StackBE vs Gumroad

What is Gumroad?

Gumroad is a platform for creators to sell digital products directly to their audience. Founded in 2011, it's become the go-to choice for selling ebooks, courses, templates, software, and memberships.

Gumroad provides:

It's designed for simplicity—creators can start selling in minutes.

What is StackBE?

StackBE is a subscription backend for SaaS applications. It's built for software products that need customer authentication, subscription management, and feature-based access control.

StackBE provides:

Different Products, Different Purposes

This comparison matters because many indie developers consider Gumroad for their SaaS. It's simple, has no monthly fees, and "just works." But the products serve different markets.

Gumroad excels at: Selling things to people

StackBE excels at: Powering subscription-based software

Key Differences

Product Model

Gumroad: Optimized for digital products—files people download, courses they access, memberships to content. The transaction is primary; the product is often static.

StackBE: Optimized for SaaS—software people log into, use over time, with features that vary by plan. The ongoing relationship is primary; access control is continuous.

Authentication

Gumroad: Customers can access purchases via "Library" but there's no proper authentication system for your product. If your SaaS needs user accounts, you build that separately.

StackBE: Magic link authentication built-in. Customers log into your product through StackBE, and their subscription status is automatically available.

Entitlements

Gumroad: Basic membership tiers. You can offer different membership levels, but checking "does this user have access to feature X in my app?" requires custom code. Gumroad doesn't know about your app's features.

StackBE: Entitlements are core. Define features per plan, check access via API. When subscriptions change, entitlements update automatically. Your app queries StackBE for access control.

Fees

Gumroad: 10% flat fee on sales. No monthly fee. For a $50/month subscription, Gumroad takes $5.

StackBE: Flat monthly fee plus Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30. For a $50 subscription, Stripe takes ~$1.75.

At $10K MRR:

The difference is substantial at scale.

Merchant of Record

Gumroad: Gumroad is the merchant of record. They handle sales tax and VAT compliance. Customers see "Gumroad" on their credit card statement.

StackBE: You are the merchant (via your Stripe account). You're responsible for tax compliance (Stripe Tax helps). Customers see your business name.

Developer Experience

Gumroad: Minimal API. Works well for simple "did they buy it?" checks. Not designed for complex integration scenarios.

StackBE: API-first with TypeScript SDK. Built for developers integrating into applications. Webhooks, entitlements, usage tracking—all programmable.

When to Choose Gumroad

Gumroad is the right choice when:

When to Choose StackBE

StackBE is better when:

The Indie Developer Decision

Many indie developers start with Gumroad because it's familiar and simple. That works for:

But if you're building a web app where users log in, have accounts, and access features based on their plan—that's a SaaS, and Gumroad's model starts to strain.

The Bottom Line

Gumroad is excellent for creators selling products to audiences. StackBE is built for developers running subscription software.

If you're selling *to* customers (products, downloads, memberships), Gumroad's simplicity wins.

If you're building *for* customers (SaaS they use ongoing), StackBE's integration capabilities are what you need.

The fee difference matters too: 10% vs ~4% adds up quickly.