Best Digital Product Sales · head-to-head

Shopify vs Payhip

A sourced, side-by-side comparison for digital product sales. Payhip has the lower entry price. Every figure links to the public page it was captured from — the vendor's own wherever the vendor publishes the number, otherwise the named public source — with the date we captured it.

Payhip has the lower entry price — Shopify starts at $5/mo, Payhip at $0/mo. Free tier: Shopify No, Payhip Yes. HIPAA: Shopify —, Payhip —.

As of 2026-09-05 · figures link to their source below

Side by side

Shopify

$5/mo entry
Entry price$5/mo (Starter)
Free tierNo
HIPAA (BAA)
SOC 2Yes
GDPR
Best forEstablished and scaling ecommerce brands selling both physical and digital products

Payhip

$0/mo entry
Entry price$0/mo (Free)
Free tierYes
HIPAA (BAA)
SOC 2
GDPR
Best forCreators who want a zero-upfront-cost platform with no product or revenue limits

Sources — Shopify: ecommerce-platforms.com (verified 2026-09-05) · Payhip: payhip.com (verified 2026-09-05)

Key features

Shopify: PCI DSS Level 1 certified payment processing (highest tier); SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 certified (confirmed on shopify.com/security); Full ecommerce storefront with 100+ themes and drag-and-drop editor; Digital Downloads app — automatic instant delivery after purchase, free; Sell digital products alongside physical goods in a single store; 6,000+ apps in the Shopify App Store for extended functionality; Shopify Payments built-in (eliminates third-party gateway surcharge); Multichannel selling: online store, social media, POS, marketplaces; Advanced analytics and custom report builder (Advanced and above); B2B wholesale features (Plus); Shopify Audiences for ad targeting (Plus); Token-gated content and NFT-commerce support; Print-on-demand via Printful, Printify, and other integrations

Payhip: Sell digital downloads, online courses, memberships, coaching, and physical products; Built-in EU VAT handling; Affiliate marketing program; Discount codes and upsells; Embeddable buy buttons for any website; Drip content scheduling for courses; PDF stamping with buyer details; Zapier integration for automation

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