Tool profile
Payhip: cost, fit and limits
Payhip is an online store platform made by Payhip Ltd in the United Kingdom that lets creators sell digital products, with a free plan at a 5% transaction fee and paid plans at $29 and $99 a month that lower or remove it.
What to know first
Payhip sells three plans. Free Forever costs $0 a month plus a 5% transaction fee and needs no credit card, Plus costs $29 a month with a 2% fee, and Pro costs $99 a month with no transaction fee. PayPal and Stripe apply their own standard rates on every plan. The privacy policy says data is stored on secure servers in the EU, and the pages read do not describe a merchant of record arrangement.
Payhip at a glance
| Maker | Payhip Ltd, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Entry price | $0 per month plus a 5% transaction fee |
| API access | No |
| Category | Best AI Merchant of Record Platforms in 2026, rank 10 of 13 |
| Website | payhip.com |
Who Payhip is best for
Creators selling downloads
The free plan needs no credit card, so an author can open a store and pay only the 5% fee when files sell.
Stores with steady monthly sales
Plus at $29 and Pro at $99 trade a monthly fee against the transaction fee, which pays back once monthly sales are large enough.
European sellers wanting EU storage
The policy says data sits on secure servers in the EU, which answers one common residency question without a custom contract.
Payhip plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free Forever | $0 per month + 5% transaction fee | No credit card needed to sign up; PayPal and Stripe apply their own standard rates on top. |
| Plus | $29 per month + 2% transaction fee | Lowers the transaction fee to 2%; PayPal and Stripe processing rates still apply on top of the percentage. |
| Pro | $99 per month | No transaction fee, with processor rates from PayPal or Stripe still charged on every sale. |
Checked November 2026.
What Payhip does
- Three-tier pricing
- Payhip's plans run from Free Forever through Plus to Pro, with the transaction fee falling from 5% to 2% to nothing as the monthly price rises.
- PayPal and Stripe payments
- PayPal and Stripe are named payment providers, and each charges its own standard rates on every plan, so the final cost per sale is higher than Payhip's fee alone.
- EU data storage
- The privacy policy says data is stored on secure servers in the EU, which suits sellers and buyers who want European residency. Procurement teams should file the relevant Payhip page with their vendor review notes.
- VAT record keeping
- The privacy policy says transaction records are kept for 10 years for EU VAT purposes on digital products, which signals attention to tax records even though a seller-of-record role is not described.
How Payhip handles your data
The privacy policy says data is stored on secure servers in the EU. Transaction records are kept for 10 years for EU VAT purposes on digital products, and contact details for 3 years after registration ends. It does not say whether customer data trains AI models, and it states no security certification. A seller who needs a written seller-of-record statement should ask Payhip directly.
Where Payhip falls short in practice
- Processor fees on top. PayPal and Stripe apply their own standard rates on every plan, so even Pro at $99 a month is not free of per-sale cost. Whether this holds for your country is a question for the Payhip sales team.
- Seller of record role unclear. The pages read do not say whether Payhip collects and remits VAT as the seller, so tax handling needs checking before relying on it. Treat the Payhip page as a starting point and confirm details through the vendor.
- No AI feature named. The pages name no AI tooling, so developers who want agent access will find nothing to evaluate. The pages from Payhip that we opened did not go deeper on this point.
Works with
Alternatives to Payhip
Payhip: common questions
How much does Payhip cost?
Free Forever is $0 a month with a 5% transaction fee, Plus is $29 a month with a 2% fee, and Pro is $99 a month with no transaction fee. PayPal and Stripe apply their own standard rates on every plan.
Does Payhip have a free plan?
Yes. Free Forever costs $0 a month plus a 5% transaction fee, and no credit card is required to sign up. Payment providers PayPal and Stripe still charge their standard rates on each sale. Finance staff should model this against a typical monthly order mix before signing with Payhip.
Where does Payhip store data?
The privacy policy says data is stored on secure servers in the EU. Transaction records are kept 10 years for EU VAT purposes and contact details 3 years after registration ends. No certification or model training statement appears. Request the matching clause in the Payhip agreement to see exactly how it is worded.
Is Payhip a merchant of record?
The pages we read do not describe Payhip as a merchant of record or say who is the seller for tax purposes. The privacy policy mentions EU VAT record keeping. Ask Payhip to confirm in writing who collects and remits VAT before you rely on it.
When does a paid Payhip plan pay off?
Plus saves 3 percentage points of transaction fee for $29 a month, so it breaks even at about $967 in monthly sales. Pro removes the fee for $99, breaking even against Free Forever at about $1,980. These sums ignore processor fees.