Selling Digital Products Online in 2025: Everything You Need to Know
- Stephanie Segev
- Sep 15
- 6 min read
Last updated: September 2025
Digital products aren’t just a side hustle—they’re now a multi-trillion-dollar market. From ebooks and templates to courses and memberships, creators and small businesses are tapping into a booming opportunity.
The question isn’t if you should sell digital products. It’s how to do it in a way that keeps more money in your pocket.
TL;DR
The digital products market is worth $2.5T+ annually in 2025 and growing fast.
Top categories: ebooks, courses, memberships, templates, and downloads.
Most platforms take 5–20% per transaction in fees.
Creators lose thousands yearly to fees they could otherwise keep.
Hopp offers 0% transaction fees, custom branding, monetization tools and analytics—so creators keep 100% of what they earn.
Table of Contents
The Digital Product Market in 2025
Digital products are no longer niche—they’re a massive global industry.
💡 Stat: The global digital goods market created more than $2.5 trillion in annual value in 2025 (Whop).
Unlike physical goods, digital products:
Have no shipping costs.
Can be sold infinitely once created.
Provide high margins compared to physical items.
Digital Product Market Size & Growth
The creator economy was valued at $250B in 2024 and is expected to double to $500B by 2027 (Uscreen).
The global eCommerce market (digital + physical) will reach $7.5 trillion in 2025 (Csimulate).
Long-term: The creator economy could reach $1.3T by 2033 (23.3% CAGR) (Grand View Research), making online education one of the most lucrative categories for digital sellers.
The global e-learning services market is $299.7B in 2024 and projected to hit $842.6B by 2030 at 19% CAGR. (Grand View Research).
The subscription economy is forecast to reach $722B in 2025 and $1.2T by 2030. Pair this with memberships and recurring revenue (Juniper Research+1).
Global internet users: 5.65B in July 2025 (68.7% penetration). Social media users: 5.41B. Use in demand framing (DataReportal).
Popular Types of Digital Products
In 2025, the most popular categories are:
Ebooks & guides – low barrier to entry, strong demand.
Templates & presets – Canva, Notion, Lightroom.
Online courses – still the #1 revenue driver for many.
Memberships & subscriptions – premium communities, newsletters.
Digital downloads – stock media, music, design assets, code snippets.
The ebooks market generated $14.9B in 2025; over 1.1B global ebook readers. Good proof for guides and PDFs. (Whop)
💡 Stat: Digital product sales account for ~40% of full-time creator income (Influencer Marketing Hub).
Creator Earnings & Monetization Stats
Over half of creators earn under $15K annually (Influencer Marketing Hub).
72% of creators earn less than $500/year from content creation; only ~5% earn significantly more (Scoop Market).
Average monthly income for digital product creators: $2,500–$5,000.
Top earners (selling courses or memberships) can reach six figures annually.
Patreon creators surpassed $10B in cumulative payouts; 25M+ paid memberships. Use as social proof for fan-supported models. (Axios)
Substack paid subscriptions topped ~5M in early 2025. Use for newsletter monetization momentum. (Financial Times)
Consumer Behavior in 2025
Bottom line: demand is strong. Offers, pricing, and friction decide conversion.
Transaction Fees: The Hidden Cost
Most platforms take a cut of every sale:
Patreon: 10% standard platform fee for new creators, plus processing (Patreon).
Gumroad: 10% + $0.50 per sale via profile/direct; 30% via Discover marketplace (Gumroad).
OnlyFans: 20% platform cut.
Substack: 10% platform fee + Stripe fees.
Shopify: ~2.9% + $0.30 processing, plus monthly plan (Shopify).
Stan Store: subscription plans; no separate platform transaction fee; Stripe/PayPal apply (overview).
Stripe: standard online card fee in the U.S.: 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge (Stripe).
PayPal Checkout: standard merchant rate: 3.49% + a fixed fee (U.S.) (PayPal).
Teachable: 7.5% transaction fee on Starter; 0% on Builder and above (Teachable).
💡 Example: If you sell $50,000/year in digital products:
You lose $5,000 on Gumroad.
You lose $10,000 on OnlyFans.
You lose $6,000+ on Patreon.
That’s money that could fund growth—or stay in your pocket.
Platform Fee Comparison (2025)
Platform | Transaction Fees | Model | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
Patreon | 5–12% + processing | Memberships | Creators with fan communities |
Gumroad | 10% + $0.50 | Digital downloads | Small digital sellers |
OnlyFans | 20% | Subscriptions | Adult content creators |
Substack | 10% + Stripe | Paid newsletters | Writers |
Shopify | 2.9% + $29–$79/month | E-commerce | SMBs |
Stan Store | No platform fee + Stripe/PayPal (~2.9%) | Link in bio storefront | Coaches & educators |
Teachable | 7.5% on Starter; 0–5% on higher plans | Online courses | Course creators |
Hopp | 0% transaction fees + Stripe/PayPal (~2.9%) | Link in bio creator store | Creators, SMBs, affiliates |
Challenges of Selling Digital Products
High competition – more sellers every year.
Piracy – files can be shared without permission.
Discoverability – driving traffic is harder than listing products.
Fees – eating into profit margins (unless you use Hopp).
Best Practices to Maximize Profit
Bundle products (e.g., templates + guides).
Mix free + gated content to build trust.
Use paywalls for exclusive or premium content.
Collect emails so you can own your audience outside social media.
Leverage analytics to double down on what works.
Future Trends in Digital Products
Paywalls & gated content → becoming mainstream across platforms.
AI-generated products → new templates, images, and content sold at scale.
Subscriptions → predictable revenue through memberships.
Personalization → niche products tailored to micro-audiences.
Social Commerce Momentum
Global social commerce is $1.64T in 2025, on track for $26.83T by 2034 (36.4% CAGR). (Precedence Research)
US social commerce sales are projected at $85.6B in 2025 and will surpass $100B in 2026. (EMARKETER)
Instagram Shopping: 70% of active users shop on IG. 83% discover new brands. 200M users tap a shopping post or business profile daily. (Capital One Shopping)
37.3% of U.S. Instagram users expected to purchase via Instagram in 2025 (Exploding Topics).
TikTok Shop drove $100M in U.S. Black Friday sales in 2024 and keeps accelerating (Business Insider).
Pinterest: 85% of weekly Pinners have purchased based on a Pin; 55% use Pinterest to shop. Pinners spend 2× more per month on shopping than users of other social platforms. (Sprout Social)
WhatsApp Business MAUs passed 200M; chat-commerce channel is surging. In the US, WhatsApp has 100M+ MAUs. (Analyzify)
Paid social investment keeps rising in 2025, fueled by social commerce and creator marketing. EMARKETER
How Hopp Helps Creators Sell Fee-Free
With Hopp, creators can:
Sell digital products with 0% transaction fees.
Customize storefronts with branding & custom domains.
Add paywalls or gated content directly to their bio link.
Capture emails to build owned audiences.
Use real-time analytics to optimize sales.
It’s free to start, scalable, and built to maximize profit.
FAQs
What are the most profitable digital products in 2025?
Courses, templates, memberships, and premium communities.
Do all platforms charge transaction fees?
Most do—Patreon (5–12%), Gumroad (10%), OnlyFans (20%). Hopp charges 0%.
Do I need a website to sell digital products?
No. With Hopp, your link in bio doubles as your digital storefront.
Is selling digital products still worth it in 2025?
Yes—digital products are high-margin, scalable, and demand keeps growing.
Conclusion
The digital product market is exploding in 2025—worth over $2.5T annually and growing fast. But most platforms take 5–20% of every sale, eating into profits.
Creators who want to keep more of their revenue are moving to 0% fee platforms. With Hopp, you can sell ebooks, templates, memberships, and gated content—all while keeping 100% of sales, owning your audience, and customizing your brand.
👉 Ready to start selling smarter? Create your free Hopp store today.
