# Payhip

> A direct-to-fan sales platform for ebooks, memberships, and print-on-demand books, with digital EU/UK VAT handled automatically. Pre-orders are possible but only via manual workarounds.

Source: https://selfpublishingdirectory.com/crowdfunding/payhip
Website: https://payhip.com
Category: Crowdfunding (https://selfpublishingdirectory.com/crowdfunding)
Pricing: freemium — $0–$99/monthly
AI-powered: no
Tags: pre-orders, direct-sales, ebooks, memberships, digital-products, EU-VAT
Last verified: 2026-06-18
Best For: Authors who want a low-fee direct-sales storefront for their full backlist — ebooks, memberships, and POD print — with digital EU/UK VAT handled automatically
Funding Model: pre-order
Platform Fee: 5% (free plan), 2% (Plus), 0% (Pro)
Platform Fee Pct: 5

Payhip is a direct-to-fan sales platform for selling ebooks, courses, memberships, and (via Bookvault) print-on-demand books directly to readers. It can be used for pre-orders to collect payments ahead of a launch, but unlike a true crowdfunding platform it has **no dedicated pre-order feature** — per Payhip's own Help Center, authors rely on manual workarounds (a placeholder file or a beta-content message stating the delivery date), then manually upload the final file and email buyers the download link when it's ready. There is no automatic future-release scheduling or auto-delivery. A standout feature is automatic digital EU/UK VAT collection and remittance, which removes a major compliance headache for authors selling internationally.

- **Best for:** Authors who want a low-fee storefront for their backlist and memberships; usable for pre-orders if you're willing to fulfill manually
- **Key features:** Memberships and subscriptions, digital EU/UK VAT auto-collection and remittance, affiliate program, large file hosting, Bookvault print-on-demand integration; pre-orders only via manual workaround
- **Pricing:** Free plan with 5% transaction fee; Plus at $29/month with 2% fee; Pro at $99/month with 0% fee; plus standard payment processing (Stripe/PayPal ~2.9% + $0.30). Plans differ only by transaction fee — all features are unlocked on every tier (no feature-gating)
- **Tax compliance:** Reports and pays digital EU VAT and UK VAT on the seller's behalf — a significant advantage for authors selling digital goods to European readers
- **Pre-order caveat:** Treat Payhip as a storefront, not a crowdfunding tool — collecting payment before launch works, but fulfillment is fully manual. Authors wanting automated pre-order delivery should pair it with a dedicated delivery tool or use a platform with native pre-orders
- **Why authors choose it:** Among the lowest fees for direct digital sales (0% platform fee on Pro), no feature-gating, automatic digital VAT handling, and built-in memberships and POD