{
  "id": "sellfy-vs-payhip",
  "ids": [
    "sellfy",
    "payhip"
  ],
  "title": "Sellfy vs Payhip: creator stores, sales caps and fee trade-offs",
  "kicker": "SOFTWARE BUYING DECISIONS",
  "heading": "Sellfy vs Payhip:<br>creator stores, sales caps and fee trade-offs",
  "deck": "Compare Sellfy and Payhip for a download or merchandise business: ongoing access, annual sales limits, platform fees and the work after checkout.",
  "description": "Compare Sellfy and Payhip for a download or merchandise business: ongoing access, annual sales limits, platform fees and the work after checkout.",
  "answerHeading": "Match the operating model.<br>Cost the complete workflow.",
  "answer": "Sellfy fits a creator wanting a subscription-based hosted store with integrated print-on-demand merchandise. Payhip offers ongoing selling without a monthly subscription, with a platform fee that falls on paid packages. Compare a representative product and a busy sales period: Sellfy has annual revenue boundaries, while Payhip advertises unlimited revenue across its three packages.",
  "researchTag": "Sellfy / Payhip",
  "researchLimit": "Official-document comparison with proposed evaluation tasks and hypothetical examples; no measured usability, delivery, conversion or support ranking.",
  "checkedAt": "2026-10-15",
  "type": "workflow-buying",
  "rows": [
    [
      "Starting access",
      "14-day trial, then a paid subscription",
      "Free Forever with a sales-linked fee"
    ],
    [
      "Platform fee structure",
      "0% platform transaction fee within the subscription terms",
      "5% Free, 2% Plus or 0% Pro"
    ],
    [
      "Sales boundary",
      "Annual sales scopes of $10k, $50k and $200k",
      "Unlimited revenue advertised on all packages"
    ],
    [
      "Merchandise",
      "Built-in print-on-demand catalogue",
      "Physical products supported; arrange fulfilment for the intended offer"
    ],
    [
      "Marketing package",
      "Upselling and cart recovery on Business or above",
      "Same advertised feature set across packages"
    ],
    [
      "File acceptance",
      "Plan table lists increasing file capacity; check the exact asset",
      "5GB per file, without an overall storage or bandwidth limit"
    ],
    [
      "Money movement",
      "Payments go to the connected Stripe or PayPal account",
      "Gateway fees apply across every package"
    ]
  ],
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "A designer launches ten downloadable templates",
      "question": "What is the ongoing minimum commitment?",
      "left": "Evaluate the retained subscription after the trial.",
      "right": "Free can remain active with its transaction fee.",
      "note": "Import the same ten products, then request a receipt and download using an authorised test checkout."
    },
    {
      "name": "A creator sells downloads and printed merchandise",
      "question": "Who supplies and fulfils the physical item?",
      "left": "Use a sample from the print-on-demand catalogue and price its production.",
      "right": "Define the physical product and external fulfilment handover.",
      "note": "A store subscription is not the landed cost of an item: include production, shipping, replacements and a return path."
    },
    {
      "name": "A store expects a seasonal sales surge",
      "question": "What changes when sales grow?",
      "left": "Model the annual cap and the required larger package.",
      "right": "Model monthly platform fees under Free, Plus and Pro.",
      "note": "Use the actual billing currency and period; annual sales limits and monthly fee arithmetic are different boundaries."
    },
    {
      "name": "A creator moves an existing website",
      "question": "Can the sales journey stay on the current site?",
      "left": "Evaluate embedded buttons, product widgets or the store.",
      "right": "Evaluate embedded checkout and download delivery.",
      "note": "Try a mobile purchase, failed payment and product update; retain a clear customer-support owner."
    }
  ],
  "exampleTable": {
    "caption": "Four hypothetical buying briefs; proposed acceptance tasks have not been performed",
    "headers": [
      "Buying brief",
      "Sellfy",
      "Payhip"
    ],
    "rows": [
      [
        "A designer launches ten downloadable templates",
        "Evaluate the retained subscription after the trial.",
        "Free can remain active with its transaction fee."
      ],
      [
        "A creator sells downloads and printed merchandise",
        "Use a sample from the print-on-demand catalogue and price its production.",
        "Define the physical product and external fulfilment handover."
      ],
      [
        "A store expects a seasonal sales surge",
        "Model the annual cap and the required larger package.",
        "Model monthly platform fees under Free, Plus and Pro."
      ],
      [
        "A creator moves an existing website",
        "Evaluate embedded buttons, product widgets or the store.",
        "Evaluate embedded checkout and download delivery."
      ]
    ]
  },
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "cost-model",
      "navLabel": "Separate the subscription from each sale",
      "title": "Separate the subscription from each sale",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Build a worksheet with twelve months of sales and order counts, including a launch peak and a quiet period. Enter Sellfy’s current subscription quote and the package required by forecast annual sales. Then calculate Payhip’s monthly subscription and platform percentage separately. For illustration, US$1,000 in monthly sales produces US$50 of Payhip Free platform fees, US$49 on Plus, or US$99 on Pro, before gateway fees, taxes and currency effects. This is arithmetic on the published packages, not a forecast of a seller’s margin.",
        "Avoid comparing an annual-payment monthly equivalent with a cancellable monthly bill. Add payment processing, domain renewal and the cost of any external marketing or fulfilment service. Ask what happens if Sellfy’s annual cap is crossed: its FAQ describes a required upgrade and a possible overage fee if an account does not upgrade. Preserve the actual quote and threshold definition with the buying decision."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "delivery-check",
      "navLabel": "Prove the product after payment",
      "title": "Prove the product after payment",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Prepare a representative large download, a small PDF and a product update. In an authorised evaluation, inspect the receipt, access link, mobile download and the process for replacing a file. Ask the operator who handles a customer who paid but cannot access the product. Payhip’s documented per-file ceiling is a useful hard boundary; do not infer that a platform accepting a larger file will transfer it faster.",
        "For merchandise, write a separate acceptance checklist covering the item, print area, production charge, dispatch destination and a damaged delivery. Sellfy’s built-in print-on-demand proposition may reduce the number of services being assembled, but the buyer still needs a margin calculation and a support process. For either storefront, inspect how an order, refund and fulfilment exception appear in the merchant’s records before moving an established catalogue."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faqs": [
    {
      "question": "Does Sellfy have an ongoing free store?",
      "answer": "The current pricing page offers a 14-day trial followed by paid packages. It does not confirm a permanent free selling package."
    },
    {
      "question": "Does Payhip charge a monthly subscription on Free?",
      "answer": "No. Free has a 5% platform transaction fee. Plus and Pro exchange a monthly subscription for lower platform fees; payment processing remains separate."
    },
    {
      "question": "Which is cheaper for a UK creator?",
      "answer": "That depends on sales, order count, the required Sellfy tier, payment fees and exchange rates. Neither a 0% platform fee nor a free monthly package establishes the full cost."
    },
    {
      "question": "Has SoftwareRadar tested purchase conversion on these stores?",
      "answer": "No. The buying briefs and acceptance tasks here are proposed evaluations; they do not establish conversion, loading speed or support quality."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "url": "https://sellfy.com/pricing/",
      "facts": "Trial, annual sales scopes, fee boundaries, plan marketing scope and connected payment providers."
    },
    {
      "url": "https://sellfy.com/features/",
      "facts": "Hosted and embedded selling, downloads, subscriptions and print-on-demand proposition."
    },
    {
      "url": "https://payhip.com/pricing",
      "facts": "Monthly subscriptions, platform percentages, unlimited revenue and separate gateway fees."
    },
    {
      "url": "https://payhip.com/features/sell-digital-downloads",
      "facts": "Embedded delivery, download controls, custom domains and per-file capacity."
    }
  ],
  "relatedLinks": [
    {
      "path": "/categories/ecommerce/",
      "title": "Explore ecommerce platforms"
    },
    {
      "path": "/compare/gumroad-vs-payhip/",
      "title": "Compare creator payments and tax handling"
    },
    {
      "path": "/guides/software-total-cost/",
      "title": "Build a complete software cost model"
    }
  ],
  "datasetDescription": "Compare Sellfy and Payhip for a download or merchandise business: ongoing access, annual sales limits, platform fees and the work after checkout. Seven scoped differences, four buying briefs and proposed acceptance tasks."
}