a day. Not because they're rushing, but because we've designed the onboarding to get you earning quickly. You don't need to spend weeks in settings and configurations before you can accept your first payment.
How we help:
We provide hands-on creator success support. Real humans who understand your business, not just ticket systems. We've helped hundreds of creators migrate from Gumroad, Patreon, Teachable, and others. We know what questions come up and how to solve them.
From our experience: "We've seen creators complete full migrations in a weekend and increase their effective earnings by 10-15% immediately just from the fee difference."
One important note: you don't have to go all-in immediately. Some creators run BTS alongside their existing tools while they transition. Test with one product, see how it feels, then expand from there.
Get Started Free
We offer a free Starter plan because we believe you should experience BTS before committing anything.
On our free plan, you can:
- Launch your creator space with our modern, brand-forward design
- Accept payments and start earning immediately
- Build your first course or community
- See how everything works together in one place
The Starter plan includes a 10% platform fee—competitive with Gumroad and lower than many alternatives. When you're ready to scale and want our lowest fees (3.5%), you can upgrade to Pro.
No credit card required to start. No complex setup process. Most creators launch within a day.
BTS gives creators one place to build something they own. If you have an audience but no structure, BTS is the answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does BTS cost?
BTS offers a free Starter plan to get you launched and earning. Our Pro plan is $149/month with a 3.5% transaction fee—designed for creators who are ready to scale. The free plan has a 10% fee, which is competitive with most alternatives. Check our pricing page for the full breakdown and to calculate which plan makes sense for your revenue level.
Is BTS free to use?
Yes! Our Starter plan is completely free—no credit card required, no time limit. You can launch your creator space, accept payments, and start earning on the free plan. Most creators start here, prove the model works, and upgrade to Pro when the math makes sense (typically when you're earning enough that 3.5% beats 10%).
What makes BTS different from other creator platforms?
We focus on creator business infrastructure, not just monetisation. Most platforms optimise for transactions—they make money when you make sales, so they push features that increase transactions. We've built BTS to help you own something durable. Everything runs behind the scenes in one place: courses, community, content, and payments. No stitching together tools that never become a real business.
Can I migrate my existing members to BTS?
Absolutely. We help creators migrate from platforms like Gumroad, Patreon, Teachable, and others regularly. Your members can transfer seamlessly. We've built specific workflows for common migration scenarios, and our creator success team can walk you through the process step by step.
How long does it take to set up BTS?
Most creators launch within a day. We've designed our onboarding to get you earning quickly, not buried in settings. You'll choose a template, customise your branding, set up your first product or community space, connect payments, and launch. It's genuinely that straightforward.
Does BTS take a percentage of my earnings?
Yes, like almost every creator platform. Our fee structure is transparent: the free Starter plan has a 10% platform fee, and our Pro plan has a 3.5% fee plus $0.30 per transaction and costs $149/month. When you do the math, Pro typically makes sense once you're earning $2,000+ per month. No hidden fees, no surprise charges.
What kind of support does BTS offer?
We provide hands-on creator success support—real humans who understand the creator business, not just ticket systems. Whether you need help with migration, strategy, or technical setup, our team responds quickly and actually solves problems. Many creators tell us our support is a major reason they chose BTS over alternatives.
Can I use my own domain with BTS?
Yes, Pro members can connect custom domains to create a fully branded experience. Your audience visits your domain, sees your brand, and never knows BTS is running behind the scenes. It's your business, your brand, your customer relationships.
Is BTS better than Gumroad?
It depends entirely on what you're building. If you're selling occasional one-off digital products and want zero monthly cost, Gumroad's simplicity is a genuine advantage. If you're building a creator business with courses, community, recurring revenue, and ongoing customer relationships, BTS gives you everything in one place with better economics at scale. We built BTS for the second scenario.
Can I use both BTS and Gumroad?
Some creators do run multiple platforms during a transition period. But most find that BTS handles everything they need—courses, community, content, payments—in one place. Running multiple platforms usually means duplicate work and fragmented customer data. The whole point of BTS is ending that fragmentation.
Does BTS have a marketplace or discovery feature?
No, and that's intentional. BTS is not a social network or a marketplace. We focus on structure and momentum, not algorithms. You bring your audience from wherever you've built your following—Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, your email list—and we help you monetise and serve that audience properly. We don't take 30% for "discovering" customers for you.
What payment methods does BTS support?
BTS supports subscriptions (monthly and annual), pay-per-view content, one-off purchases, free trials, tips, custom requests, and bundles. You control your pricing. Payouts are fast: 1-5 days globally, same-day in the US. We support creators worldwide (with a few exceptions for sanctioned regions).
Who uses BTS?
We've paid out over $1.4 million to 1,600+ creators. Our strongest categories are education, business, fitness, and entrepreneurship—but any creator with an audience and a digital offering can build on BTS. Notable creators on our platform include Nick Bell (our ambassador), Etienne Steven, George Mirosevich, Finlay Noorlander, Cassie Leong, and Tom Noske.
What can't BTS do?
We're transparent about our boundaries. BTS doesn't help you find your first audience—we're infrastructure for creators who already have followers. We don't have a social feed or algorithm-driven discovery. We're not designed for hobbyists or casual experimenters; we're built for creators ready to build something real. Knowing what we're not helps you decide if we're right for you.
How does BTS compare to Kajabi?
Kajabi is enterprise software for course creators—powerful, comprehensive, and expensive ($179-$499/month). BTS is infrastructure for creator businesses—streamlined, modern, and built for ownership. Kajabi gives you every possible feature; BTS gives you the right features to build a durable business without complexity overload. For most creators, BTS does everything they need at a fraction of the cost.
Key Takeaways
- Gumroad's fees add up fast: 10-15% on direct sales, up to 35% via their marketplace, eating significantly into creator earnings
- The real problem is fragmentation: Selling products is only part of a creator business—community, courses, coaching, and ongoing relationships matter too
- BTS is creator business infrastructure: One place to own everything, not a patchwork of tools that never integrate properly
- We built BTS for creators with audiences: If you have followers and need structure, we're the answer. If you're starting from zero, a marketplace might serve you better for now
- Migration is straightforward: Most creators launch within a day, and our team helps with the transition
About the Author
The BTS Team is the Product Team at BTS, the creator business infrastructure company. We've spent the last two years building and refining BTS based on direct feedback from over 1,600 creators who wanted something better than the fragmented tool stacks they'd outgrown.
We built BTS because we believe creators deserve to own what they build—not rent space on platforms that extract value from every transaction.
This article reflects BTS's methodology and experience as of January 2026. Competitor pricing and features may change; we recommend verifying current details on each platform's website.