Compare exactly how much you keep per sale on Amazon KDP, Gumroad, Etsy, Payhip, and your own store — so you pick the platform on real numbers, not guesswork.
The price a reader pays. KDP's 70% royalty needs $2.99–$9.99.
Paid copies per month, the same volume across each platform.
| Platform | You keep / sale | % kept | Monthly take-home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own store (Stripe)HIGHESTHighest take-home, but you own all the marketing. | $9.40 | 94% | $940.03 |
| GumroadFlat 10% fee. You bring the traffic, you keep most of the sale. | $8.99 | 90% | $899.10 |
| Payhip (free plan)5% fee plus processing; paid plans drop the 5%. | $8.90 | 89% | $890.08 |
| EtsyBuilt-in marketplace traffic; fees stack up on low prices. | $8.59 | 86% | $859.10 |
| Amazon KDPBiggest audience and discovery; you trade margin for reach. | $6.99 | 70% | $699.30 |
Fee schedules verified as of June 2026 — check each platform's current pricing before relying on these figures. Etsy Offsite Ads fees (12–15%) and KDP's negligible per-MB delivery fee are excluded.
Every platform makes the same trade in different proportions: reach for margin. A marketplace like Amazon KDP or Etsy brings you buyers but takes a bigger cut; selling direct through Gumroad, Payhip, or your own store leaves far more in your pocket, but you have to bring the traffic yourself. The calculator above shows the money side; the right answer depends on which you have more of — an audience, or a need for discovery.
Amazon KDP pays 70% on eBooks priced $2.99–$9.99 and 35% outside that band, but its discovery engine can sell copies you'd never reach alone. Etsy has real built-in traffic for digital downloads, though its stacked fees ($0.20 listing + 6.5% + payment processing) bite hardest on cheap items. Choose these when you need an audience more than margin.
Gumroad (flat 10%), Payhip (5% on the free plan), and your own store on Stripe (processing only, ~2.9% + $0.30) keep far more of each sale — often 90% or more. The catch is traffic: nobody discovers you by accident. These win when you already have an email list, an audience, or a lead magnet funnel feeding them.
Take-home only matters once you have a finished book to sell. That's the step most people stall on. getebook.ai removes it — it writes the book, designs the cover, and exports a publish-ready file — so you can spend your energy choosing the platform and the price. For the full breakdown of pricing and selling, see how to sell eBooks online.
Other resources for authors and creators publishing with AI assistance.
Selling direct through your own store keeps the most — typically ~97% after payment processing — followed by Payhip and Gumroad. Marketplaces like Amazon KDP (70% in the $2.99–$9.99 band) and Etsy take more, but bring built-in audience and discovery you'd otherwise have to create yourself.
Use Amazon KDP when you need discovery and don't yet have an audience — it sells copies you couldn't reach alone. Use Gumroad (flat 10% fee) when you already have traffic, an email list, or a content funnel, since you keep 90% of each sale. Many creators use both.
As of 2026, Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee, and payment processing of roughly 3% plus $0.25 per order. On a low-priced eBook those fixed fees take a meaningful share, which is why Etsy suits slightly higher-priced bundles better than $0.99 items.
Yes — the platform only matters once you have something to sell, and producing the book is where most people stall. getebook.ai writes the full book, generates the cover, and exports a publish-ready PDF and EPUB, so you can move straight to listing and pricing.
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