Whop alternatives in 2026: 9 places to sell courses, communities, and access
Whop has no monthly fee and 0% on Discover sales. Here are 9 Whop alternatives for courses, communities, and paid Discords, with fees checked September 2026.
Whop has no monthly fee. Its fees page lists 2.7% + 30¢ per domestic card sale, plus payout fees like $2.50 for a next-day bank transfer, and sales from its Discover marketplace have cost 0% since May 2025. So leaving Whop rarely saves you money on fees. It makes sense when you want something Whop isn't: a storefront in your link in bio (Stan or Eden), a course that teaches itself (Eden), a community built for discussion (Skool or Circle), or a simple paid Discord (LaunchPass or Patreon).
This guide is for people selling on Whop now, or choosing between Whop and something else. Full disclosure: we make Eden. Every price and fee below was checked on each company's own site or help center in September 2026. Card processing (usually 2.9% + 30¢ per US sale) is extra everywhere unless we say it's included.
What Whop costs now
Whop's fees page (docs.whop.com/fees) lists these for sellers:
- Card processing: 2.7% + 30¢ per domestic card sale. International cards add 1.5%, and currency conversion adds 1%.
- Discover marketplace: 0%. Whop used to take 30% of sales that came through Discover and dropped that to nothing on May 12, 2025.
- No monthly plan. Older reviews mention a separate 3% platform fee. Whop's current fees page does not list one.
- Payouts: $2.50 for next-day ACH, 4% + $1 for an instant bank deposit, 5% + $1 for crypto or Venmo, $23 for a wire.
- Optional add-ons: 2% if you turn on tax collection and remittance, 0.5% for billing automation, 0.8% for payment orchestration.
- Other costs: 1.25% affiliate processing, 15% on buy-now-pay-later sales through financing partners, and $15 per chargeback.
On a $30 sale to a US card, that's about $1.11 in processing, so you keep about $28.89 before payout fees. That is cheap. Few places on this list beat it on a pure per-sale basis.
What people sell on Whop is wide: courses, software, ebooks, coaching calls, private communities, and paid Discord servers. Whop's Discord app links each product to server roles, so buyers get the right roles when they pay and lose them when they cancel. Its own Chat, Forums, and Courses apps let you run a community without Discord at all.
Why people look for a Whop alternative
If the fees are low, the reasons are mostly about fit:
- The brand. Your product lives on a marketplace, next to everyone else's offers. Some creators want a page that feels like theirs.
- The course experience. Whop's Courses app covers videos, quizzes, and progress. Course-first platforms go further on lessons, cohorts, and coaching.
- Link-in-bio selling. If your buyers come from Instagram or TikTok, a storefront built for that one tap can convert better than a marketplace page.
The short version
| Platform | Best for | Price from | Platform fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whop (for context) | Communities, software, paid Discords | Free | 0% (2.7% + 30¢ processing) |
| Eden | Courses, coaching, and AI products | $29/mo | 5% |
| Stan Store | A storefront in your link in bio | $29/mo | 0% |
| Gumroad | Selling files with tax handled | Free | 10% + 50¢ (30% via Discover) |
| Skool | Community with a classroom | $9/mo | 10% on Hobby |
| Circle | A polished paid community | $89/mo (yearly) | 2% |
| Kajabi | An all-in-one course business | $179/mo | 0% on Kajabi Payments |
| Patreon | Fan memberships with Discord perks | Free | 10% |
| LaunchPass | Paid Discord, Slack, or Telegram access | $29/mo | 3.5% |
| Lemon Squeezy | Software with tax handled | Free | 5% + 50¢ (processing included) |
1. Eden
Eden is a creator workspace with a store and a free link-in-bio page at your handle. Where Whop sells access, Eden sells what you know and the help to use it.
What it does well:
- Every product shape a solo creator sells. Courses, cohorts, coaching, memberships billed monthly or yearly, digital downloads, and bundles.
- Custom AI products. An AI built from your material that buyers chat with. It can answer questions about the lesson they're on and walk them through the exercise. See how to sell a custom AI.
- Coaching done properly. Packages, applications for high-ticket offers, intake questions, and booking on your Google Calendar with Google Meet links, or through Calendly or Cal.com.
- Selling tools on the entry plan. Order bumps, discount codes, timed sales, and testimonials. Pro at $79 adds up to 3 one-click upsells after checkout, an affiliate program, and Meta Pixel tracking.
- You can keep Whop as your checkout. Connect Whop to Eden and every Whop sale gives the buyer access in Eden. Eden takes no cut on those sales. See use your own checkout.
Where it falls short: this is where Whop wins. Eden has no community, forum, or member chat. It can't give or remove Discord roles. A cohort can share a Discord or WhatsApp group link that only that cohort sees, but nobody gets kicked when they stop paying. There's no marketplace bringing buyers, no custom domain, and Eden is not the merchant of record, so sales tax through Stripe is yours to handle. And Eden's 5% fee plus $29 a month costs more per sale than Whop does.
Price: page free. Selling needs Starter at $29/mo, Pro at $79/mo, or Max at $199/mo. Eden takes 5% per sale (2% on Max), and Stripe's processing comes out of your share.
Best for: creators who sell courses or coaching and want buyers to get results, not just access.
2. Stan Store
Stan turns your link in bio into a store for downloads, courses, coaching calls, and memberships, with 0% transaction fees on both plans. The Creator plan includes community features and Instagram AutoDM.
Where it falls short: discount codes, upsells, order bumps, and email broadcasts are on the $99 Creator Pro plan. More in Stan Store fees and Eden vs Stan.
Price: Creator $29/mo, Creator Pro $99/mo. 0% fee.
Best for: creators who sell from Instagram and TikTok.
3. Gumroad
Gumroad sells files and simple products and is the merchant of record, so it collects and pays sales tax and VAT for you.
Where it falls short: 10% + 50¢ per direct sale plus processing, and 30% on Discover sales. That's far more than Whop. More in Gumroad fees.
Price: no monthly fee.
Best for: sellers who never want to think about tax.
4. Skool
Skool is a community with a classroom attached: a feed, courses, a leaderboard, and live calls. If your Whop is really a community with a course inside, Skool is the closest swap. We compared it in Eden vs Skool.
Where it falls short: no storefront, funnel, or email builder. The Hobby plan takes 10% of each sale.
Price: Hobby $9/mo with a 10% fee, Pro $99/mo with a 2.9% fee.
Best for: creators whose product is the community.
5. Circle
Circle is the most polished paid-community platform, with spaces, courses, and events.
Where it falls short: every plan takes a platform fee, and the entry price is high for a small group.
Price: Professional $89/mo with a 2% fee, Business $199/mo with 1%, billed yearly.
Best for: larger communities that need structure and moderation.
6. Kajabi
Kajabi is the full suite: website, funnels, email marketing, courses, and community groups, plus a branded mobile app on Pro. Kajabi says it takes no revenue share.
Where it falls short: it starts at $179 a month, and most people use a small part of it. More in Kajabi alternatives.
Price: Basic $179/mo ($143 yearly), Growth $249/mo, Pro $499/mo. Kajabi Payments costs 2.7% to 2.9% + 30¢.
Best for: established course businesses that use email and funnels every week.
7. Patreon
Patreon runs fan memberships with tiers. Its Discord integration gives members the roles for their tier and removes them when a pledge ends or a payment fails.
Where it falls short: 10% of what you earn, plus processing and payout fees. It's built for supporters, not courses or software.
Price: free to start. 10% of earnings.
Best for: creators whose fans pay to support them and want Discord perks.
8. LaunchPass
LaunchPass does one thing: paid access to a Discord, Slack, or Telegram group. When someone pays through Stripe, they get the right Discord role. When they cancel, it's removed.
Where it falls short: no courses, downloads, or storefront. The 3.5% fee sits on top of Stripe's processing.
Price: $29/mo plus 3.5% per transaction.
Best for: a paid Discord with no extras.
9. Lemon Squeezy
Lemon Squeezy is a merchant of record for software and digital products, with license keys and subscriptions. Processing is included in its fee.
Where it falls short: its pricing page links to a 2026 update about moving to Stripe Managed Payments, so its future as a standalone store is unclear.
Price: 5% + 50¢ per sale.
Best for: software sellers who want tax handled.
Which one should you pick?
- Choose Eden if you sell courses, coaching, or guides and want an AI that helps buyers use them.
- Choose Stan if your buyers come from your link in bio and you want 0% fees.
- Choose Skool or Circle if the community is the product.
- Choose LaunchPass or Patreon if you only need a paid Discord.
- Choose Lemon Squeezy or Gumroad if you want tax handled for you.
- Stay on Whop if your business is a paid Discord or chat community, Discover brings you buyers, or you want the lowest per-sale cost. For those jobs, Whop is hard to beat.
How to move from Whop to Eden
You don't have to leave Whop to use Eden. There are two ways to do it:
- Keep Whop as the checkout. In Eden, open your product's Offer step, pick My own checkout link, and paste your Whop link. Connect Whop with an API key from Whop's Developer settings. Each Whop sale now gives the buyer access in Eden, and Eden takes no cut. Order bumps, upsells, and discount codes need Eden checkout.
- Move the checkout too. Build the product in Eden, connect Stripe, and publish on Starter or above. Then import your existing customers so they get access without paying again.
Either way, keep your Discord running on Whop, Patreon, or LaunchPass if role gating matters to you. Eden won't manage it.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Whop take per sale?
Whop's fees page lists 2.7% + 30¢ per domestic card sale, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% for currency conversion. There's no monthly fee. Payouts cost extra, from $2.50 for next-day ACH.
Does Whop still charge 30% on Discover sales?
No. Whop dropped its Discover marketplace fee from 30% to 0% on May 12, 2025.
What's the best Whop alternative for a paid Discord?
LaunchPass and Patreon both give and remove Discord roles when people pay or cancel. LaunchPass costs $29 a month plus 3.5%. Patreon takes 10%.
Does Whop handle sales tax?
Only if you turn it on. Whop's tax collection and remittance is an optional add-on at 2% per transaction.
Can I use Whop and Eden together?
Yes. Connect Whop to Eden, and every Whop sale gives the buyer access to your Eden product. Eden takes nothing on those sales, though publishing still needs the Starter plan.
Want to sell a course or coaching offer that comes with an AI tutor? Start Eden free and build your first product.