Publica Now vs Gumroad
Gumroad and Publica Now are both Merchant of Record — VAT and sales tax are handled by the platform on both. The real differences are pricing structure, the 30% Discover surcharge, and the discovery model.
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 | 20% | 10% |
| Flat per-transaction fee | USD 0.30 | USD 0.50 |
| Effective total cost | ~22.4% | ~20.9% |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-format | Yes | Yes |
| Subscriptions | Yes | Yes |
| Discount codes | Yes | Yes |
| Handles taxes (MoR) | Yes | Yes |
| Content ownership | 100% creator-owned | Creator-owned |
| Discovery algorithm | — | Gumroad Discover (+30%) |
Gumroad charges 10% + USD 0.50 per direct sale AND passes card processing through on top (2.9% + USD 0.30), so the real cost is about 20.9% on a USD 9.99 sale — not the 10% the headline suggests. Ours is 20% + USD 0.30 with processing already inside it. But Gumroad adds 30% extra if the sale came from the Discover marketplace — this can push total fees to 40%+, above Publica Now's 20%. Publica Now has no discovery fee: the marketplace is included in the commission.
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.
Both platforms operate as Merchant of Record: VAT, sales tax, and fiscal compliance on cross-border sales are handled by the platform — you receive a clean payout, not a stack of country-by-country tax obligations. Gumroad has been MoR since January 2025; Publica Now operates as MoR globally (with explicit local registration in LATAM and the EU). On this axis the two platforms are at parity — pick on pricing and discovery, not on tax handling.
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. Both also act as Merchant of Record, so the buyer sees the platform name on their invoice in either case. The real ownership difference is the catalog model: Gumroad treats each product as a standalone storefront; Publica Now gives you a curated creator profile under your own URL that aggregates every work you publish.
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) | 20% after the fixed fee = USD 397.60 | 10% × 1,200 = USD 120 |
| Fee on marketplace sales (USD 800) | No marketplace fee — same rate either way | 40% × 800 = USD 320 |
| Transaction fees (40 sales) | USD 0.30 × 40 = USD 12 | ~USD 20 |
| Total fees | USD 409.60 (20.5%) | USD 460 |
| You keep | USD 1,590.40 | USD 1,540 |
In this specific mix Gumroad ends up slightly cheaper, because its base rate is lower. The real difference isn't the fee: Gumroad charges the 30% Discover cut opaquely and treats each product as an isolated storefront, while Publica Now includes the marketplace in the commission and groups all your work into one curated multi-format profile with LATAM payment rails. And if you join as a Founding Author, your commission stays at 15% + USD 0.30 for life — below Gumroad's total in this scenario.
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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