FileFreightFileFreight vs Payhip: fee-for-fee comparison
Payhip's pricing is refreshingly simple: Free at 5% per sale, Plus at $29/month with 2% per sale, and Pro at $99/month with 0% per sale. FileFreight mirrors the bookends — Free at 5% with no monthly fee, Pro at $19/month with 0% — which makes this the most apples-to-apples comparison on this site.
Transparency note: Payhip's numbers below are sourced from SendOwl's own comparison write-up (March 2026). Treat Payhip's own site as the final word if anything looks different.
What a $20 sale costs
| Plan | Monthly | Per-sale fee | Processing | Total per $20 sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payhip Free | $0 | 5% ($1.00) | ≈ $0.88 | ≈ $1.88 |
| Payhip Plus | $29 | 2% ($0.40) | ≈ $0.88 | ≈ $1.28 |
| Payhip Pro | $99 | 0% | ≈ $0.88 | ≈ $0.88 |
| FileFreight Free | $0 | 5% ($1.00) | ≈ $0.88 | ≈ $1.88 |
| FileFreight Pro | $19 | 0% | ≈ $0.88 | ≈ $0.88 |
Break-even math
- Free vs Payhip Free: identical fees — a tie on price. The difference is features: per-buyer PDF stamping, auto-issued license keys with API validation, and automatic revocation on refunds come standard on FileFreight.
- Pro vs Payhip Plus: Pro wins at every volume — $19/month with 0% fees beats $29/month with 2% fees on both the monthly and the per-sale line.
- Pro vs Payhip Pro: the same 0% per-sale fee, $80/month cheaper.
Who should stay with Payhip
- You're on Free and happy. Fees are identical to FileFreight Free, so switching only makes sense if you want specific FileFreight features.
- You're on Plus and don't want to migrate. The math favors Pro at every volume, but "don't fix what isn't broken" is a legitimate strategy if a few dollars a month isn't worth your afternoon.
- Payhip Pro earns its $99. If Payhip's storefront is genuinely worth $80/month more to you than Pro, the fee gap is the price of that preference.
Frequently asked questions
Is FileFreight Free really the same price as Payhip Free?
On fees, yes: both charge 5% per sale with card processing on top, and neither has a monthly fee. The difference is features — for example, FileFreight includes per-buyer PDF stamping, auto-issued license keys with API validation, and automatic revocation on refunds on both plans.
When does Pro beat Payhip Plus?
Always. Plus is $29 a month plus 2% per sale; Pro is $19 a month with no per-sale fee. Pro costs less every month and less per sale, at any volume.
What about Payhip Pro at $99 a month?
Pro undercuts it by $80 a month with the same 0% per-sale fee. The only reason to keep paying $99 is if Payhip itself is worth the difference to you.
Does FileFreight handle taxes?
No. FileFreight is not a merchant of record — sales run through your own Stripe account and you handle your own taxes.
Is there an automatic Payhip importer?
No. Migration is manual: recreate each product (name, price, file, download limits) in a few minutes per product.
Sources
Pricing last checked September 2026.
Ready to try FileFreight? The free plan is $0 a month with a 5% per-sale fee — no card required. Upgrade to Pro ($19/month, 0% fees) whenever the math says it pays for itself.