SendOwl is a great platform for selling digital products online. However, it may not be the best fit for everyone‘s needs. That‘s why it‘s important to explore some solid SendOwl alternatives when building your online business.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll compare the top 9 SendOwl competitors across key factors like features, ease of use, templates, integrations, payments, and more. By the end, you‘ll have all the information you need to determine which ecommerce solution is the best match to power your digital storefront.
Overview of the Top SendOwl Alternatives
Here‘s a high-level look at the top alternatives we‘ll be covering:
- Sellfy – Best overall SendOwl alternative that‘s easy to use with robust features
- Podia – Ideal for selling online courses and digital subscriptions
- Payhip – Emphasizes speedy checkout process for frictionless buying
- Lemon Squeezy – Great for selling software licenses with security features
- DPD – 500+ integrations make it very versatile
- Shopify – Best for full-featured online stores and physical products
- Gumroad – Built-in marketplace helps you get discovered
- Squarespace – Beautiful templates and great cms integrations
- BigCommerce – Advanced features tailored for high-volume stores
Now let‘s explore each SendOwl competitor in more depth.
1. Sellfy – Best Overall Alternative
Sellfy is my top choice as the best overall SendOwl alternative. The platform makes it simple for anyone to create an online store to sell digital goods, without needing design or coding skills.
Key Features
- Digital products – Sell all types of digital files including ebooks, music, photos, templates and more
- Physical products – Offer print-on-demand merchandise or ship your own inventory
- Subscriptions – Create recurring billing for memberships and digital subscriptions
- Marketing tools – Promotions, email marketing, coupons, and affiliate programs
- Security – Control permissions and downloads to protect your digital assets
Sellfy also provides an intuitive drag and drop store builder to customize pages. All stores are mobile optimized and you can connect your own domain.
For payments, Sellfy integrates directly with Stripe and Paypal so you get instant payouts. Transactions are protected by PCI compliance security measures.
Pricing starts at an affordable $19 per month, making this one of the most budget-friendly SendOwl competitors.
In summary, Sellfy makes it almost effortless to start selling online, with all the essential ecommerce features included. The easy setup, responsive templates, marketing tools, security protections, recurring billing options, and competitive pricing help it edge out the competition.
Sellfy Pros
- Very easy to get started
- Affordable pricing
- Robust included features
- Recurring subscriptions
- Marketing and security built-in
Sellfy Cons
- Some limitations for high-volume sellers
- Less customization options for coders
2. Podia – Best for Online Courses
Podia stands out as the best SendOwl alternative if you want to sell online courses, memberships, or digital subscriptions.
Beyond robust ecommerce features, Podia also provides an all-in-one platform with built-in tools for email marketing, affiliate programs, and course hosting.
Key Features
- Course creation – Upload lessons, quizzes, workbooks and discussion forums
- Membership sites – Offer exclusive access or content to paid subscribers
- Email marketing – Design professional emails and automate sequences
- Affiliate marketing – Empower partners to promote for you for a commission
- Webinars – Host and record interactive presentations and Q&As
Podia also enables you to build full websites to complement your store, publish marketing pages, and design high converting sales funnels.
Their templated sites look slick and professional even for beginners. You also have unlimited products, bandwidth, and storage across all pricing tiers.
For course creators and digital subscription services, Podia provides an end-to-end platform to sell and market your offerings.
Podia Pros
- Perfect for selling courses
- Email marketing and affiliates built-in
- Generous limits and storage
- Very responsive support team
Podia Cons
- Can get pricier for larger businesses
- Steeper learning curve than some
Start Podia‘s 14-Day Free Trial
3. Payhip – Fastest Checkout Process
Payhip differentiates itself from the SendOwl alternatives by emphasizing an ultra-fast and streamlined checkout process.
The company designed their pages to convert as quickly as possible. Combining easy payments, instant delivery, and persistent carts, Payhip aims to eliminate any friction that loses sales.
Key Features
- Digital goods – Sell all types of downloadable files and memberships
- Optimized checkout – Just 2-3 clicks from product to purchase
- Persistent carts – Pick up where you left off logged out
- Email delivery – Download links sent to customers too
- Marketing extras – Coupons, bundles, upsells Add to cart, checkout, instant access. Payhip makes it fast and easy for customers to buy from you.
They also provide useful marketing features like affiliate programs, mailing lists, coupon codes and more.
While Payhip matches competitors on core digital commerce capabilities, their Checkout Boost technology gives them the edge for the best user buying experience.
Payhip Pros
- Incredibly fast checkout
- Persistent carts reduce abandons
- Solid marketing features
- Affordable pricing
Payhip Cons
- Less advanced sale options
- More basic site builder
4. Lemon Squeezy – Best Security Protections
Lemon Squeezy stands out for providing robust security protections for your digital products. This makes them a top choice if selling software, apps, videos or other media vulnerable to piracy.
Key Features
- Software licensing – Sell apps and generate license keys
- Download limits – Control number of downloads
- PDF Stamping – Brand files with customer details
- VPN blocking – Stop unauthorized access attempts
- Subscriber access – Permission paid members only
You can sell any type of digital product from ebooks to music tracks. Lemon Squeezy also provides an integrated site builder to customize your storefront and pages.
While protecting your income is crucial, Lemon Squeezy balances security tools with a smooth buying experience. Customers can access purchases quickly while you reduce theft.
For software sellers or anyone selling easily duplicated media, Lemon Squeezy is the top choice to lock down your digital assets.
Lemon Squeezy Pros
- Robust security protections
- Software licensing
- Block VPN abusers
- Decent support options
Lemon Squeezy Cons
- PDF stamping only
- Transaction fees add up
Try Lemon Squeezy‘s Free Trial
5. DPD – Most Integrations
DPD, which stands for Digital Product Delivery, connects with over 500 external apps and services. This makes DPD one of the most versatile SendOwl competitors.
Key Features
- Popular integrations – Mailchimp, Google Analytics, Zapier, and hundreds more
- Automations – Trigger actions from third-party events
- Multi-store capable – Manage multiple online stores from one DPD account
- Development friendly – APIs and webhooks available
DPD focuses exclusively on delivering digital products from any platform. You can sell ebooks, photos, graphics, templates, software, themes and more.
While the admin UI is dated, DPD redeems itself by playing nicely with just about every external service you can think of.
Developers will also appreciate webhooks and APIs to build custom purchase flows or sync data. If your digital store relies on many third-party integrations, DPD is a solid choice.
DPD Pros
- 500+ app integrations
- Great for developers
- Multi-store capable
- Affordable pricing
DPD Cons
- Dated admin interface
- Less intuitive than some
6. Shopify – Best for Physical Products
Shopify is the best-known SendOwl alternative, providing an enterprise-grade commerce platform for selling any type of product.
The Shopify platform powers over 1 million businesses with advanced capabilities tailored to high-volume stores. But they make the powerful functionality easy for beginners through an intuitive drag and drop builder.
Key Features
- Physical/Digital Hybrid – Flexible inventory and fulfillment
- Store marketplace – Hire marketing experts and developers
- Advanced marketing – Built-in SEO, email, facebook and more
- Enterprise capabilities – Scalable for high-volume stores
- 24/7 Support – Phone, chat and email
Shopify handles everything from taxes calculations to shipping logistics across channels, backed by round-the-clock customer support.
While selling digital products alone may not require expansive capabilities, Shopify future-proofs your business if you ever expand into physical inventory down the road.
For larger digital stores or hybrid physical/digital inventory, Shopify provides an industry-leading commerce platform.
Shopify Pros
- Powerful features
- Great support team
- Lower rates for high-volume
- Marketplace of experts
Shopify Cons
- Overkill for early-stage digital sellers
- Transaction fees add up
Start Shopify‘s 14-Day Free Trial
7. Gumroad – Built-in Marketplace
Gumroad offers a built-in product marketplace where you can list your digital goods for added exposure.
This helps creators looking to sell their work get discovered. Buyers come to Gumroad actively searching for assets to use in their projects or skills to learn.
Key Features
- Marketplace discovery – Showcase products to buyer traffic
- Membership subscriptions – Offer exclusive or early access
- Variable pricing – Seller sets base, buyer picks from preset tiers or custom
- Direct on-platform sales – No need for standalone site
- Rental licensing – Rent instead of sell digital access
You don‘t need a separate website with Gumroad. The platform provides storefront profiles allowing customers to browse and transact directly.
However, you can also embed Gumroad purchase buttons anywhere from your own site to Youtube video ends cards and social posts.
For creators like musicians, authors, and video producers, Gumroad makes it easy to put your work in front of motivated buyers. The built-in audience gives you a leg up on other SendOwl competitors.
Gumroad Pros
- Built-in marketplace
- Variable & rental pricing
- Simple setup
- Direct sales on platform
Gumroad Cons
- Limited site customization
- Steeper fees than some
8. Squarespace Commerce
Squarespace strikes the optimal balance between usability and customization in their beautiful ecommerce templates.
Key Features
- Design flexibility – Modify blocks and layouts without coding
- Stock media library – Professionally designed images and videos
- Email campaigns – Create and segment targeted mailings
- CMS integrations – Connect to tools like Mailchimp and HubSpot
- Mobile optimized – Sleek responsive design across devices
Squarespace makes it easy to create a polished online storefront that looks like it cost thousands. But packages start at just $26 per month for an annual plan.
While Squarespace lacks some advanced functionality of Shopify, it provides a more than capable commerce solution. Especially if you value gorgeous design over complex features.
Squarespace Pros
- Beautiful templates
- Easy customizations
- Great value pricing
- Integrates with top CMS tools
Squarespace Cons
- Some limitations for advanced users
- Potential site speed issues at scale
Start Squarespace‘s 14-Day Free Trial
9. BigCommerce – Advanced Enterprise Stores
Similar to Shopify, BigCommerce offers an enterprise-grade platform tailored for higher volume online stores.
The key difference from Shopify being that BigCommerce provides more advanced out-of-box functionality for B2B sales.
Key Features
- B2B capabilities – Quotes, invoices and advanced CRM
- Product filtering – Layered navigation and custom searches
- Secure hosting – PCI certified with dedicated malware detection
- Integrated CMS – Content creation and blogging built-in
- Advertising credits – Complementary ad spend to amplify sales
BigCommerce also makes running all aspects of a digital business intuitive through a centralized hub. This reduces need for multiple dashboards across tools.
From robust analytics to fine-tuned SEO controls to omnichannel sales management, BigCommerce ties everything together nicely.
For advanced digital sellers that are outgrowing Shopify or other platforms, BigCommerce provides enterprise-level site capabilities to scale growth.
BigCommerce Pros
- Very advanced capabilities
- Centralized management
- Built-in CMS and blogs
- High security standards
BigCommerce Cons
- Overkill for early-stage
- Steep learning curve
Start BigCommerce‘s 15-Day Free Trial
Choosing the Best SendOwl Alternative
All the ecommerce solutions covered provide capable options to sell digital goods online. The ideal platform for your needs depends on your product mix, business model, technical skills, and budget.
I recommend outlining your key criteria across factors like:
- Product types – Digital only? Physical inventory too? Mix of goods and services?
- Business model – Subscriptions, memberships and bundles? Pay-as-you-want?
- Marketing needs – Built-in email and affiliate tools? Custom funnels?
- Technical expertise – Prefer drag and drop builder? Want developer control?
- Budget – What monthly and transaction fees can you afford?
Document your must-have commerce features, integrations, and capabilities beforehand. This ensures the solution you choose provides everything you need both now and as your business scales.
Top Questions About SendOwl Alternatives
Here are answers to some common questions around choosing a SendOwl alternative:
Which platform has the lowest fees?
Sellfy and Payhip tend to have among the most affordable pricing for sellers. They start at $19 and $29 per month respectively with competitive transaction rates.
Gumroad is an interesting model with no monthly fees, just per transaction commissions starting at 8.5%.
Shopify Lite for digital products has no monthly fees either, but charges higher transaction rates.
Can I offer both one-time and recurring payments?
Yes, platforms like Sellfy, Podia, Payhip and Lemon Squeezy all support both one-time sales and recurring subscriptions or memberships.
This flexibility lets you diversify monetization with bundles across both models.
How do I prevent file theft and piracy?
Lemon Squeezy provides the strongest security protections out of the SendOwl alternatives. Their platform is purpose built to help software sellers and digital creators lock down IP.
Other options like DPD and Sellfy also offer product encryption, file watermarking, download limits and other security tools.
What about print-on-demand drop shipping?
Sellfy has integrated Printify partnerships that enable sellers to offer print-on-demand shirts, mugs, hats and more without any upfront inventory costs or hassle.
Shopify also connects with Printful to power POD merchandise sales from your online store.
Final Thoughts
Replacing SendOwl as the foundation of your digital commerce business is an important decision. The alternative platform must provide the exact features, support, and capacity to meet current and future needs.
I hope this comprehensive guide and side-by-side comparisons help you find the best SendOwl competitor to power your online store.
Each covered platform has strengths in certain areas. Outline your must-have capabilities before deciding which option best aligns with your goals and business model.
Once you select a solution that checks all of your boxes, the exciting part comes next – filling your new store with amazing products that deliver value to customers around the world!
