Forge Payments vs Gumroad
Forge Payments vs Gumroad: fees, tax and who each fits
Gumroad: 10% + $0.50 per transaction on direct sales, 30% when a new customer finds you through its Discover marketplace, and no monthly fee. Forge Payments: Forge Payments charges one all-in fee per sale, card processing included: Free 13% + 30¢, Pro 9% + 30¢, Business 7% + 30¢, Enterprise per contract. Read from Gumroad's pricing page on 2026-10-22; re-check before you decide, because both sides change.
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Fees on the same sale
On a $20.00 sale the Gumroad headline fee is $2.50, against Free $2.90, Pro $2.10, Business $1.70 on Forge.
On a $100.00 sale: Gumroad headline $10.50; Forge Free $13.30, Pro $9.30, Business $7.30.
Forge Pro costs $59 a month. Its per-sale saving over Gumroad's headline rate on a $100.00 sale is $1.20, so the plan price alone is covered by fee savings only at about $4,917 of sales a month. Choose Pro for the app it includes, not for the fee.
| Scenario | Fee | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Gumroad headline rate, $20.00 sale | $2.50 | 10% + $0.50 |
| Forge Free, $20.00 sale | $2.90 | 13% + 30¢ |
| Forge Pro, $20.00 sale | $2.10 | 9% + 30¢ |
| Forge Business, $20.00 sale | $1.70 | 7% + 30¢ |
| Gumroad headline rate, $100.00 sale | $10.50 | 10% + $0.50 |
| Forge Free, $100.00 sale | $13.30 | 13% + 30¢ |
| Forge Pro, $100.00 sale | $9.30 | 9% + 30¢ |
| Forge Business, $100.00 sale | $7.30 | 7% + 30¢ |
Tax
Gumroad states that it handles all tax obligations for sellers, including VAT and GST.
Forge Payments is not the seller of record and does not file or remit sales tax or VAT for you, so you stay responsible for the tax on your sales.
Choose Gumroad if
- You sell digital products and want a ready-made storefront today, with no app to build.
- You want the seller of record to handle VAT, GST and sales tax for you.
- You want a marketplace (Discover) to send you new customers, and accept its 30% on those sales.
Choose Forge64 if
- The payment flow is part of an app you are building: accounts, a database, subscriptions or a billing page.
- You expect enough sales volume that a lower per-sale rate on a paid plan matters.
- You want to own the product experience and export the code and data later.
What is and is not available today
Forge Payments is rolling out: it is built and tested, and a production step is still pending, so confirm availability in your dashboard before you plan a launch around it.
Payouts to sellers in more countries are coming soon. Today Forge Payments serves sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland and the European Economic Area.
FAQ
- Is Forge Payments cheaper than Gumroad?
- It depends on the sale and the plan. On a $20.00 sale the Gumroad headline fee is $2.50, against Free $2.90, Pro $2.10, Business $1.70 on Forge. Forge Payments is one all-in fee that includes card processing, and it does not include tax handling; Gumroad describes its own tax handling above. Compare the total cost for your own mix of sales.
- Does Forge Payments handle tax like Gumroad?
- Forge Payments is not the seller of record and does not file or remit sales tax or VAT for you, so you stay responsible for the tax on your sales.
- Can I use Gumroad and Forge64 together?
- Forge64 builds the app and Forge Payments is how that app gets paid. Whether to keep a store on Gumroad alongside it is your call; they are separate products with separate fees.
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