SIDE BY SIDE

Put two or three platforms side by side

Pick the ones you are actually choosing between. The same questions get asked of each, the answers come off the company's own pages, and every figure carries the day we read it.

Places that pay you Things you build on

Eight questions about what it costs and who owns the result, asked of each one.

Platform 1Platform 2Platform 3, optional

2 PLATFORMS · 8 QUESTIONS · 7 ANSWERED BY ALL

You picked one, so a second column was added to give it something to sit next to. Change it above.

Substack

Gumroad

What it costs you

What it really costs to startAll in, not the first-year promotional price.

SubstackFree to publishFree to publish at any list size. No plan fee, no tier limit; costs start only when paid subscriptions are switched on.source · checked 2026-09-07

Gumroad10% + $0.50 per sale, nothing upfrontNo signup or subscription cost to start selling; Gumroad's cut is 10% + $0.50 per transaction on sales through your own profile or links.source · checked 2026-09-07

What it costs to keep alivePer year, once the introductory pricing is over.

Substack10% of revenueNo monthly fee to keep a publication running. Substack keeps 10% of subscription revenue, and card processing fees come out on top of that.source · checked 2026-09-07

GumroadNo monthly feeNo monthly or annual fee to keep a store open; the only recurring cost is the percentage deducted from each sale.source · checked 2026-09-07

The gate before the first cent

The gate before it pays anythingThe traffic, sales or balance you must reach before a single cent moves.

Substack$5/month price floorNo traffic or balance gate. The only published floor is the subscription price itself: $5 a month or $30 a year minimum.source · checked 2026-09-07

GumroadPays out at a $100 balance$100 USD balance, with higher local minimums in a long list of countriessource · checked 2026-09-08 · read the page

How long before the first paymentThe gap you have to fund out of your own pocket.

SubstackWithin 48 hoursMoney moves per transaction, not on a monthly cycle: usually in the bank within 48 hours of each payment.source · checked 2026-09-07

Gumroad25% held 90 days above a 15% refund rateNo fixed payout schedule in the terms; above a 15% refund rate Gumroad reserves 25% of a seller's pending funds for 90 days on a rolling basis.source · checked 2026-09-07

Is it yours or theirs

Who owns what you buildYours, or a room you are allowed to sit in until the rules change?

SubstackWriter keeps copyrightThe writer owns the content. Substack's terms state original content posted to the platform stays yours and keeps its copyright.source · checked 2026-09-07

GumroadSeller owns it; licence is perpetual and irrevocableSellers keep ownership, but grant Gumroad a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive and fully sublicensable licence over their content.source · checked 2026-09-07

Can you take it with youThe domain, the list, the content. What actually leaves with you.

SubstackList exports, names do notThe subscriber list exports from the subscribers page, with all columns or visible columns only. Subscriber names cannot be included in the file.source · checked 2026-09-07

GumroadWe have not checked this one yet

Can it be soldIs there a resale market, and what does it pay?

SubstackTransfer needs consentNo unilateral sale. The account cannot be assigned or transferred in any way without Substack's prior written consent.source · checked 2026-09-07

GumroadNo transfer without consentNot freely sellable: handing your account and username to another party without Gumroad's consent is listed as prohibited conduct.source · checked 2026-09-07

What takes it all awayThe single rule, ban or dependency that ends it overnight.

SubstackTermination at discretionSubstack may terminate or suspend an account for any reason at its own discretion, and advance notice is a courtesy rather than a duty.source · checked 2026-09-07

GumroadTermination without cause or noticeGumroad may halt sales and suspend or terminate an account at any time, in its sole discretion, without cause or notice.source · checked 2026-09-07

There is no winner at the bottom of this table

Nothing here gets added up. A score would have to decide that these questions weigh the same for everyone, and they do not. A lower cash-out bar is better if you need the money this month and worse if it arrives as a gift card you cannot spend on rent. One payout method is fine right up until it is the one that does not work where you live.

The rows worth your attention are usually the ones where the columns disagree about whether to answer at all. A platform that publishes its fee and a platform that does not are not two platforms with different fees. One of them has told you, and you can hold them to it.

Rows marked as not checked are about us, not about them. They mean nobody here has gone looking yet, and they stay visible for that reason. Found a figure that has moved? Tell us, and it gets a new source and a new date rather than a quiet edit.

ALL PLATFORMS