Easy Digital Downloads vs SureCart: the revenue hostage (2026)

Easy Digital Downloads is a mature WordPress plugin built for selling digital files through paid extensions. SureCart is a modern WordPress ecommerce plugin with built-in features and a free plan that charges 1.9% per sale.

The Customer Cash Hostage

You build a digital product. You set up recurring billing. Customers sign up for monthly access. Revenue grows.

Then you want to switch platforms.

With Easy Digital Downloads, your subscriptions stay on Stripe or PayPal. You leave, your customers keep paying you. EDD connects directly to your payment gateway, so the recurring billing lives where it should: in your account.

SureCart works differently. SureCart manages subscriptions on its own servers rather than your WordPress database or directly on Stripe and PayPal. Your recurring payments run through SureCart’s infrastructure. If you leave SureCart, those subscriptions don’t follow you. The customers you earned, the recurring revenue you built, it stays behind.

That’s not a technical detail. That’s your income.

Say you’ve spent a year growing a membership to 200 paying customers at $29/month. That’s $5,800 in monthly recurring revenue. You decide SureCart isn’t the right fit anymore. You can’t simply export those active subscriptions to another platform. You’d have to ask every single customer to re-enter their payment info somewhere else. Some will. Most won’t.

EDD doesn’t have this problem. Your subscription data stays on Stripe or PayPal, which means it belongs to you regardless of what plugin sits on top.

This isn’t a theoretical concern. Creators switch platforms all the time. Pricing changes, a better tool comes along, your needs shift. The question isn’t whether you’ll want to move. It’s whether you’ll be able to take your revenue with you when you do.

When choosing between SureCart and EDD, this is the first question to ask: who owns the recurring relationship with your customers?

What to Look for Before You Pick a Cart

First: no recurring payment hostage. Your subscriptions should live on Stripe or PayPal, not on the platform’s servers. If you leave, your revenue should leave with you.

Second: protected download links. If a customer shares your download link, can anyone grab your files? Some platforms protect links. Others don’t.

Third: responsive support. When your checkout breaks at 11pm on a Friday, how fast does someone respond?

Fourth: transparent pricing. No hidden transaction fees that quietly grow as your revenue increases.

That’s the approach behind CartMango (full disclosure: this post is published by CartMango, and we include our limitations alongside the comparison). CartMango lets you keep your recurring payments on Stripe and PayPal. Download links are protected. Support comes from the founder with an average response time of 2 hours 16 minutes. And it’s free until 2027, with zero platform fees and zero commission.

EDD meets some of these criteria. You keep your recurring payments. But EDD doesn’t protect download links, and you’re paying $99.50/yr minimum.

SureCart offers download link protection and a free plan. But that free plan takes 1.9% of every sale, and your recurring payments live on SureCart’s infrastructure, not yours.

No single platform gets everything right. But knowing what to prioritize helps you avoid regret six months from now. That matters more than any feature checklist.

Easy Digital Downloads vs SureCart vs CartMango

Here’s how all three platforms compare across the features that matter for digital product sales:

These are the links for each platform: Easy Digital Downloads, SureCart, CartMango.

CartMango Is Not for Everyone. And That Is the Point.

CartMango is not a WordPress plugin. It’s a hosted cart for solo digital creators who want to sell without managing servers, plugins, or hosting.

If you’re a coach, consultant, or independent creator selling ebooks, templates, courses, or memberships, CartMango covers the core: checkout, Stripe and PayPal payment processing, digital file delivery with protected links, upsells, order bumps, and subscription billing with trials.

What it doesn’t have yet: an LMS is on the roadmap but not live now. If you need to host video courses inside the platform today, you’d pair CartMango with a separate tool for now. Affiliate management is also coming soon. Native integrations are still growing and more limited right now compared to EDD’s extension library, though the Make.com connection already covers thousands of apps.

CartMango is not for agencies managing multiple WordPress stores. It’s not for developers who want full customization of every template and checkout element. It’s not for someone who needs WooCommerce-level ecommerce functionality on a WordPress site.

It’s for one kind of seller: the independent creator who wants to sell digital goods, keep their recurring payments portable, get human support, and pay nothing for the platform while getting started.

You sign up, connect Stripe or PayPal, upload your product, and you’re selling. No server configuration. No plugin compatibility checks. No annual renewal emails.

If that sounds like your situation, CartMango fits. Both SureCart and Easy Digital Downloads serve different use cases, and if you need what they offer, those platforms might serve you better.

Free until 2027. All features. Zero commission. Zero monthly cost.

Easy Digital Downloads: The Established WordPress Plugin for Digital Sellers

Easy Digital Downloads has been around since 2012. It’s one of the most established WordPress plugins for selling digital products, and it shows in the depth of its extension library.

EDD is a WordPress plugin. You install it on your self-hosted WordPress site, and it turns your site into a digital storefront. The core plugin is free on WordPress.org. The real functionality, the stuff that makes it a complete ecommerce platform, comes from paid plans and add-ons.

What EDD offers

• Subscriptions and recurring billing (paid extension)
• Order bumps and upsells at checkout
• Dynamic coupons and discount codes
• BNPL (buy now, pay later) for customers
• Guest checkout with no login required
• Direct, instant payout to Stripe and PayPal
• Software license key management
• Physical product support via shipping extension
• 100+ extensions spanning email marketing, file storage, analytics, and more

The integration list is where EDD shines. Stripe, PayPal, Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign, Dropbox, Amazon S3, Zapier, Slack. Most ecommerce platforms for digital sellers don’t match this breadth. If your workflow depends on connecting your cart to specific email tools or cloud storage, EDD probably has an extension for it.

EDD pricing structure

• Personal: $99.50/yr (1 site, core extensions)
• Extended: $199.50/yr (subscriptions, bundles, Zapier)
• Professional: $299.50/yr (funnels, premium support, Slack)
• All Access: $499.50/yr (every extension)

Keep in mind these prices don’t include WordPress hosting, SSL certificates, domain, or email services. The actual cost of running an EDD-powered store is higher than the plan price alone.

The limitations

EDD requires a self-hosted WordPress site. That means managing hosting, security patches, PHP updates, backups, and plugin conflicts. For a beginner without technical experience, this adds real overhead.

No built-in affiliate management. No LMS. Funnels and upsells are locked behind the Professional tier at $299.50/yr or higher. These advanced features, and integrations like Zapier, require the Extended plan or above. The free version of the plugin is limited in what it can do for serious digital product sales.

Download links don’t have strong protection against sharing. If a customer forwards their link, the recipient can access your files. For sellers of digital goods like ebooks, templates, and PDFs, that’s a file protection weakness worth considering.

EDD could add stronger download protection, but as of now, secure file delivery depends on third-party solutions or manual workarounds.

Best for

WordPress users who want deep customization and control over their digital product store. EDD remains a strong choice for serious digital product vendors selling software with license keys, ebooks, and digital content who already manage a WordPress site.

This is the link for Easy Digital Downloads.

SureCart: The Modern WordPress Ecommerce Alternative

SureCart was built as a lightweight alternative to WooCommerce. In the WooCommerce vs SureCart debate, the difference is clear: where WooCommerce tries to do everything, SureCart takes a focused approach. Fast, modern ecommerce for WordPress without the bloat.

It’s a WordPress plugin, but the way SureCart handles data is different. Product data, order information, and subscriptions are stored on SureCart’s servers rather than your WordPress database. This makes it faster but creates a dependency on SureCart’s infrastructure.

What SureCart offers

• Built-in affiliate management (no add-on needed)
• Funnels with upsells and downsells on all plans
• Order bumps at checkout
• BNPL support for customers
• Subscriptions with trials and setup fees
• Dynamic coupons and discounts
• Fast checkout process
• Guest checkout (no account required)
• Multiple payment gateways: Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, Paystack, Razorpay
• Download link protection
• LMS integrations with LearnDash, LifterLMS, and TutorLMS

SureCart also offers native integration with SureMembers and BuddyBoss for membership sites. For broader connectivity, OttoKit and Zapier open up thousands of additional apps. The interface is noticeably faster than WooCommerce, especially on shared hosting environments. In terms of ease of use, SureCart shines for WordPress users who want to sell digital downloads and physical and digital products without dealing with WooCommerce’s complexity.

SureCart pricing structure

• Free Launch: $0/mo with 1.9% transaction fee on every sale
• Pro (1 store): $179/yr
• Pro (5 stores): $249/yr
• Pro (unlimited stores): $399/yr

The free plan looks attractive until you calculate what 1.9% means at scale. At $5,000/mo in revenue, that’s $95/mo or $1,140/yr in platform fees alone, far more than the $179/yr Pro plan.

The limitations

The big one: SureCart manages your subscriptions on its own servers, not on Stripe or PayPal directly. If you leave SureCart, your recurring payments don’t come with you. For sellers building recurring revenue, this is a real risk.

Native integrations are limited compared to EDD’s extensive extension catalog. You won’t find direct connections to Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Amazon S3, or Dropbox without going through Zapier or OttoKit.

SureCart requires a self-hosted WordPress site. If you don’t already run WordPress or don’t want to manage hosting, SureCart isn’t an option. Non-technical users looking for a fully hosted solution will need to look elsewhere.

No LMS built in. No free migration. And while SureCart provides a clean checkout experience, the trade-off is that your store data lives on their servers, not yours.

Best for

WordPress users who want a modern ecommerce plugin that handles digital items and physical products without WooCommerce’s overhead. SureCart is an excellent choice for agencies managing multiple stores and sellers who value built-in affiliate tracking. Best for WordPress users who focus solely on digital products or mixed product types, and who are comfortable with SureCart controlling their subscription infrastructure.

This is the link for SureCart.

Pricing Breakdown: What You Actually Pay

Every sale includes Stripe/PayPal processing (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction). Here’s what each platform costs at different revenue levels.

Assumptions: $50 average order value, cheapest qualifying plan for each platform.

For EDD, the cheapest plan is Personal at $99.50/yr ($8.29/mo). For SureCart, the Pro plan at $179/yr ($14.92/mo) is cheaper than the free plan’s 1.9% fee at all four revenue levels below.

Savings against both EDD and SureCart stay flat because each charges a fixed annual fee regardless of revenue. CartMango saves you $99.50/yr compared to EDD and $179/yr compared to SureCart.

One thing to note: EDD’s plan price doesn’t include WordPress hosting, SSL, or email services. SureCart’s Pro plan doesn’t include hosting either. The true cost gap is wider than what this table shows.

At the free plan level, SureCart’s 1.9% transaction fee compounds as revenue grows. At $10,000/mo, that’s $190/mo ($2,280/yr), making the Pro plan a better deal at every scenario in this table. If you use SureCart, switching to Pro early saves money as soon as you cross roughly $785/mo in revenue.

Easy Digital Downloads vs SureCart vs CartMango: Which One Fits?

These are the links for each platform: Easy Digital Downloads, SureCart, CartMango.

Each platform serves a different kind of seller with different priorities.

Choose EDD if:

• You already run a WordPress site and want to sell digital products from it
• You need extensive integrations with email, marketing, and storage tools
• Software licensing and license key management matter for your products
• You want to keep your recurring payments on Stripe/PayPal
• You sell both digital and physical products and want one plugin for both
• Full customization of your online store is a priority

EDD starts at $99.50/yr for the Personal plan. Budget for WordPress hosting and extensions on top of that.

Choose SureCart if:

• You want a modern, lightweight WordPress ecommerce plugin without WooCommerce bloat
• Built-in affiliate management is important for your sales strategy
• You manage multiple stores (agency use cases)
• Multiple payment gateways matter (Mollie, Paystack, Razorpay beyond Stripe/PayPal)
• You’re okay with your subscription data living on SureCart’s servers

SureCart Pro starts at $179/yr. The free plan works for testing, but the 1.9% fee adds up fast.

Choose CartMango if:

• Zero platform fees and zero monthly cost matter right now
• Keeping recurring payments portable is non-negotiable
• Protected download links are important for your digital files
• You want direct access to a real human when something breaks
• You’re a solo creator and don’t need WordPress or self-hosting
• You don’t need an LMS or affiliate program today

CartMango is free until 2027. All features included from day one. Free migration is included if you’re moving from another platform.

When you compare SureCart vs Easy Digital Downloads, the differences are clear. But what matters is which difference affects your specific needs most.

In the Easy Digital Downloads vs SureCart comparison, EDD gives you more integrations and lets you keep your subscriptions. SureCart gives you a cleaner WordPress experience with built-in affiliates. CartMango gives you zero fees and zero lock-in, with the trade-off of fewer native integrations and no WordPress dependency.

The right choice depends on what you refuse to compromise on. If recurring revenue ownership matters most, EDD and CartMango are your options. If built-in affiliates and a modern WordPress plugin matter more, look at SureCart. If you want to start selling today with no cost and no risk, CartMango is waiting.

All three are among the best platforms for digital product sellers. The difference is in the details: where your data lives, what you pay, and how much control you keep when things change.

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