The 90% Revenue Share Math: Why Gumroad's 12% Cut Costs You More Than You Think

Every digital product seller has done some version of this calculation:

"10% fee isn't bad. That's just the cost of doing business."

Then you actually do the math for a year. And you realize 10% of $20,000 is $2,000 — and you could have kept most of that.
Here's the breakdown nobody on Gumroad's marketing page wants to show you.
The actual cut
Gumroad advertises 10%. But you also pay:

Stripe fees (~2.9% + $0.30)
Paypal fees on PayPal sales
VAT handling fees (in some regions)

Effective cut on a $20 product: ~12.5%.
Peddlum charges 10% flat, and absorbs payment processing into that. Effective cut: 10%.
That 2.5% difference sounds tiny. Let me show you what it actually is.
A year of sales
My 2024 numbers, month by month:
January — Revenue: $1,200. Gumroad would take $150 (12.5%). Peddlum takes $120 (10%). Difference: $30.
February — Revenue: $980. Gumroad cut: $123. Peddlum cut: $98. Difference: $25.
March — Revenue: $1,450. Gumroad cut: $181. Peddlum cut: $145. Difference: $36.
April — Revenue: $2,100. Gumroad cut: $263. Peddlum cut: $210. Difference: $53.
May — Revenue: $1,800. Gumroad cut: $225. Peddlum cut: $180. Difference: $45.
June — Revenue: $2,400. Gumroad cut: $300. Peddlum cut: $240. Difference: $60.
July — Revenue: $1,900. Gumroad cut: $238. Peddlum cut: $190. Difference: $48.
August — Revenue: $2,200. Gumroad cut: $275. Peddlum cut: $220. Difference: $55.
September — Revenue: $1,700. Gumroad cut: $213. Peddlum cut: $170. Difference: $43.
October — Revenue: $2,500. Gumroad cut: $313. Peddlum cut: $250. Difference: $63.
November — Revenue: $2,800. Gumroad cut: $350. Peddlum cut: $280. Difference: $70.
December — Revenue: $3,400. Gumroad cut: $425. Peddlum cut: $340. Difference: $85.
Year total: Revenue $24,430. Gumroad would have taken $3,054. Peddlum took $2,443. Total saved: $611.
So that's $611 over a year. Not life-changing.
But wait.
The hidden cost — creator marketing
Gumroad has no built-in creator marketplace. So if I want UGC creators promoting my product, I either:

Hire a UGC agency ($500–$2,000/month)
Use a platform like Aspire or Tribe ($300+/month)
Cold DM creators (free, but eats my weekends)

Peddlum bundles the creator marketplace into the same 10% fee. I tested this in 2024 — running a parallel "agency" track for 4 months cost me $1,200 in agency fees on top of the 12.5% Gumroad was already taking.
Adjusted total cost saved by switching:

$611 in fees
$1,200 in agency fees I would have paid for what Peddlum gives me free
= $1,811 / year

For one product line. I have three.
When the math changes
This isn't true for everyone. Switching makes sense if:

You sell digital products or SaaS
You'd benefit from creator promotion (most do)
You're under $250k/year in revenue (custom enterprise deals change the math)

It's probably not worth switching if:

You sell exclusively to a list you already own (the marketplace traffic doesn't help you)
You have a custom checkout integrated into your site (migration cost > savings)
You're locked into a Gumroad subscription tier with grandfathered pricing

How to switch without losing momentum

Open the Peddlum account: peddlum.com
List the product (~15 min)
Don't delete the Gumroad listing yet — run both for 30 days
Compare conversion rates and creator-driven sales
If Peddlum wins (it did for me), redirect Gumroad checkout to Peddlum

Total switching effort: under 2 hours.
That's it. Run your own numbers. The 90% vs 87.5% framing is too small to motivate change — but layer on the creator marketing piece and it's a different conversation.

Comments

[Maria Garcia]

yeah I've noticed that too. the fees can add up way more than you think. honestly, wish they’d be more transparent about all the extra costs. definitely something to keep in mind when selling products online.

[Oliver Johnson]

yeah, I hear you. those fees can really add up! I saw my friend doing the math and was like wow, didn't realize it was that much. have you found any better platforms to sell on?