Growing an audience
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Both cover digital products & storefronts. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Lemon Squeezy | PublishDrive | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | From $13.99 |
| Pricing model | Free | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Usage-based | Annual only |
| Free trial | Not stated | None |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | 5% of what you earn | None |
| Runs on | Not stated | Web |
| Covers | Digital Products & Storefronts, Creator Finance, Monetization & Payments | Self-Publishing, Digital Products & Storefronts |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Digital product sales with the tax handled
Lemon Squeezy acts as merchant of record, so sales tax and EU VAT stop being your problem. That alone justifies the fee for anyone selling internationally. Subscriptions, licence keys and affiliates are all included.
Our note
Worth the 5 percent the first time an EU VAT return would otherwise be yours to file. Against Gumroad it is half the rate and more setup, which is a good trade at any real volume.
Only on this side
Ebook distribution with no cut of royalties
PublishDrive charges a subscription and then takes nothing from sales, which inverts the usual aggregator deal and pays off the moment a book sells steadily. One upload reaches over 50 retailers and a library network most authors never get near. Plans are capped by title count, so a back catalogue costs more than a single book does.
Our note
Draft2Digital takes 10 percent and costs nothing up front, so it wins on a book that barely sells and loses on one that does. Work out your annual royalties before choosing: the crossover for the Starter plan is somewhere around $1,700 a year in sales.
Only on this side
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.