shouldiuse.io

New check

Comparison

Books vs Gumroad

Books and Gumroad both land on Depends.

Books

books.by

Depends
Confidence: Low

Evidence is thin (low confidence): books.by looks like a small direct-sales and print platform for self-published authors, but one author reports order problems and poor service.

Read the full report

Books versus Gumroad
CompareBooksGumroad
VerdictDependsDepends
Best forSelf-published authorsFirst-time digital sellers
Who it's not forAuthors needing dependable, fast order fulfillmentHigh-volume sellers . 10%+ fees compound brutally
PrivacyNo known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.³Runs a HackerOne bug bounty, but has a recent CVSS 7.1 missing-authorization CVE and a stored XSS flaw with no known fix.12
Support qualityComplaint cites poor customer serviceTrustpilot complaints about held funds persist
Public sentimentDirect user feedback is scarce; the one findable post is an author complaint about orders and service.⁴Creators love Gumroad's simplicity and free setup but widely complain about the ~10-13% effective fees, payout holds, and declining organic sales.⁸
Biggest gotchaComplaint cites author-copy order problems and poor service . test with one small order first.⁴Advertised 10% fee is really ~12.9% once hidden charges land10

Pick Books when

  • Self-published authors
  • Authors selling print copies direct

When Books is not a fit

  • Authors needing dependable, fast order fulfillment
  • Anyone expecting responsive customer support
  • Authors wanting guaranteed wide bookstore distribution

Pick Gumroad when

  • First-time digital sellers
  • Ebook and template creators
  • Testing product ideas cheaply
  • No-monthly-fee side hustles

When Gumroad is not a fit

  • High-volume sellers . 10%+ fees compound brutally
  • Software vendors needing licensing and support tooling
  • Thin-margin products where ~13% kills profit
  • Sellers who can't risk frozen payouts

Sources

  1. Books . homepagebooks.by
    official
  2. Book Pricing Guide . Genre-Specific Pricing Advisorbooks.by
    official
  3. Books.by product security pagebooks.by
    security
  4. Books.by authors copies order issues and poor customer servicefacebook.com
    review
  5. Gumroad pricing: 10% + 50¢ direct, 30% via Discovergumroad.com
    official
  6. Gumroad's fees . Help Centergumroad.com
    official
  7. Gumroad Reviews | G2g2.com
    review
  8. Gumroad Reviews | Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  9. Gumroad Reviews | Product Huntproducthunt.com
    review
  10. Gumroad Pricing 2026: Why the 10% Fee Is Really 12.9%cartmango.com
    review
  11. Gumroad fees are insane . Reddit r/ecommercereddit.com
    review
  12. CVE-2026-59805: Gumroad Missing Authorization (CVSS 7.1)strix.ai
    security
  13. Gumroad Contributor+ Stored XSS | CVE-2023-45059wpscan.com
    security
  14. Gumroad Revenue 2024: $23.8M Est. ARR, $100M Valuationgetlatka.com
    news