Payhip vs Sellfy: Which One’s Right for Digital Product Sellers in 2025?

If you’re selling digital products, Payhip vs Sellfy is a decision you’re probably Googling at 2 AM with 12 tabs open, wondering which one will help you make money faster without making your life harder.

I’ve used both. And they’re both solid. But after selling ebooks, templates, and a mini course on each platform, I’ve got strong opinions on which is better for different types of creators. Spoiler: they’re not interchangeable. One is a lean, customizable tool for creators who want control. The other is sleek, beginner-friendly, and all about simplicity — but with limitations.

So here’s everything I’ve learned. The wins, the headaches, and the dealbreakers — from actually using both Payhip and Sellfy.

Sellfy: Clean and Quick… But Pretty Rigid

I started with Sellfy because it looked like everything I wanted. Super clean UI, simple product creation, and it promised an “instant storefront.” And it delivered — I had my first product up in under 10 minutes.

• Interface? One of the smoothest I’ve used.

• Setup? Ridiculously easy. Upload, price, publish.

• Built-in features? You get email marketing, discount codes, upsells, subscriptions, even print-on-demand.

But the catch came fast — once I needed to customize things or scale my offerings, I hit the platform’s limits. There’s no real storefront control. No blog. No custom pages. Even the branding options felt locked down unless I was on the highest paid tier.

Also: no free plan. You get a 14-day trial, then you’re stuck picking a paid plan starting at $29/month — even if you haven’t made a sale yet.

Payhip: More Tools, More Control. With a Gentler Learning Curve

After running into Sellfy’s paywall and feature caps, I tried Payhip. I expected it to feel clunky — but it’s not. It’s clean, intuitive, and actually gave me more tools without asking for my credit card right away.

Here’s what surprised me most:

• You can start for free. No trial. No expiry. Just a 5% transaction fee until you’re ready to upgrade to a paid plan (then it’s 2% or 0%).

• You get everything from the start. Email marketing, affiliate system, PDF stamping, upsells, courses, memberships — no tiered feature locks.

• You can customize your storefront. I added pages, a blog, an FAQ — it felt like a legit business hub instead of just a checkout cart.

And I got paid immediately via Stripe or PayPal. No delays, no minimum thresholds.

Honestly, Payhip made me feel like I was building something — not just listing a product and hoping it sells.

Feature Showdown: The Stuff That Actually Matters

Let’s break it down by what creators actually use (not just the fluff on the pricing page):

When Sellfy Makes More Sense?

Look, Sellfy isn’t bad. It’s great if you:

• Want to sell fast with a clean UI.

• Need print-on-demand integration (Payhip doesn’t offer this yet).

• Are okay paying monthly for a polished, simple setup.

• Don’t care much about customizing your storefront or long-term growth features like blogging.

If you’re launching one or two digital products and want to keep things super minimal, Sellfy gets the job done. But you’re locked into their ecosystem, and scaling means paying more — fast.

Why I Stuck with Payhip?

Payhip won me over because it grew with me. I started with a single PDF download. Now I’ve got a full digital product library, an evergreen course, a lead magnet, affiliate partners — all running inside Payhip.

I didn’t have to Frankenstein together apps or pay extra for things like email campaigns or gated content. I just… built. At my pace.

And when I hit my first $1k month? I was still only paying $29 and not a cent more in surprise app fees.

Final Thoughts: What’s Right for You?

Here’s the TL;DR:

• Go with Sellfy if…

  • You want something polished and quick.

  • You’re selling physical merch + digital.

  • You prefer a “set it and forget it” model.

  • You don’t mind paying from day one.

• Go with Payhip if…

  • You want more control over branding and growth.

  • You sell digital products, courses, or memberships.

  • You want to test ideas without upfront risk.

  • You want all-in-one tools without extra costs.

I still recommend both to people but for most digital product creators, especially if you’re just getting started or scaling up on a budget, Payhip is the better long-term move.

Want a walkthrough or template on how I structured my Payhip storefront? Happy to share it — just let me know.