Alternatives

ThriveCart alternatives in 2026: 8 options compared

ThriveCart is a checkout tool, not a store. Here are 8 ThriveCart alternatives compared on price, fees, order bumps, upsells, and tax. Checked September 2026.

Dan Koe··9 min read

ThriveCart is a checkout and funnel tool: it builds the pages where people pay, with order bumps, one-click upsells, and affiliates. It costs $47 or $87 a month, or $495 once for the Standard lifetime account, and takes 0% of your sales. The best ThriveCart alternative depends on what you are missing. SamCart is the closest match. Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, and Payhip handle tax for you. Stan and Eden give you a store in your link in bio. Eden is the pick if you want a store and a checkout in one place, with bumps, upsells, and a free link-in-bio page.

Full disclosure: we make Eden. Every price and feature below was checked on each company's own site or help center in September 2026. Card processing (usually 2.9% + 30¢ per US card sale) is extra everywhere unless we say it's included.

What ThriveCart costs now

Here's where ThriveCart stands, from its own pricing page, checkout pages, and help center:

  • Monthly plans: Standard is $47 a month and Pro+ is $87 a month, each with a 30-day free trial.
  • Lifetime deal: the Standard account is $495, paid once. Pro+ on the lifetime deal is $790 up front, then $295 a year from year 2.
  • Pro upgrade: the old one-time Pro upgrade was sold from 2019 to April 2025 and can't be bought anymore. Lifetime Standard owners can add Pro+ for $295 a year.
  • Fees: 0% on sales. You pay your payment processor (Stripe, PayPal, or Authorize.net), and the money goes straight to you.

What each level includes:

FeatureStandardPro+
Checkout pages and funnelsUnlimitedUnlimited
Order bumps1Multiple
One-click upsells and downsellsYesYes
A/B tests, abandoned cart recoveryYesYes
Affiliate center and payoutsNoYes
Sales tax automationMonthly plan onlyYes
Dunning and custom domainsNoYes
Course platform (monthly plans)ThriveCart Academy StarterThriveCart Academy Growth

About courses: ThriveCart's old course tool, Learn, is being retired at the end of 2026. Accounts made after May 19, 2026 don't get it. The new home for courses is ThriveCart Academy, which comes with the monthly plans. Bought on its own, Academy runs $47, $87, or $127 a month ($37, $67, or $97 a month billed yearly). Lifetime owners of Learn keep the course part for free, but community and video hosting need an Academy plan.

Why people look for a ThriveCart alternative

ThriveCart is good at one job: checkouts that sell more per order. But it's the cash register, not the shop. You build a checkout for each product, then bring the landing page, the audience, and the place people browse.

Other reasons to look around:

  • The lifetime deal isn't the whole deal anymore. Affiliates, sales tax tools, and custom domains now sit behind a yearly Pro+ fee.
  • Learn is going away, and Academy is a subscription.
  • You still handle tax. Payments go to your own Stripe or PayPal, so you're the seller.

The short version

PlatformPricePlatform feeBumps and upsellsSales tax
ThriveCart$47 or $87/mo, or $495 once0%1 bump plus upsells (more bumps on Pro+)Tools help; you file
EdenPage free, selling from $29/mo5%1 bump on $29 plan, up to 3 upsells on $79You handle it
SamCart$79 or $199/mo0% (tax collection 0.5%)Pro plan onlyCollected at checkout for a fee
Stan Store$29 or $99/mo0%$99 plan onlyCalculated; you pay it
Kajabi$179, $249, or $499/mo0%YesCalculated and collected; you file
GumroadFree10% + 50¢Checkout upsells and cross-sellsHandled for you
Lemon SqueezyFree5% + 50¢Bundles and upsellsHandled for you
PayhipFree, $29, or $99/mo5%, 2%, or 0%Upsells and cross-sellsEU and UK VAT and US sales tax handled
Stripe Payment LinksFreeNone beyond processingOptional items at checkoutStripe Tax add-on

1. Eden

Eden is a store with a checkout built in. Where ThriveCart gives you a checkout for each product, Eden gives you the checkout plus the storefront: a free link-in-bio page at your-handle.eden.so that shows everything you sell.

What it does well:

  • Order bumps on the $29 plan, upsells on Pro at $79. An order bump is a checkbox above Pay that adds another product to the same payment. Upsells after checkout show up to 3 offers in a row, each added with one click on the card the buyer just used, with a yes path and a no path for each.
  • Every product shape. Courses, cohorts, downloads, coaching, memberships, bundles, and Custom AI products: an AI trained on your material that buyers chat with.
  • An affiliate program on Pro where Eden tracks links and pays affiliates for you. See run an affiliate program.
  • Discount codes, timed sales, and testimonials on the $29 plan. Meta Pixel tracking is on Pro.

Where it falls short: Eden takes 5% per sale where ThriveCart takes 0%. There's no lifetime deal, no custom domain, and no split-pay plans (one-time, monthly, or yearly only). Only one order bump per product, and memberships can't carry a bump yet. Eden isn't a merchant of record, so sales tax is yours, same as ThriveCart.

The cost math: Eden Starter ($29 + 5%) has order bumps but no upsells. It costs less than ThriveCart Standard monthly ($47) until you sell about $360 a month. For upsells you need Eden Pro ($79 + 5%), which costs more than Standard at every volume and less than Pro+ monthly ($87) only until about $160 a month. If you already own a ThriveCart lifetime account, ThriveCart is cheaper per sale.

Price: page free on every plan. Selling from $29/mo, 5% per sale.

Best for: creators who want the page, the products, and the checkout in one place.

2. SamCart

SamCart is the closest thing to ThriveCart: checkout pages, subscriptions, and a courses app, plus pages, sites, and link-in-bio pages on every plan.

Where it falls short: one-click upsells, order bumps, and the affiliate center are on the $199 Pro plan only. Tax collection costs 0.5% of sales on Core and 0.35% on Pro.

Price: Core $79/mo, Pro $199/mo, 25% off billed yearly. 7-day free trial. SamPay processing is 2.9% + 30¢.

Best for: ThriveCart users who want the same kind of tool on a monthly plan with built-in processing.

3. Stan Store

Stan is a link-in-bio store for downloads, courses, coaching calls, and memberships, with 0% transaction fees.

Where it falls short: upsells, order bumps, discount codes, affiliates, and email broadcasts are all on the $99 Creator Pro plan. See Stan Store fees.

Price: Creator $29/mo, Creator Pro $99/mo. 14-day free trial.

Best for: creators who sell from social media and want a flat price with 0% fees.

4. Kajabi

Kajabi is an all-in-one course platform: website, courses, community, email, funnels, and checkout with order bumps and upsells.

Where it falls short: it starts at $179 a month. Kajabi works out sales tax at checkout, but you still file and pay it.

Price: Basic $179, Growth $249, Pro $499 a month ($143, $199, $399 billed yearly). 0% platform cut. See Kajabi alternatives.

Best for: established course creators who want everything under one roof.

5. Gumroad

Gumroad has no monthly fee and is the merchant of record, so it collects and pays sales tax and VAT for you. It has checkout upsells and cross-sells, affiliates, email, and the Discover marketplace.

Where it falls short: 10% + 50¢ per direct sale plus processing, and 30% on Discover sales. See Gumroad fees.

Price: free, fee per sale.

Best for: new sellers who never want to think about tax.

6. Lemon Squeezy

Lemon Squeezy is a merchant of record for software and digital products, with subscriptions, license keys, affiliates, bundles, and upsells.

Where it falls short: Stripe owns it, and its site carries a 2026 notice about moving to Stripe Managed Payments. Its future as its own product is unclear. See Lemon Squeezy alternatives.

Price: 5% + 50¢ per sale, no monthly fee.

Best for: software sellers who want tax handled.

7. Payhip

Payhip gives every plan every feature: upsells, cross-sells, coupons, affiliates, courses, and memberships. It collects and pays EU and UK VAT, and since July 1, 2026 it handles US sales tax too.

Where it falls short: the store design is simple, and checkout funnels aren't as deep as ThriveCart's.

Price: Free with 5%, Plus $29/mo with 2%, Pro $99/mo with 0%.

Best for: sellers who want tax off their plate for a smaller cut than Gumroad.

If all you want is a way to take payment, a Stripe Payment Link costs nothing but processing. It supports subscriptions, promo codes, optional add-on items, and Stripe Tax.

Where it falls short: no funnel, no course hosting, no affiliates. Payment Links takes the money; getting the product to the buyer is up to you. A custom domain costs $10 a month.

Price: 2.9% + 30¢ per US card sale.

Best for: one simple product, or a checkout you plug into your own site.

Which one should you pick?

  • Choose Eden if you want a store, a checkout with bumps and upsells, and a free link-in-bio page in one place, especially for courses, coaching, or AI products.
  • Choose SamCart if you want a ThriveCart-style checkout on a monthly plan.
  • Choose Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, or Payhip if handling sales tax yourself is the main pain.
  • Choose Stan if you sell from social media and want 0% fees at a flat $29.
  • Choose Kajabi if you run a big course business and want everything in one tool.
  • Choose Stripe Payment Links if you need a payment link and nothing else.
  • Stay on ThriveCart if you own a lifetime account and already have your pages and traffic. 0% fees are hard to beat.

How to add bumps and upsells on Eden

  1. Sign up at app.eden.so and claim your handle. Your creator page is live right away, free.
  2. In Your store → Products, build your product. Building is free on any plan.
  3. On the product's Offer step, turn on Offer an order bump and pick another paid product.
  4. Turn on Offer an upsell, write the offer, and click Add another offer for up to 3. Upsells need Pro.
  5. Upgrade to Starter to publish, or to Pro to keep upsells on. The product shows on your page on its own.

Want to keep ThriveCart as your checkout? Eden can use your own checkout link and give buyers access on Eden, with no Eden cut. Eden's own bumps and upsells only work on Eden checkout. For ideas on what to offer, see upsells and order bumps.

Frequently asked questions

How much does ThriveCart cost?

$47 a month for Standard or $87 a month for Pro+, each with a 30-day free trial. Or pay $495 once for a lifetime Standard account. Pro+ on the lifetime deal is $790, then $295 a year from year 2.

Does ThriveCart still have a lifetime deal?

Yes. The Standard account is $495 once. The old one-time Pro upgrade ended in April 2025. Its features now live in Pro+, which costs $295 a year.

Does ThriveCart take a cut of sales?

No. ThriveCart takes 0% of sales. You pay your payment processor's fees.

What is replacing ThriveCart Learn?

ThriveCart Academy. Learn retires at the end of 2026, and accounts made after May 19, 2026 don't get it. Academy is included with the monthly plans.

What is the cheapest ThriveCart alternative?

To start, Gumroad, Payhip, and Lemon Squeezy are free and take a cut per sale. Stripe Payment Links costs only processing. For a store with order bumps, Eden starts at $29 a month plus 5%. Upsells need Pro at $79.

Want a store, a checkout, and a free link-in-bio page in one place? Start Eden free.