By Dan — Apr 10, 2027

MadeThis vs Gumroad vs Teachable in 2027: Which Platform Should You Use?

Platform choice is one of the most consequential early decisions in a digital product business.

Get it right and your infrastructure works quietly in the background while you focus on creating and marketing. Get it wrong and you're dealing with high fees eating into margins, missing features that require workarounds, or a platform that makes it hard to grow.

I've spent real time — and real money — on all three platforms I'm comparing today: MadeThis, Gumroad, and Teachable. Here's what I found.

The Quick Summary

Gumroad: The Zero-Friction Starting Point

If you want to sell your first digital product in the next hour, Gumroad wins on speed. No monthly fee, no approval process, no setup complexity.

You upload your file, set a price, and share the link. That's it.

The tradeoff: Gumroad's 10% transaction fee is one of the highest in the industry. On $5,000/month in revenue, you're paying $500+ to Gumroad before payment processing. At early revenue levels this is acceptable. At scale, it's painful.

Gumroad also lacks email automation, upsells, and order bumps — all features that meaningfully increase revenue per buyer. The Discover marketplace is a real benefit, but it's not enough to compensate for the fee structure as you grow.

Best for: Testing your first product idea before committing to a paid platform. Validating an offer quickly without setup overhead.

Full details in my Gumroad review.

Teachable: Best-in-Class for Video Courses

If you're building a structured multi-module video course — especially one with certification requirements or a detailed curriculum — Teachable is hard to beat.

The video hosting is reliable. The student experience is polished. The course navigation and progress tracking are built for professional learning environments. If perceived value is important (e.g., a $497+ professional course), Teachable's production quality supports that pricing.

The tradeoff: reaching zero transaction fees requires the Pro plan at $119/month. That's $1,428/year in overhead before a single product sale. For early-stage creators, this is significant.

Teachable also doesn't handle digital downloads well, lacks built-in email marketing, and isn't built for the creator who wants to sell a mix of products beyond structured courses.

Best for: Established creators with a validated course concept who need the polish and certification features, and who can absorb the $119/month cost within their revenue.

MadeThis: The All-in-One Creator Platform

MadeThis is built for the full digital product business model — not just one product type.

I use it to sell digital downloads, courses, and product bundles from a single platform that also handles my email list and checkout. No separate email tool, no separate course hosting, no separate checkout system.

What makes MadeThis different from Gumroad and Teachable:

Lower effective fees at scale. The fee structure is more favorable than Gumroad's 10% once you're doing meaningful revenue, and doesn't require $119/month before you've proven your product like Teachable.

Email + products in one place. This is the real differentiator. I don't pay for ConvertKit + Gumroad + Teachable separately. One platform, one bill, everything integrated.

Upsells and order bumps. These features meaningfully increase average order value. Gumroad doesn't have them. Teachable's are limited. MadeThis includes them.

Built for the creator economy model. The platform was designed for creators who want to build audience → email list → product sales, not for SaaS businesses or e-commerce stores.

The limitation worth noting: if your entire business is a single polished video course at $497+, Teachable's course experience is more mature. For everything else — digital downloads, mixed product types, email-first businesses — MadeThis is the stronger choice.

Best for: Creators who want to sell multiple product types, build an email list, and run their entire business infrastructure from one platform.

The Fee Comparison at Real Revenue Levels

Let's run the math at $3,000/month in revenue:

Gumroad: 10% = $300 in fees + payment processing (~$90) = ~$390 total cost Teachable Basic: 5% = $150 + payment processing ($90) + $39/month = $279 total cost Teachable Pro: 0% + payment processing ($90) + $119/month = $209 total cost MadeThis: Lower % + lower monthly fee = depends on plan but substantially less than Gumroad at scale

At $3,000/month, Teachable Pro ($209) and MadeThis are competitive. Gumroad is expensive. At $500/month, Gumroad's no-monthly-fee structure looks better. The math changes with scale.

My Recommendation

If you're selling your first product and want zero setup friction: Start on Gumroad. Validate the product. Then migrate.

If you're building a $500+ video course with certification requirements: Teachable Pro is worth evaluating.

If you want an integrated platform for the long term — email, downloads, courses, and checkout in one place: MadeThis is where I'd start if I were doing it again.

The biggest mistake I see creators make is choosing a platform based on what's easiest today and then paying for that choice in fees or tool complexity for years.

Evaluate your long-term model before committing.

See the full MadeThis vs Gumroad breakdown and all MadeThis alternatives for more detail on each comparison.

If you're ready to set up a proper digital product business with the infrastructure to grow, start your online business with MadeThis and save yourself the platform migration headache later.