Two creators sell the same $30 ebook. Same niche, same audience. One uses Gumroad. The other uses NanoCart with their own payment provider.
After 40 sales in a month, the first creator has paid $140 in platform fees to Gumroad. The second has paid €3.99 for the NanoCart subscription. That's not a rounding difference. That's $140 versus €3.99 for the same function: host a product page and process the checkout.
That gap doesn't shrink as revenue grows. It widens. This post puts both models side by side at five revenue levels so the math speaks for itself.
Two Models, Same Function
Both deliver the same thing: a product page and a checkout. The only question is how you pay for it.
The Numbers at Five Revenue Levels
All calculations assume a $30 product, direct sales only. The table compares only platform fees — what Gumroad takes versus what NanoCart costs. Gumroad: 10% + $0.50 per sale. NanoCart: €2.50/month on the annual plan (€30/year).
| Monthly revenue | Gumroad fees/year | NanoCart cost/year |
|---|---|---|
| $150 (5 sales/mo) | $210 | €30 |
| $300 (10 sales/mo) | $420 | €30 |
| $600 (20 sales/mo) | $840 | €30 |
| $1,200 (40 sales/mo) | $1,680 | €30 |
| $3,000 (100 sales/mo) | $4,200 | €30 |
NanoCart costs €30/year at every revenue level. Gumroad fees grow with every sale. At $300/month you're paying $420/year to Gumroad versus €30. At $3,000/month the gap is $4,200 versus €30.
The Growth Penalty
Percentage-based pricing punishes improvement. Every price increase, every new product, every successful promotion increases the platform fee in lockstep.
Julian sold a $20 Notion template pack on Gumroad for six months. He expanded it into a $55 bundle with Figma files and walkthroughs. Same audience, same link, better product. His Gumroad fee per sale jumped from $2.50 to $6.00. Over 30 monthly sales, that's an extra $105/month going to the platform because his product got better. Julian did the work. Gumroad's contribution stayed the same.
On NanoCart, the same upgrade costs him nothing extra in platform fees. The entire $105 stays with Julian. If you sell Notion templates specifically, there's a separate guide on selling them without a marketplace.
This pattern compounds over time. A creator who raises prices twice in a year, adds a second product, or bundles existing products pays an ever-growing percentage fee to a platform that didn't contribute to any of those improvements. NanoCart doesn't care how much you charge or how many products you have. Your cost stays at €2.50–€3.99/month.
What Gumroad's Commission Actually Buys
At 10% + $0.50, you're paying for two things: a product page with checkout, and Merchant of Record status (tax handling worldwide). NanoCart gives you the first for a flat monthly fee. The second is the only thing Gumroad offers that NanoCart doesn't.
If your buyers are concentrated in one or two countries, tax compliance is something you or your accountant handle regardless. You're paying 10% per sale for a feature that doesn't apply to your situation.
The Discover marketplace is the other thing. But check your Gumroad analytics first. If fewer than 5% of your sales come from Discover, you're not using the marketplace. You're using a checkout page with a 10% surcharge.
Look at your Gumroad traffic sources for the past 90 days. What percentage of sales came from your own links versus Gumroad's Discover? If you drive 90%+ of your own traffic, you're paying 10% for a checkout page. That's the entire calculation.
What Switching Looks Like
The move takes an afternoon:
- Set up a payment provider account if you don't already have one (15 minutes)
- Create a NanoCart account, set up your products
- Update the link in your social bios, email footers, and website
- Old Gumroad links can redirect to the new page if you own your domain
Your audience follows you, not Gumroad. The link changes. The buyer experience stays the same. The full Gumroad vs own page comparison covers the non-financial tradeoffs.
NanoCart subscription starts from €2.50/month on an annual plan. No commission on any sale. You connect your own payment provider, and every transaction goes directly to your account.
Which Model Fits Your Situation
| Your situation | Better model |
|---|---|
| Testing a product, revenue under $150/month | Either works, difference is negligible |
| Revenue over $300/month, traffic from your own channels | NanoCart, savings compound monthly |
| Revenue over $1,000/month, all from social/email/video | NanoCart, you're paying $100+/month to Gumroad for a checkout page |
| Planning to raise prices or add products | NanoCart, growth doesn't increase platform cost |
| Global buyers in 15+ countries, tax compliance is a real problem | Gumroad's Merchant of Record handles this, but factor in the 10% cost |
Take your last three months of Gumroad payouts. Add up the total fees. Compare that to €2.50–€3.99/month. Multiply the difference by four. That's the annual cost of staying on Gumroad. For the exact fee math at every price point, see the full fee breakdown for 2026.