Your Gumroad affiliate program,
on a real engine.
This page is different from our other comparisons: Gumroad is not an affiliate platform, it is where you sell, and its built-in affiliate feature is free and genuinely fine for simple programs. Rekomi tracks Gumroad sales through its Gumroad integration, so the question is never Gumroad vs Rekomi as a storefront. It is only where your affiliate program should live: inside Gumroad's built-in feature, or on a dedicated platform reading the same Gumroad sales. Here is the honest read on when each answer is right.
When to pick which.
Your program has outgrown a single flat percentage: you want tiered rates, commission delays and caps, coupon-code attribution for podcast and video affiliates, per-click or per-lead campaigns, real fraud screening before money moves, and click analytics your affiliates can actually see. Or you sell beyond Gumroad too (your own site, Stripe, Lemon Squeezy) and want a program that is not locked inside one storefront's feature set.
You sell only on Gumroad, a flat percentage per affiliate is your whole program, and you like that the built-in feature costs nothing extra and that Gumroad pays affiliates directly out of each sale with tax forms handled. For a handful of trusted affiliates promoting a couple of products, the built-in feature is the right amount of tool.
The full comparison.
How we keep this honest
Every row reflects real product behavior on the date above. We update this page when either product ships material changes. Nothing here is invented to make Rekomi look better.
Which one fits your situation.
Affiliate platforms are not one-size-fits-all. Here is a straight read on which tool wins for each profile we see.
Creator with a few products and a handful of trusted affiliates
Use the built-in feature. It costs nothing, Gumroad pays your affiliates directly, and a flat percentage is all a small program needs. Come back when you need tiers, codes, analytics, or fraud screening; the importer will be here.
Membership creator scaling recurring revenue
Gumroad forces lifetime recurring commissions on memberships with no way to change it. Rekomi lets you shape recurring: capped months, delays through refund windows, tiers for top recruiters, churn-aware reversal.
Creator whose affiliates are podcasters and YouTubers
Spoken-word traffic converts on codes, not links. Gumroad cannot attribute a sale from a code alone; Rekomi's coupon attribution credits the affiliate when the code is used, no click required.
Seller on Gumroad plus their own Stripe or Lemon Squeezy checkout
Gumroad's built-in feature only ever sees Gumroad sales, and it has no equivalent on your other checkout at all. Rekomi supports every one of those platforms with the same commission engine, fraud screening, and payout rails: each billing platform runs as its own workspace (one conversion source of truth each), so both channels finally get the same program quality.
Where the modern build pays off.
The pillars below summarise the side-by-side above. We keep the read honest by including the cases where Gumroad still wins today.
Our case.
Everything past a flat percentage. Tiered and time-based rates, configurable recurring with caps and delays, per-click and per-lead campaigns, coupon-code attribution for audio and video affiliates, real-time fraud scoring against live IP reputation, click analytics affiliates can see, a branded portal on your domain, a curated affiliate network, AI co-pilot, and the same engine available on Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, and Shopify when you sell beyond Gumroad. And portability: your program is not welded to one storefront's feature set.
What both ship.
Stripe-native tracking, refund-aware attribution, signed S2S hooks, and standard commission models. Both tools clear the bar on the table-stakes. The differences live in everything built on top of that foundation.
No spin.
The built-in feature is free, and free is a feature. Gumroad pays affiliates directly out of each sale's split, handles 1099-MISCs, supports custom rates from 1% to 75% per affiliate with per-product overrides, always-on recurring commissions on memberships, and a public signup form. For a single-channel creator with a simple program, adding a paid platform on top is over-tooling, and we would rather say that plainly.
Our straight answer.
Start with Gumroad's built-in feature; it is free and fine. Switch to Rekomi at the moment your program becomes a growth channel you manage rather than a checkbox you enabled: when you want codes for podcast affiliates, tiers for your best recruiters, fraud screening before payouts, analytics your affiliates ask for, or one program across Gumroad and your other checkouts. Migration is self-serve: export your affiliates CSV from the Gumroad dashboard, upload it, and pull each affiliate's sales history through Gumroad's API in step two.
Common questions.
Is Gumroad's built-in affiliate program really free?
Yes. There is no extra charge for the affiliate feature; you pay Gumroad's normal platform fee (10% + $0.50 per direct sale, plus payment processing at 2.9% + $0.30 for cards, or a flat 30% on Discover marketplace sales, processing included). Commission math note: the affiliate's percentage applies to the total sale amount including sales tax and shipping, and Gumroad's fees are split between creator and affiliate in proportion to the commission rate.
Do I have to stop selling on Gumroad to use Rekomi?
No. Rekomi integrates with Gumroad natively: authorize once on Gumroad's consent screen and sales, membership renewals, refunds, and disputes flow into Rekomi automatically, with every notification verified against Gumroad's API before any commission is recorded. Your checkout, pricing, and Gumroad account stay exactly as they are. See /integrations/gumroad.
How do payouts compare?
Gumroad pays affiliates itself out of each sale, into the affiliate's Gumroad balance, with a 7-day hold, a $100 payout minimum (raised from $10 in March 2026), local bank deposits in around 110 countries or PayPal where bank payouts are unavailable, and 1099-MISCs for US affiliates over $600. Rekomi also runs payouts for you, via Stripe Express and PayPal across 150+ countries, with configurable minimums, automatic schedules, and US 1099-NEC prep handled at year end.
What is the Gumroad Affiliates marketplace and how is it different from Rekomi's network?
If your products are listed on Gumroad Discover, anyone on Gumroad can generate an affiliate link at a fixed 10% commission; you cannot change the rate, and opting out applies to your whole account. Rekomi's network is the opposite shape: curated, subscription-and-creator focused, and every relationship is at rates you set with approval flows and fraud screening in front of payment.
Can affiliates track their clicks on Gumroad?
No. Gumroad's own affiliate FAQ recommends affiliates use a link shortener like bit.ly for click data, and affiliate sales are not visible in Gumroad's iOS app. On Rekomi every affiliate gets a live dashboard with clicks, leads, conversions, and earnings, embeddable on your own site on Growth and Pro.
How does migration from Gumroad's built-in program work?
Two steps, self-serve, on any Starter+ plan. Step 1: export your affiliates CSV from the Gumroad dashboard's Affiliates page (exports over 500 affiliates arrive by email) and upload it; each affiliate's rate and product scope land in per-row import notes for review. Step 2: pull sales history per affiliate through Gumroad's API. Gumroad /a/ links use opaque ids that only route inside Gumroad, so affiliates get fresh Rekomi links; history imports as settled records. See /docs/brands/migrations/gumroad.
Do my affiliates need Gumroad accounts on Rekomi?
No. Gumroad requires every affiliate to hold a confirmed Gumroad account for payouts. Rekomi affiliates sign up on your branded portal (your domain on Growth), set up payouts through Stripe Express or PayPal onboarding, and never need an account on your sales platform.
What changed at Gumroad recently that affects affiliates?
Three recent changes, all verified against Gumroad's published docs and open-source repo: the payout minimum rose from $10 to $100 in March 2026 and applies to affiliates; India was removed from supported payout countries in May 2026; and Gumroad became a merchant of record in January 2025, so it now handles all sales tax, which affiliate commissions are calculated on top of (commission applies to the tax-inclusive total).
A $100 sale, 30% affiliate, both ways.
Gumroad publishes exact rules: commission applies to the tax-inclusive total, Gumroad's fees come off the top, and fees are split creator/affiliate in proportion to the commission. Here is a worked direct-sale example (card payment, no sales tax for simplicity).
- Fees off the top: $13.70 (Gumroad 10% + $0.50, card processing 2.9% + $0.30)
- Affiliate: $30 commission minus their 30% share of fees ($4.11) = $25.89
- Creator: $70 remainder minus their 70% share of fees ($9.59) = $60.41
- Check: $13.70 + $25.89 + $60.41 = $100
- Software cost: $0
- Same Gumroad + processing fees: your checkout is unchanged
- Affiliate commission: whatever your campaign rules say, e.g. $30 flat, tiered, delayed, or capped
- Rekomi payout fee: 3% of the payout ($0.90 on $30)
- Software: from $19/mo flat
- What that buys: codes, tiers, fraud scoring, analytics, multi-channel, portability
Two structural differences worth noticing: on Gumroad, commission is calculated on the tax-inclusive total (Gumroad is a merchant of record), and the affiliate absorbs a pro-rata share of platform fees. On Rekomi, you define the commission base and rules per campaign, and the 3% platform fee applies only to what you actually pay out.
Stay on the built-in feature if all of these are true.
We would rather you use the free thing when it fits. Check yourself against this list; it is the same one we use when Gumroad sellers ask us.
- Gumroad is your only sales channel
- One flat rate per affiliate is your whole program
- Your affiliates already have Gumroad accounts
- Lifetime recurring on memberships is what you want anyway
- Nobody is asking you for click stats or codes
- You want codes for podcast or video affiliates
- Top affiliates deserve tiers or negotiated deals
- You want commissions delayed through refund windows or capped
- You sell anywhere besides Gumroad
- You have ever suspected a payout you could not verify
Moving your Gumroad affiliates, step by step.
Two surfaces: your roster comes from Gumroad's dashboard CSV, and sales history comes through Gumroad's API, because Gumroad has no conversions export.
- Export the affiliates CSV from your Gumroad dashboard's Affiliates page; exports over 500 rows arrive by email.
- Upload in Rekomi Settings → Migrate. Each affiliate's fee percentage and product scope land in per-row notes for review; everyone imports as Approved (the export has no status column).
- Step 2 pulls each affiliate's sales history via Gumroad's API; history imports as settled records and never retro-credits balances.
- Gumroad /a/ links cannot carry over (opaque ids that only route inside Gumroad), so affiliates get fresh Rekomi links; the Gumroad integration keeps new sales attributing from day one.
Looking at someone else?
Side by side, always
Every comparison page on Rekomi is fact-checked the same way. Pick the affiliate platform you are auditing and read the honest read.
Switch from Gumroad this week.
Self-serve importers ship for 13 platforms: Rewardful, Tapfiliate, FirstPromoter, PartnerStack, Dub Partners, Tolt, Lemon Squeezy, Gumroad, impact.com, PromoteKit, LeadDyno, Trackdesk, and Partnero; most of the API pulls also bring leads, lifetime click counts, and commission history. White-glove sales and payout backfill included for early adopters. You stay in control.
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