Publica Now vs Gumroad
Gumroad is great as a simple storefront with Merchant of Record handling taxes. Publica Now is great when you want a curated profile with real organic discovery and LATAM support.
TL;DR — in 3 lines
Table built with data verified May 13, 2026. Sources are in each quote below.
| Supported formats | Publica Now | Gumroad |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | 15% | 10% |
| Flat per-transaction fee | USD 0.50 | USD 0.50 |
| Effective total cost | ~15% | ~12.5% |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-format | Yes | Yes |
| Subscriptions | Yes | Yes |
| Discount codes | Yes | Yes |
| Handles taxes (MoR) | No | Yes |
| Content ownership | 100% creator-owned | Creator-owned |
| Discovery algorithm | — | Gumroad Discover (+30%) |
Gumroad charges 10% + USD 0.50 per direct sale, same structure as Publica Now though 5pp lower in the percentage. But Gumroad adds 30% extra if the sale came from the Discover marketplace — this can push total fees to 40%+. Publica Now has no discovery fee: the marketplace is included.
Gumroad Discover exists but its attribution is opaque: creators report not being able to verify where each sale came from, and the ROI of the 30% surcharge is debatable. Publica Now has a curated marketplace by category with organic discovery around the creator's catalog, no extra fee.
Since January 2025, Gumroad is Merchant of Record: it handles VAT, sales tax, and fiscal compliance globally. That's a real advantage for creators who sold to EU/UK/AU and got tangled in VAT. Publica Now is not MoR — the creator is responsible for declaring and paying taxes. If fiscal simplicity is your #1 priority, Gumroad wins on this point.
There's a track record worth knowing: Gumroad changed pricing in February 2023 from tiered (~3-9%) to 10% flat. Justin Jackson documented that for sellers above USD 100k/year that doubled their fees. ConvertKit described it as "creators felt blindsided". Publica Now has had a single public pricing model since launch.
Both platforms export customer CSVs, retain creator rights, and don't require exclusivity. Minor difference: with Gumroad as MoR, the buyer sees "Gumroad" as the seller on their invoice; with Publica Now, the creator is seller of record (helpful for branding but adds fiscal responsibility).
When Gumroad is the better choice
When Publica Now is the better choice
You sell digital products for USD 2,000/month, 60% via your own URL and 40% via the Discover marketplace.
| Publica Now | Gumroad | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee on direct sales (USD 1,200) | 15% × 1,200 = USD 180 | 10% × 1,200 = USD 120 |
| Fee on marketplace sales (USD 800) | 15% × 800 = USD 120 | 40% × 800 = USD 320 |
| Transaction fees (40 sales) | USD 0.50 × 40 = USD 20 | ~USD 20 |
| Total fees | USD 320 (16%) | USD 460 (23%) |
| You keep | USD 1,680 | USD 1,540 |
If a significant portion of your sales comes from the marketplace, Publica Now is cheaper because there's no extra charge for discovery. The operational question: do you prefer more cash or to have the platform handle VAT? That depends on your market.
Migration
What DOES transfer
What DOESN'T transfer
Complexity
Low — Gumroad is relatively open about data export.
Estimated time
60-90 minutes to move products. Recurring subs are the standard bottleneck.
What creators say
Verbatim quotes from public reviews and creator communities in 2025-2026. Sources are linked.
Under the old pricing, a creator earning USD 100k/year paid 3.5-4% in fees. With the new 10% flat fee, they effectively pay more than double.
Many creators felt blindsided by the abrupt pricing change and the lack of a generous grandfathering policy for long-time customers.
30% on top of the regular 10% for Discover sales means giving up 40%+ of revenue, and attribution is a black box.
We've been loyal to Gumroad for years, now our fees are more than double and there's no easy export and migration path. Feels like they waited until we depended on them.
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