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Selling Digital Products Online in 2025: Everything You Need to Know

  • Writer: Stephanie Segev
    Stephanie Segev
  • 4 days ago
  • 3 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


  1. The Digital Product Market in 2025

  2. Digital Product Market Size & Growth

  3. Popular Types of Digital Products

  4. Creator Earnings & Monetization Stats

  5. Consumer Behavior in 2025

  6. Transaction Fees: The Hidden Cost

  7. Platform Fee Comparison (2025)

  8. Challenges of Selling Digital Products

  9. Best Practices to Maximize Profit

  10. Future Trends in Digital Products

  11. Social Commerce Momentum

  12. How Hopp Helps Creators Sell Fee-Free

  13. Selling Digital Products FAQs

  14. Conclusion

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


  • 68% of internet users aged 16+ now pay for digital content every month (Whop).

  • 68.2% of Gen Z has a digital side hustle (G2).

  • Average consumer spend on digital products has grown 35% since 2020.

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.




 
 
 

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