Payhip vs Lemon Squeezy for Selling PDF eBooks

Two halves of a lemon

When you’re searching for a sales platform to sell your digital product, these two platforms are a couple of my favorites.

If you don’t want to read my full take on Payhip vs Lemon Squeezy, here are my key takeaways as to why I like each of them as well as why you may choose Lemon Squeezy in the end.

Payhip:

  • Super easy to use
  • Free forever plan
  • Analytics available
  • You can connect a custom domain
  • Connect 3rd party email marketing software
  • Cross-selling and sales options
  • Affiliate program option

Lemon Squeezy:

  • Bought by Stripe (payment processor)
  • No monthly fees
  • Email marketing built in
  • Affiliate program option
  • Offer discount codes
  • Lead magnet feature

Why You May Consider Lemon Squeezy in the End

The main difference between Payhip and Lemon Squeezy is that Lemon Squeezy is a merchant of record. If you don’t know what that means, a merchant of record handles tax compliance for you.

There are some states and countries that charge tax on digital product sales. If you don’t want the burden of managing that, a merchant of record like Lemon Squeezy does it for you.

That feature alone may be worth it to you to save you the time and hassle of dealing with sales tax management.

What I Like About Payhip

I’ve used Payhip more than I have Lemon Squeezy so I have more to say about what I like about this platform.

First impression, Payhip has a very clean interface and it is user-friendly. When your digital product is ready, you can upload it, set your price, add a title & description, and begin selling.

The Payhip dashboard.
The Payhip dashboard.

It is also free to use…forever. The platform takes a percentage of every sale that you make. Currently, this is how much:

  • Free plan: +5% transaction fee
  • Plus plan: +2% transaction fee
  • Pro plan: No transaction fee

The checkout process is straight forward and it looks great on mobile. If I had to sum up what I like most about Payhip is how easy it is to use.

As for processing payments with Payhip, you will need either a PayPal or Stripe account.

That is also easy to set up with a few clicks and filling out your login credentials.

Another plus for Payhip is that you can put a long description for your products. That is something that is limited with Lemon Squeezy.

There isn’t anything I don’t dislike about Payhip. If it were also a merchant of record, I think that would be really helpful for a lot of sellers.

However, I think it is a great sales platform that works easily for beginners and helps sellers scale as they get more traffic and make more sales.

What Can You Sell On Payhip?

There are several different types of products that you can sell on Payhip to include:

  • Digital downloads
  • Online courses
  • Coaching sessions
  • Memberships
  • Physical products

What I Like About Lemon Squeezy

I have only recently started to use Lemon Squeezy but my favorite thing so far is that it is one of the few merchant of record sales platforms that I’ve come across.

It’s also helpful that it is owned by Stripe so it has the similar Stripe interface.

The Lemon Squeezy dashboard.
Lemon Squeezy dashboard

It is easy to use but I feel that Payhip is still easier. I did feel like I had to search documentation for how to use Lemon Squeezy whereas Payhip seemed self-explanatory.

What I wish it offered was the ability to type in a longer product description. Right now, you are limited to 165 characters.

I’m also not certain how to add a product upsell or if it is even possible. When looking at the dashboard, it doesn’t seem like something that is easy to add.

What is great is that there are no monthly fees to use Lemon Squeezy. They take a percentage of each sale. As of now, the percentage is: 5% + 50¢.

I also like that there is a lead magnet feature. This let’s you give away a free product to help build interest for your main product.

Anyone who signs up for your lead magnet is added to your email list which is built into the platform

This is a nice feature as you can’t usually offer a lead magnet without some type of marketing funnel software.

I think Lemon Squeezy is worth the learning curve if you don’t want the hassle of dealing with sales tax for your digital products.

What Can You Sell on Lemon Squeezy?

The following can be sold on Lemon Squeezy:

  • Digital downloads
  • Recurring billing & subscriptions
  • License key management

Which Sales Platform to Choose?

It is going to depend on what you need the most. Both options work great but if you are seeking a merchant of record, Lemon Squeezy would be the clear choice.

If you want a simple, easy-to-use sales platform, that enables you to sell digital or physical goods, then Payhip may be what you’re looking for.

Both are free to use (they each take a percentage of each sale) so there is no worry about monthly fees unless you upgrade your plan on Payhip.

What Next?

Since both platforms are free to use, you can upload your digital product on both and figure out which one you like better.

Have you created your digital product yet? If not, you may want to consider creating a digital info product in the form of a PDF.

Selling PDFs is an easy way to create an income online. It is the ideal online business for introverts or anyone seeking a quiet path to digital income.

You can get started as soon as today:

Click here to get started.