Setup101 vs Gumroad
Choose Gumroad
Gumroad if you sell lots of different digital products (ebooks, presets, templates, files) or want someone else to handle sales tax and VAT on every sale worldwide.
Choose Setup101
Setup101 if your course teaches the gear you use. A 101 Course sits on the setup it teaches, every lesson can show the products with their buy links, and the course is part of the same page as your gear list and link in bio.
At a glance
Feature comparison
| Capability | Setup101 | Gumroad |
|---|---|---|
| Sell a course for a one-off price | ✓ | ✓ |
| Offer free courses too | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sell courses with no monthly feeBoth take a share of each sale instead of a monthly fee. Setup101's share depends on your plan; card fees come out of your share. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Course shown on the setup and products it teachesOn Setup101 a course appears as "Learn this setup" on your setup and "Learn to use it" on each product page. | ✓ | — |
| Product cards with buy links inside lessonsGumroad lessons can contain links. Setup101 lessons show product cards from your gear list, with click tracking per lesson. | ✓ | ◐ |
| Sell any digital file (ebooks, presets, templates) | — | ✓ |
| Upload and host your own videosSetup101 lessons embed video from YouTube, Vimeo, Loom or Wistia. | — | ✓ |
| Handles sales tax and VAT for you | — | ✓ |
| Link-in-bio micrositeGumroad has a profile page for your products; Setup101 includes a full link-in-bio page. | ✓ | ◐ |
◐ means partly, or only in some circumstances. See pricing for what each Setup101 plan includes.
Also in Setup101
- iOS and Android apps
- Promo codes on products, tracked separately
- Broken-link alerts
- Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee and Shopify buttons
- Apps and software alongside physical products
- Setup total price, worked out for you
- Private setups for drafts
- Follow, like, comment and save
Pricing, plainly
Pricing side by side
Setup101
- Free to start, with no monthly fee to sell courses.
- Setup101 keeps a share of each sale; the share depends on your plan. Card fees come out of your share.
- You're paid 14 days after each sale, after the refund window.
- Free courses cost nothing to run, with no limit on how many you make.
Gumroad
- No monthly fee.
- 10% + $0.50 per sale through your profile or direct links; 30% on sales from Gumroad Discover.
- Gumroad is the merchant of record and handles sales tax and VAT for you.
From Gumroad's site, checked 15 October 2026. Prices change, so check before you decide.
Honest limits
Where Gumroad is better
No tool wins on everything, and a comparison that pretends otherwise is not worth reading. Here is where Gumroad genuinely has the advantage.
- Sells almost any digital product, not just courses: ebooks, presets, templates, memberships and files.
- As merchant of record, Gumroad collects and pays sales tax and VAT worldwide, so you don't have to.
- Hosts your files and videos for you.
- Gumroad Discover can bring you buyers who have never heard of you (at a higher 30% fee).
Switching
Moving from Gumroad to Setup101
- 01Keep Gumroad for downloads and other digital products. You don't have to move everything.
- 02Rebuild a gear course as a 101 Course: connect it to the setup and products it teaches, then add lessons with your existing video links.
- 03Add product cards to the lessons where you mention a product, so learners can buy it from the lesson.
- 04Point your link in bio at both: your 101 Courses show automatically, and you can add a link to your Gumroad store.
See how 101 Courses work, from the first lesson to the first sale. 101 Course →
Questions, answered