Whop vs Lemon Squeezy: which is better for selling software and digital products?
Updated
The short answer
Pick Lemon Squeezy if you sell software or digital downloads and want a merchant of record to handle global sales tax and VAT for you. Pick Whop if you want to sell software alongside courses, community chat, and files, or if you need flexible buyer payment options like Cash App and crypto.
Sales tax and the seller of record
The biggest difference between the two tools is how they treat taxes. Lemon Squeezy acts as a merchant of record for software and digital goods. That means Lemon Squeezy calculates, collects, and pays sales tax and VAT for you across different countries. Stripe bought Lemon Squeezy in July 2024, and the team is also building Stripe Managed Payments.
Whop works differently. Whop is a marketplace and platform, but you remain responsible for your own taxes. If you want a platform that takes global tax paperwork off your desk, Lemon Squeezy has a clear advantage.
Products you can sell and store features
Whop lets you sell many types of products in one place. You can sell software, files, courses, community chat, and events. Whop uses modular apps that you add to your hub. For example, sellers can use the MKKT app on Whop to upload a file and get a link where buyers can purchase without creating a Whop account.
Lemon Squeezy focuses on software and digital downloads. It offers checkout links, license keys, and recurring subscriptions. It does not build an all-in-one community space with chat rooms or live event hosting. If you want to bundle your digital files with an active community, Whop gives you more tools out of the box.
Payment methods for buyers
Whop gives your customers many ways to pay. Buyers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, PayPal, Cash App, bank transfers, and crypto like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Whop also supports buy-now-pay-later services like Klarna and Afterpay if you qualify. This helps you sell to people who prefer local or alternative payment methods.
Lemon Squeezy accepts standard credit cards and PayPal. You can embed checkouts on your website or share hosted payment links. While it covers standard payments well, it does not support crypto or Cash App payments.
Fees and payout options
Neither platform charges a monthly subscription fee just to have an account. Instead, both services take a fee when you make a sale. Lemon Squeezy charges a fee per sale plus extra costs for international orders, subscriptions, or PayPal. Because exact rates can change, check their pricing page for current numbers.
Whop charges payment processing fees on sales, plus fees based on how you withdraw your money. Payout options include bank transfers, instant payout, crypto, Venmo, and wire transfers. Whop may hold payouts during routine reviews. For all updated fee details, check their pricing page for current numbers.