Payhip is a hosted ecommerce platform for digital products, physical products, and courses. SureCart is a WordPress ecommerce plugin, a lighter alternative to WooCommerce. Both charge transaction fees on their free plan and lose your recurring payments if you leave.
You Built the Revenue, but the Platform Holds It
If you use Payhip, your subscription revenue disappears the moment you cancel your account. You can connect your own Stripe account, but Payhip manages the recurring billing on their end. Leave, and those monthly payments from your customers are gone.
SureCart uses the same approach. It manages subscriptions on its own platform, not directly through Stripe or PayPal. Your recurring payments vanish when you walk away. You built that revenue over months or years, and the platform holds it.
If you sell subscriptions or memberships, that recurring revenue is the most stable part of your income. Losing it means starting over with every paying customer.
How to Keep Your Recurring Revenue When You Switch Platforms
If you want to sell digital products without your subscription revenue being held hostage, the platform you choose matters.
That is the idea behind CartMango (full disclosure: this post is published by CartMango, and we include our limitations alongside the comparison). CartMango connects directly to your Stripe and PayPal accounts, and your recurring payments stay with you. If you leave CartMango tomorrow, your paying customers keep getting billed through your own payment gateway.
CartMango is free until 2027, with 0 monthly fees and 0% commission. The features on the free plan include everything. Nothing is gated. Support is founder-led and personal, with an average response time of 2 hours and 16 minutes.
If recurring revenue ownership is a priority, it is worth looking at before you commit to Payhip or SureCart.
Payhip vs SureCart vs CartMango
| Feature | Payhip | SureCart | CartMango |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your recurring payments gone if you leave the platform? | ❌ Recurring payments lost if you leave, even when you connect to your own Stripe / PayPal | ❌ Recurring payments lost if you leave. SureCart handles subscriptions on its own platform, not directly on Stripe / PayPal | ✅ You keep recurring payments |
| Totally free? (note: Stripe / PayPal fees are standard across all cart platforms) | ❌ 5% per transaction (base plan). $29/mo + 2% (Plus plan). $99/mo (Pro plan). | ❌ Free Launch plan with 1.9% transaction fee on every sale. Pro (1 store): $179/yr Pro (5 stores): $249/yr Pro (unlimited stores): $399/yr | ✅ Yes, 0 monthly fees, 0% commission. All features included (until 2027). |
| Learning management system (LMS) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ Future |
| Funnels (upsells & downsells) AFTER customers paid for the main product | ❌ Does not support upsells / downsells | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Customer support | Responsive email support with generally positive user reviews, but live chat is not available. | Email/ticket only, no live chat. Free plan: 24-48hr weekday response. Pro plan: priority support. Extensive knowledge base and video tutorials. Reviews praise support quality. | Founder-led personal support, no chatbots, no live chat. Average response time is 2hr+. |
| Buy now, pay later (BNPL) support for your customers (boost your sales) | ❌ No true BNPL: Payhip’s installment plans pay you over time, not upfront. So you risk missed payments if customers bail before finishing what they owe. | ✅ | ✅ |
| Order bumps to boost sales | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Subscriptions (support trials & set up fees) | ⚠️ Subscriptions only work with Stripe, not PayPal. So you can’t sell subscriptions if customers pay with PayPal. | ✅ | ✅ |
| Flexible coupons & discounts | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Quick & smooth checkouts | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Customers need NOT log in before buying (quick checkout experience) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Direct, instant payout to your Stripe / PayPal (no withholding payments) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| If download links are shared by rogue customers, will they work? | ✅ Links are protected | ✅ Links are protected | ✅ Links are protected |
| Integrations | ✅ Connects with WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, Shopify, Calendly, Zoom, Bookvault, AdSense, chat, mailing lists, and Zapier. | ⚠️ Limited native connections: LearnDash, LifterLMS, TutorLMS, SureMembers, and BuddyBoss. Payments: Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, Paystack, Razorpay. Connects to thousands of apps via OttoKit or Zapier. | ⚠️ Limited native connections, but its Make.com connector gives you access to 3,000+ apps. Current native connections: Stripe, PayPal, Kit, ActiveCampaign, Beehiiv, and BirdSend, with more coming soon. |
| Affiliate management | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ Coming soon |
| Best for | Creators who want simple global VAT handling and easy setup, but need to watch out for per-transaction fees that add up as sales grow. | WordPress users who want an ecommerce plugin without WooCommerce’s bloat. Good for selling digital and physical products, courses, subscriptions, and for agencies managing multiple stores. Requires a self-hosted WordPress site, so not for non-technical users wanting a fully hosted solution. | Solo digital creators who do not want their recurring revenue held hostage, plus instant setup, human support, and 0 platform fees (free until 2027). |
| Free migration | ❌ No free migration | ❌ No free migration | ✅ Free migration included |
These are the links for each platform: Payhip, SureCart, CartMango.
CartMango Is Not for Everyone, and That Is the Point
CartMango is built for solo digital creators who want to start selling online without monthly fees and without their subscription revenue held hostage. If you sell digital products like ebooks, courses, templates, or coaching sessions, it has a good selection of features and the tools you need.
But it does not do everything.
There is no built-in LMS yet (it is on the roadmap). If you need full courses with progress tracking right now, Payhip is a better fit. Affiliate management is coming soon but is not live yet. Native connections are still growing, though the Make.com connector gives you access to 3,000+ apps.
So in the Payhip vs Surecart comparison, where does CartMango fit? It is an option for people who want to be able to sell digital and physical products, collect recurring payments they actually own, and skip platform fees. If you are looking to start and need a full WordPress plugin library or a built-in course platform as your site to sell courses, one of the other platforms on this list will serve you better for now.
Payhip: The Hosted Platform With Built-In Courses
Payhip is an easy to use platform for selling different product types without needing a WordPress website. It works as your online store for all types of digital products. You sign up, upload your digital content, and start selling digital products right away. It includes a built-in learning management system for selling courses from the same dashboard.
What Payhip offers
- Built-in LMS for hosting and selling courses
- Sell physical products, digital goods, memberships, and coaching
- Sell services like consulting or mentoring sessions
- Affiliate management to help others promote your products
- Global VAT handling built in
- Connections with WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, Calendly, Zoom, and Zapier
- Protected download links
- No customer login required at checkout
- Copy and paste embed codes to sell from other websites
Payhip pricing structure
- Free plan: 5% transaction fee on every sale
- Plus plan: $29/mo + 2% transaction fee
- Pro plan: $99/mo with 0% transaction fee
On the free plan, 5% of a $5,000 month is $250 in platform fees alone, on top of PayPal and Stripe processing. Payhip also does not offer a free trial for the paid plans.
The limitations
Payhip does not support upsells or downsells. There is no true buy now, pay later: their installment plans pay you over time, which means you risk missed payments. Subscriptions only work with Stripe, not PayPal. Your recurring payments disappear if you leave. No free migration.
Best for
Creators who want a simple, hosted platform that will allow you to sell digital products and courses with global VAT handling.
This is the link for Payhip.
SureCart: The WordPress Plugin for Selling Without WooCommerce
SureCart is a WordPress ecommerce plugin built to be lighter than WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads. Unlike traditional plugins that bolt onto WordPress with heavy overhead, SureCart uses its own infrastructure for checkout and payment processing. It works with your existing WordPress theme and page builder. If you have a new or existing WordPress site and want to also sell physical and digital products, SureCart is worth considering.
What SureCart offers
- Upsells and downsells (funnels) after the main purchase
- Buy now, pay later (BNPL) support
- Multiple payment gateways: Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, Paystack, Razorpay
- Order bumps at checkout
- Full subscription support with trials and setup fees
- Affiliate management
- Pro plans offer the ability to manage multiple stores (good for agencies)
SureCart pricing structure
- Free Launch plan: 1.9% transaction fee on every sale
- Pro (1 store): $179/yr
- Pro (5 stores): $249/yr
- Pro (unlimited stores): $399/yr
The Pro plan at $179/yr ($14.92/mo) removes the transaction fee, so it pays for itself above roughly $800/mo in revenue.
The limitations
SureCart has no built-in LMS. You would need a separate plugin like LearnDash or TutorLMS. Native connections are limited, though OttoKit and Zapier expand the options. The biggest limitation: your recurring payments are gone if you leave because subscriptions are hosted on SureCart’s platform, not on your Stripe or PayPal. No free migration.
Best for
WordPress users looking to sell digital downloads, physical products, and subscriptions without WooCommerce’s overhead. Good for agencies with multiple stores. Not a fit if you want a fully hosted solution.
This is the link for SureCart.
What You Actually Pay: Payhip vs SureCart vs CartMango
All costs below include Stripe/PayPal processing fees (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction), assuming $50 average order value and the cheapest plan at each revenue level.
| Monthly Revenue | Payhip Cost (per month) | SureCart Cost (per month) | CartMango Cost (per month) | CartMango Savings vs Payhip (per year) | CartMango Savings vs SureCart (per year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 (20 orders) | $29 platform + $20 (2%) + $35 processing = $84 | $14.92 platform + $35 processing = $49.92 | $0 platform + $35 processing = $35 | $588/yr | $179/yr |
| $5,000 (100 orders) | $99 platform + $175 processing = $274 | $14.92 platform + $175 processing = $189.92 | $0 platform + $175 processing = $175 | $1,188/yr | $179/yr |
| $10,000 (200 orders) | $99 platform + $350 processing = $449 | $14.92 platform + $350 processing = $364.92 | $0 platform + $350 processing = $350 | $1,188/yr | $179/yr |
| $50,000 (1,000 orders) | $99 platform + $1,750 processing = $1,849 | $14.92 platform + $1,750 processing = $1,764.92 | $0 platform + $1,750 processing = $1,750 | $1,188/yr | $179/yr |
Both Payhip and SureCart also offer free tiers, but those come with per-transaction fees. CartMango has no platform fees at all. At $5,000/mo, the savings vs Payhip hit $1,188 per year. The SureCart savings stay at $179/yr since it is a flat annual fee regardless of your revenue.
Payhip vs SureCart vs CartMango: Which One Fits What You Need?
These are the links for each platform: Payhip, SureCart, CartMango.
Choose Payhip if you want a hosted platform that is easy to use, with a built-in LMS for courses and global VAT handling. You do not need a WordPress site (you can use Shopify or other builders), and you are okay with per-transaction fees or $99/mo to remove them. Your recurring payments vanish if you leave.
Choose SureCart if you already have a WordPress website and want a modern ecommerce plugin that offers all of the features WooCommerce has, but without the bloat. SureCart gives you upsells, downsells, BNPL, and multiple payment gateways for your ecommerce store. You will need a self-hosted WordPress setup, and your recurring payments are gone if you leave.
Choose CartMango if you are a solo digital creator who does not want to pay platform fees and does not want your recurring revenue held hostage. CartMango gives you the ability to sell digital and physical products, collect subscription payments you actually keep, and get help from a real person when something breaks. It is the best free option right now, free until 2027. If you are looking to sell and want a platform that works without the additional cost of monthly subscriptions or the additional transaction fees that Payhip and SureCart charge, give it a try.
Whether you are comparing SureCart vs Payhip or considering all three, the best ecommerce platform is the one that fits how you work and what you sell. If you have been using Gumroad or another platform and are not sure where to go, start with the free plan on any of these three and test it with a real product before you commit.
Related Reading
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