Payhip is an all-in-one e-commerce platform that allows anyone to sell digital downloads, courses, memberships, and more and get paid instantly!
Its sleek, intuitive user interface and drag-and-drop store builder make it easy to build your storefront, create your products, and start selling.
Over 130,000 driven creators sell through Payhip, including independent authors, artists, educators, Twitter, YouTube bloggers, and TikTok vloggers.
TL;DR – Why Should You Use Payhip in 2024?
Payhip lets you get started with selling digital products, courses, coaching, membership, merch, and more for FREE and get paid instantly via Stripe and PayPal. The platform is super easy to use with excellent marketing features to supercharge your sales.
Payhip Review: A Quick Preview of its Features!
- Instant Stripe + PayPal payments
- Built-in store builder + blogging platform
- Stunning, embeddable checkout buttons
- Beginner-friendly, no-code interface
- Secure file management framework
- Reports and pays 100% digital EU+UK VAT
- Built-in referral system + affiliate program
- Offer coupon codes, upselling, and cross-selling
- Seamless email marketing integrations
- Built-in customer stats + connect Google Analytics
- Integrations with Zapier for flawless automation
- 24/7 customer support + Twitter online presence
Payhip Review: Key Features + Benefits
In this section, I’ll highlight the key features that make Payhip the best all-in-one e-commerce platform for creators and why they are useful for sellers!
I’ll focus much on YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter content creators who want to create a passive income stream by selling products and services online.
1. Instant Stripe + PayPal Payments
To start selling on Payhip, you’ll need to connect your payment account. They allow you to connect either PayPal or Stripe, or both!
TIP: The PayPal account can either be personal or business. So as long as you have a PayPal account, you can start selling on Payhip.
When a customer buys your products or service, Payhip transfers the payment to your Stripe or Paypal account instantly.
The process is automated! You will get instant payments as the transaction happens, minus the Payhip and Stripe/Paypal fees.
2. Built-in Store Builder + Blogging Platform
Payhip’s intuitive, robust drag-and-drop store builder lets you design sleek storefront websites.
You can connect your custom domain and make customizations with your brand colors, fonts, and styles.
You don’t need prior design skills to create a beautiful storefront website with the Payhip store builder.
It comes with a blogging platform that is SEO-ready. It helps ensure your products and content are hosted on the same platform.
Payhip provides free hosting and a FREE SSL certificate to secure your website so customers can feel safe buying your products.
For example, Kelly Brito has created a stunning website with Payhip. She does branding for small businesses and also sells digital products and memberships.
3. Stunning, Embeddable Checkout Buttons
The Payhip checkout experience is stunningly responsive, and the checkout buttons are beautiful to inspire conversion across all devices.
Creators can sell directly from their Payhip storefront or embed the checkout buttons on platforms like WordPress, Webflow, Twitter, and more!
4. Beginner-Friendly, No-Code Interface
You don’t need any technical expertise to get started with Payhip. The platform is super easy to use, set up, and navigate.
The dashboard is designed in a way that it’s easy to navigate. The built-in drag-and-drop store builder doesn’t require any coding skills!
Payhiup has made it dead simple to sell on their platform. You only need to add products, set up checkout, and easily customize your storefront.
The available, beautifully premade, fully customizable theme templates make the storefront design easy.
5. Secure File Management Framework
One of the greatest enemies of selling digital downloads like ebooks and software is copyright infringement, especially piracy.
Payhip has put up great mechanisms to help protect your work and files against piracy and illegal distribution.
They include a PDF stamp system that auto-stamps the PDF file with the customer’s email on every page to discourage customers from illegal sharing.
Payhip also limits the number of download attempts. By default, a customer can only download each file three times, to limit download link sharing.
To protect your software, Payhip issues software licenses. They handle the generation, storage, and issues of keys.
6. Reports and Pays Digital EU+UK VAT
Payhip reports and pays digital EU+UK VAT on your behalf and assumes full responsibility by complying with these laws, so you don’t have to!
If a customer buys a digital product in the EU and the UK, Payhip acts as your reseller, meaning they are 100% responsible for digital EU+UK VAT.
Their built-in framework detects if a customer is based in the EU or UK and applies the correct VAT amount on the transaction based on the country’s tax rate.
Payhip will then report and submit any VAT amounts collected to the relevant tax authorities quarterly.
7. Built-in Referral System + Affiliate Program
Payhip features several powerful built-in marketing tools to help you drive sales and conversions.
With the built-in affiliate program, you can harness the power of affiliates by rewarding your followers and fans when they recruit new customers.
You can easily set the affiliate commission percentage and whether it’ll be a one-time or recurring payment for memberships.
With the referral program, you can incentivize your customers to share your products with their followers and offer them a special price.
For example, you can tell them to; “Refer a friend and get 25% off! They’ll get 25% off too.” It’s a great way of supercharging your sales!
8. Offer Coupons, Upsells, & Cross-Selling
Offering coupon codes is a flexible and proven way of converting new customers with irresistible discounts.
You can also create a sense of FOMO by adding expiration dates and limiting the use number when creating the coupon codes.
With Payhip, you can also cross-sell by promoting additional products to buyers by offering incentives like discounts.
You can also do upsells and even reward customers who have previously purchased one of your products.
9. Seamless Email Marketing Integrations
Payhip is connected to Zapier, which helps you easily handle automation like email marketing software integrations.
What’s more, their platform allows you to integrate these popular third-party email marketing tools directly:
- ConvertKit
- MailChimp
- GetResponse
- SendFox
- Active Campaign
- AWeber
- Campaign Monitor
- Drip
- Elastic Email
- Email Octopus
- MadMimi
With such integrations, you can build and manage your email list and keep your customers engaged as you grow your business with email.
10. Built-in Customer Stats + Connect Google Analytics
Payhip features built-in analytics and customer stats platforms to access data on all your products’ daily views, sales, and visitor sources.
In the customer area, you can review all sales reports, learn more about your customers, and update them via email.
In the analytics area, you can also access the total sales, unique customers, and total orders at any given time range.
You can also view the conversion rate from when potential customers view your product to when they start and complete checkout.
Other helpful data for your business include the visitor map with the countries your visitors are based in.
TIP: For an in-depth view of your customers’ behavior, Payhip allows you to integrate Google Analytics in very easy steps!
11. Integrations with Zapier for Automations
Payhip is connected to Zapier, the leading workflow automation platform in the world, to help you run your business like a pro!
To save time, you can easily connect the platforms you frequently use for your creator business. No code is required!
Are you a WordPress blogger who wants to sell an eBook or course on Payhip? You can easily connect Payhip + WordPress via Zapier,
You can add, embed checkouts, or integrate Payhip on other platforms like Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, and more!
12. 24/7 Customer Support + Online Presence
Payhip has one of the best customer support. You can easily reach them on the platform, send them an email, or even reach them on Twitter.
They have also made great efforts to create over 103 Payhip documentation articles on their help center page.
Such documentation includes articles on getting started with Payhip, customizations, popular questions, and account settings.
Payhip Review: What Can You Sell on Payhip?
The question should be, what can’t you sell on Payhip? Because the platform allows you to sell anything from digital downloads to physical merch.
1. Digital Downloads
If you can download it on your device, you can sell it on Payhip from ebooks, workbooks, software, music, courses, fonts, templates, presets, and printables.
2. Online Courses
Payhip lets you create and sell online courses. Their impressive sales funnel-like course player allows you to customize the entire course process.
3. Membership
You can gate exclusive content behind a paywall with Payhip. Such content includes premium blog posts, videos, images, links to content in third-party platforms, polls, and other embedded content.
4. Coaching Service
You can build a thriving coaching business on Payhip by directly integrating with Calendly and Zoom for scheduling and video calls.
The entire process is streamlined to simplify it for you and your clients to schedule meetings, set up video calls, share upcoming events, and communicate.
You can decide how you want to receive new clients and also set pricing plans for your coaching whether:
- One-time payment
- Recurring subscription payment
- A payment plan with a fixed number of monthly payments
- Free of charge (great for lead magnet)
5. Physical Products
Payhip also lets you set the starting date and whether it will be a 1:1 coaching or group classes with set enrollment periods,
Payhip lets you sell physical merch like t-shirts, mugs, and paperbacks. If you can sell it on a platform like Amazon or Etsy, you can sell it on Payhip!
They help you manage inventory, fulfill orders, run promotions, and more. Like Shopify, you can build your online e-commerce store in minutes.
6. Bundle Products
Sell a bundle product that contains a section of your other products, often at a reduced price of two or more.
Payhip Review: How it Works – Design + Customization
-> Coming soon!
Payhip Review: Pros + Cons
Payhip Pros:
- You can connect Stripe or PayPal, or both!
- A sleek, beginner-friendly user interface.
- An easy-to-use drag-and-drop storefront builder.
- Stunning premade theme templates to get you started.
- A fantastic customer support with a presence on social media.
- Impressive file security features to protect your craft.
- Generate license keys for selling software products.
- Instant product file delivery for increased sales and conversions.
- You can use Payhip’s embeddable checkout buttons on any website.
- Excellent marketing tools and email list integrations.
- The free plan gets you all its features for only a flat 5% fee!
- They handle digital EU+UK VAT taxes.
Payhip Cons:
- Payhip isn’t a merchant of record.
- File upload sizes are limited to 5GB per file.
- Limited functionalities for selling physical merch.
- Doesn’t support Crypto, Apple Pay, & Google Pay.
Payhip Review: Plans + Pricing
What I love about Payhip is its simple but genius pricing model. It has three plans that have the same features – all the features!
Yes, you access all the features, can sell unlimited products, and make unlimited revenue on any of its plans, including the free plan!
Free Plan: Free Forever for a 5% Transaction Fee
- You access all the features and benefits above for free forever.
- You are only charged a flat 5% transaction fee which is way lower than what Gumroad charges for all users.
- You can sell unlimited products and make unlimited revenue.
TIP: The FREE plan is perfect for beginner creators with small and irregular sales. You can easily upgrade to the Plus or Pro plans when your business grows.
Plus Plan: $29/Month + 2% Transaction Fee
- You access all the features and benefits above for $29 per month.
- You are also charged a small flat 2% transaction fee on top of the monthly subscription fee.
- You can sell unlimited products and make unlimited revenue.
TIP: The Plus plan is perfect for sellers with a growing business with irregular revenue. Once your business grows, you can switch to the Pro plan.
Pro Plan: $99/Month with NO Transaction Fees
- You access all the features and benefits above for only $99 per month.
- You can sell unlimited products and make unlimited revenue.
TIP: The Pro plan is ideal for sellers migrating from Gumroad and other platforms with large sales. No matter how big your business becomes, you will only have to pay $99/month, even when you make $10k or $100k, or even $1m!
Payhip Review: Reddit Users Experiences!
Reddit is a great platform for honest opinions from other users when deciding whether or not to use a new platform.
I suggest you search Google for “payhip review Reddit.” Then click the first few links and see what other Reddittors say about Payhip.
I did the same, and the platform’s reception is positive! Some designers even consider Payhip over Etsy to sell knitting and crochet patterns.
Payhip Review: Drawbacks + Remedies
In this section, I have highlighted the main drawbacks that other creators and I have encountered with Payhip. And offered possible remedies so you can navigate around them.
1. Not a Merchant of Record
A merchant of record (MoR) is a legal entity, usually a SaaS platform like Paddle, that handles all payments, collects and reports taxes, and takes 100% responsibility for compliance.
An MoR offers creators and developers an alternative to building their own payment stack. By offloading the operational work, creators can focus on creating, marketing, and driving sales – what they do best!
Payhip is only an MoR for digital EU+UK VAT. By acting as your reseller in the EU+UK, Payhip assumes full responsibility for complying with the digital VAT tax laws.
An MoR usually acts as a reseller, such that two transactions will always take place during a sale:
- One between the customer and the MoR;
- Between MoR and you (creator or seller).
To assume liability, the MoR’s business name appears on the customer’s credit card statement. In case of a dispute or compliance issue with authorities, the MoR assumes full responsibility!
Sellers can choose to let Payhip become their “partial MoR” in other taxes. That’s especially if you’re a seller from countries like the US, Australia, Singapore, etc., with well-established tax laws and systems.
Payhip will detect if a customer falls under the tax rules you’ve defined and apply the correct amount to their transaction. They will then auto-generate a monthly sales report to simplify tax reporting.
2. You Must Have a Stripe or PayPal Account
To start selling and get paid on Payhip, you need a Stripe or PayPal account or both. The platform does not do Payoneer or Wise payouts.
Payhip doesn’t actually do “payouts”; their system is built to transfer your funds from every sale to your account instantly.
Such that, if a customer buys from your Payhip store via Paypal, your money is instantly credited to your PayPal account, minus their fees.
The same applies when a customer buys from your Payhip store via Stripe; the payment is instantly credited to your Stripe account.
If you live in a country where Stripe is not available, and PayPal often gets frequent limitations, I suggest you find a walkaround on it.
It’s now easy to create a Stripe account with Stripe Atlas, or its alternatives by incorporating an LLC in the US or an Ltd in the UK.
With an LLC and EIN, you can create a US PayPal Business account and run your creator hustle like a business by receiving payments from anywhere!
Payhip Review: FAQs + Brutally Honest Answers!
Payhip has an FAQ section on its platform with complete but concise answers. Read my honest answers to the ten most important Payhip FAQs below.
1. Is Payhip Legit?
Yes, the Payhip platform is a legit place to do business. Over 130,000 sellers trust and use it, and it has a consumer rating of 4.1 stars from 61 reviews on TrustPilot.
2. Is Payhip Safe to Buy From?
Payhip is 100% secure and safe to use. They do not store your card details. Stripe and PayPal handle all payments.
3. What Can I Sell in Payhip?
As an all-in-one e-commerce platform, Payhip allows you to sell virtually anything to anyone, from ebooks to software, online courses, memberships, coaching, and physical merch.
4. Is it Free to Sell on Payhip?
You can get started with selling your products for free with Payhip. No monthly fees, only a 5% transaction fee per sale, and you receive your money instantly.
5. How Does Payhip Pay You?
Payhip instantly transfers payments from each sale you make to your Stripe or PayPal account, minus PayPal/Stripe fees and Payhip’s fees.
6. Do You Need PayPal for Payhip?
You can connect your PayPal or Stripe account, or both, to start selling and getting paid on Payhip.
7. How Much Does Payhip Charge?
Payhip charges a low 5% transaction fee per sale, which is half of what it’s the best alternative, Gumroad, chargers – 10% per sale.
8. Can You Sell Videos on Payhip?
Yes, you can sell videos on Payhip as a digital download in the digital product section or as a video tutorial in the online course section.
9. Can I Sell eBooks on Payhip?
Yes, you can sell eBooks on Payhip by adding them to the digital product section. The eBook file can be in PDF or ePub, among other formats!
10. How Do I Start Payhip?
To start selling on Payhip, click here to create your free account, add your product, create a simple storefront, and share with your potential customers.
Payhip Review: Verdict + the Lemon Squeezy Alternative!
Payhip is a wonderful all-in-one e-commerce platform that allows creators and entrepreneurs to sell virtually anything online.
It’s the perfect platform for creators who want to sell digital products, courses, coaching, and memberships like a pro!
You only need a Stripe and/or PayPal account and your first product or lead magnet to get started on Payhip for FREE!
One of the main drawbacks of Payhip is that it doesn’t act as a merchant of record (MoR) but only handles digital EU+UK VAT taxes.
The best Payhip alternatives that act as an MoR include Lemon Squeezy, which I highly recommend as the best Payhip alternative, Paddle, and Gumroad.
Lemon Squeezy is a wonderful all-in-one platform for running a SaaS business. It handles payments, subscriptions, global tax compliance, fraud prevention, and multi-currency support!
They don’t charge any monthly fee. You can get started on the platform for free and only pay 5% + $.50 transaction fees for every sale.
And while the platform specializes in SaaS businesses, you can also sell digital downloads like PDF ebooks, software, printables, etc., on the platform.
