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 vendor's own page and the date we captured it.
At a glance
- Price: Shopify $5/mo vs Payhip $0/mo — Payhip is cheaper to start.
- Free tier: Shopify No; Payhip Yes.
- HIPAA: Shopify —; Payhip —.
Side by side
| Shopify | Payhip | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $5/mo (Starter) | $0/mo (Free) |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| HIPAA (BAA) | — | — |
| SOC 2 | Yes | — |
| GDPR | — | — |
| Best for | Established and scaling ecommerce brands selling both physical and digital products | Creators who want a zero-upfront-cost platform with no product or revenue limits |
Sources — Shopify: ecommerce-platforms.com (verified 2026-06-14). Payhip: bloggingwizard.com (verified 2026-06-14).
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