ThriveCart and Payhip solve different problems even though both let you sell digital products without a percentage-only fee forever. ThriveCart is a checkout and funnel specialist that’s expanded into course and community hosting, priced as a monthly or annual subscription with 0% platform fees. Payhip is a simpler storefront where every plan — including the free one — has identical features, and you only pay more to lower your transaction fee.
This comparison breaks down pricing, fees, and features to help you figure out which fits your situation.
Quick Summary
| Feature | ThriveCart | Payhip |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Creators who want a high-converting checkout and funnel builder bundled with course/community hosting | Creators who want every feature available regardless of budget, with a simple path to lower fees |
| Starting Price | $47/month billed monthly ($37/month annual) for Standard | $0/month (Free Forever plan) |
| Free Trial | 30-day free trial, card required | Permanent free plan, no card required |
| Platform Fee | 0% platform commission on every tier, including Enterprise — payment processing and a small sales-tax-automation surcharge can still apply | 5% (Free), 2% ($29/mo Plus), or 0% ($99/mo Pro) |
| Feature Gating | Significant — affiliate program, multiple order bumps, crypto, custom branding, and more are Pro+ only | None — every plan has every feature |
| Physical Products | Listed as a supported product type | Supported, with inventory tracking (you handle shipping yourself) |
| Affiliate Payouts | Automated, but only on Pro+ ($87/month or $67/month annual) — not available on Standard at all | Tracked, but paid manually by you every time, on every plan |
| Course & Community | ThriveCart Academy bundled into every plan (courses, community spaces, gamification) | Courses with quizzes, drip content, and certificates; no dedicated community product |
| Our Rating | ⭐4.5 / 5.0 | ⭐4.3 / 5.0 |
Quick Recommendation:
Choose ThriveCart if checkout conversion tools (order bumps, upsells, A/B testing) are your priority and you’re generating enough revenue to make a monthly subscription worth it.
Choose Payhip if you want to start for free with zero feature restrictions, or you sell physical products alongside digital ones and want simple inventory tools built in.
Fees: Subscription vs. Pay-As-You-Grow
These two platforms price themselves in fundamentally different ways, so the “cheaper” answer depends entirely on your sales volume.
ThriveCart charges a flat monthly or annual subscription ($47/$37 for Standard) and doesn’t charge a percentage platform commission on sales. Payment processing and a small sales-tax-automation surcharge (if you use that feature) can still apply. Payhip charges nothing upfront but takes a percentage — 5% on the free plan — until you choose to pay more for a lower rate.
Take a $50 sale as an example:
- Payhip Free ($0/month): 5% fee = $2.50 per sale, no monthly cost either way.
- Payhip Pro ($99/month): 0% fee = $0 per sale, but $99/month regardless of how many sales you make.
- ThriveCart Standard ($37/month annual): 0% fee = $0 per sale, for less than half of Payhip Pro’s monthly cost.
The real question is where your break-even point sits, based on platform fees alone. ThriveCart Standard’s $37/month annual-billing price equals 5% of about $740 in monthly sales — so compared to Payhip’s Free plan, Payhip costs less below roughly $740/month, while ThriveCart Standard costs less above that point. If you choose ThriveCart’s monthly billing instead ($47/month), that equivalent point moves to about $940/month. Payment-processing fees and any additional service fees on either platform sit outside this comparison.
Feature Comparison
1. Checkout & Conversion Tools
ThriveCart is built specifically around increasing order value: order bumps, one-click upsells and downsells, and A/B testing are core to every plan, with ThriveCart reporting an AOV uplift of up to 118% when multiple order bumps, one-click upsells, and downsells are combined. Standard includes one order bump; Pro+ unlocks multiple.
Payhip covers the basics — coupons, cross-selling, and upsells — but doesn’t have dedicated funnel-building or A/B testing tools built around checkout optimization the way ThriveCart does.
2. Feature Gating
This is the starkest difference between the two. ThriveCart clearly separates Standard from Pro+: the entire affiliate program, multiple order bumps, crypto payments, tax-inclusive pricing, QR codes, custom branding, and multi-user permissions are all Pro+ exclusives.
Payhip gates nothing. Every plan, including the free one, gets the exact same feature set — the only thing that changes as you pay more is your transaction fee percentage.
3. Physical Products
Both platforms support physical products. Payhip provides built-in inventory tracking and shipping-management tools, though you handle the actual packing and shipping yourself. ThriveCart also supports physical products and can connect with fulfillment services for that side of the process.
4. Affiliates
Neither platform makes this simple, just in different ways. ThriveCart’s affiliate program — recruitment, tracking, and automated payouts — is entirely absent from Standard; you need Pro+ to use it at all. Payhip lets you track affiliates and their commissions on every plan, but never pays them automatically — you handle affiliate payouts yourself using Payhip’s monthly reports, regardless of which plan you’re on.
5. Courses & Community
ThriveCart Academy is bundled into every ThriveCart plan: unlimited courses and students, gamification, quizzes, certificates, and dedicated community spaces that scale from 2,000 members on Standard to 10,000 on Pro+.
Payhip supports courses with quizzes, drip content, and certificates, plus memberships and course comments — but it doesn’t offer a dedicated community platform comparable to ThriveCart Academy.
Pricing Comparison
ThriveCart Pricing
- Standard ($47/month monthly, $37/month annual): Checkout customization, unlimited products/funnels, one order bump, A/B testing, sales tax automation (0.5% surcharge applies), and ThriveCart Academy’s Starter tier. No affiliate program.
- Pro+ ($87/month monthly, $67/month annual): Everything in Standard, plus multiple order bumps, crypto payments, the full affiliate program with automated payouts, custom branding, and Academy’s Growth tier.
- Enterprise (custom pricing): Everything in Pro+, plus dedicated support, custom API access, volume-based processing rates, and Academy’s top tier. Still 0% platform commission.
Payhip Pricing
- Free Forever ($0/month): 5% transaction fee, every feature included.
- Plus ($29/month): 2% transaction fee, same features as Free.
- Pro ($99/month): 0% transaction fee, same features as Free and Plus.
- Standard PayPal or Stripe processing fees apply on top of Payhip’s cut, on every plan.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose ThriveCart if:
- Checkout conversion — order bumps, upsells, A/B testing — is central to how you sell.
- You want course and community hosting bundled with your checkout in one subscription.
- You’re generating enough consistent revenue to justify a monthly commitment.
Choose Payhip if:
- You want to start selling with zero monthly cost and no features locked away.
- You sell physical products and want straightforward inventory tools without extra cost.
- Your affiliate needs are simple enough that manual payouts aren’t a dealbreaker.
Final Verdict
ThriveCart is the stronger pick if conversion optimization and bundled course/community hosting are what you actually need — its checkout tools go deeper than Payhip’s, and 0% fees on every tier (including Enterprise) make the monthly cost predictable once you’re past a modest revenue threshold.
Payhip is the stronger pick if you want to start at zero cost with nothing gated behind a paywall, especially if physical products are part of your catalog.
If you’re just starting out and unsure of your volume, Payhip’s free plan carries no risk. If you already know you’re generating consistent revenue and conversion tools matter to you, ThriveCart’s subscription pricing will likely work out cheaper than it first appears.
