Buying guide
The Best Checkout Software in 2026, With What You Pay at Two Sales Levels
By Uyi Abraham, Founder and CEO, VonzaLast reviewed Vendor pages read on
The best checkout software depends on how much you sell and who handles tax. ThriveCart is the flat-price pick with no fee on sales and a lifetime option, SamCart the pick for sellers who will pay for Pro’s bumps, upsells and A/B tests, and PayKickstart the subscription and affiliate specialist while revenue stays under its plan limit. Lemon Squeezy, Gumroad and CopeCart act as merchant of record and take tax off your hands for a percentage of every sale. Payhip and Systeme.io start free, Stripe Payment Links costs only card fees, and Kajabi and ClickFunnels suit sellers who want the checkout inside a bigger platform. Vonza suits creators who sell courses, communities and products on Vonza and want checkouts, bumps and the after-payment offer in the same account.
Checkout software is the page and the logic that take a buyer’s payment: prices and payment plans, order bumps, an offer after payment, coupons, receipts, and sometimes tax. Twelve are compared here: eleven competitors and Vonza, which publishes this guide. Each figure is quoted from the vendor’s own pages as read on 5 November 2026.
Prices alone mislead, because some platforms charge a flat monthly fee and others a share of every sale. The second table works out what each one charges you on $1,000 and on $10,000 of sales a month, from the published figures only, and says where a figure is not published.
At a glance
Each competitor row is what its own pricing page stated on 5 November 2026. “Not stated” means the page did not mention it.
| Platform | Best for | Lowest price | Fee | Free plan or trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vonza | Creators who sell courses, communities, products or services and want checkouts, order bumps and an after-payment offer in the account that delivers them | $99/mo | Plan price, plus your payment provider’s fees; the full fee table is on the pricing page | 14-day free trial on every plan |
| ThriveCart | A flat price with no fee on sales, bumps, upsells and split tests on the entry plan | $47 a month (Standard); Pro+ $87 a month; lifetime Standard $495 one-time | 0% fees on sales; Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.Net fees passed on | 30-day free trial |
| SamCart | Sellers who will pay for Pro’s order bumps, upsells and A/B tests on top of a hosted checkout | $79 a month (Core); Pro $199 a month | No added fees on SamPay, whose rate is 2.9% + 30¢; tax collection 50 bps on Core, 35 on Pro | 7-day free trial |
| PayKickstart | Subscriptions, payment plans and affiliate programs, while revenue stays within the plan | $79 a month for up to $3k in monthly revenue | No platform fees; 5.27% on revenue above the plan’s limit | 14-day free trial |
| CopeCart | Sellers in Europe who want a merchant of record and an affiliate network with no monthly fee | No monthly fee | 4.9% + €1 per sale; 6.9% + €1 for card payments on new orders from 31 October 2026 | Free account; no trial needed |
| Lemon Squeezy | Software and digital product sellers who want tax handled as merchant of record | $0 a month | 5% + 50¢ per transaction; some payments may carry additional fees | Free to start; no trial needed |
| Gumroad | A first digital product with no monthly fee and tax handled for you | $0 a month | 10% + $0.50 on direct sales; 30% on Discover marketplace sales | Free to start |
| Payhip | Digital products with VAT handled, every feature on every plan and many payment gateways | $0 (Free) + 5%; Plus $29 a month + 2%; Pro $99 a month, no transaction fee | 5%, 2% or 0% by plan; PayPal and Stripe charge their standard rates | Free plan |
| Stripe | A payment page with no software fee, or Managed Payments as merchant of record | No monthly fee (Payment Links and Checkout) | 2.9% + 30¢ per domestic card; Managed Payments adds 3.5%; a custom domain for Payment Links is $10.00 a month | Pay as you go |
| Kajabi | Established course and coaching businesses that want the checkout inside the platform | $179 a month (Basic); $143 a month billed annually | No revenue sharing; Kajabi Payments 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, or 2% more with a third-party processor | Free trial, length not stated; 30-day money-back guarantee |
| ClickFunnels | Funnel-first sellers who want the checkout built into their funnels | $97 a month (Launch); $81 a month billed annually | Not stated on the pricing page | Free trial, length not stated; 30-day money-back guarantee |
| Systeme.io | Starting free with bumps, upsells and A/B tests, and 0% fees on every plan | $0 (Free); Startup $17 a month; Webinar $47; Unlimited $97 | 0% transaction fees on every plan | Free plan, never expires, no credit card |
Vonza publishes this guide and sells one of the platforms in it. Every competitor figure is quoted from that vendor’s own page, read on the date shown and saved so it can be checked, and Vonza’s own price is its live price from the pricing page. There are no affiliate links.
What you pay on $1,000 and $10,000 a month
The platform’s own charges at two sales levels, from the figures in the table above. Card processing is listed beside them, because it depends on your processor.
| Platform | On $1,000 a month | On $10,000 a month | Card processing | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vonza | $99 plan price, plus your payment provider’s fees | $99 plan price, plus your payment provider’s fees | Your Stripe, PayPal or Paystack fees | |
| ThriveCart | $47 (Standard) | $47 (Standard) | On top: your processor’s fees, Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 on domestic cards | Or a one-time $495 for a lifetime Standard account. |
| SamCart | $79 (Core) | $79 (Core) | On top: SamPay 2.9% + 30¢ | Order bumps and one-click upsells need Pro at $199 a month. |
| PayKickstart | $79 (up to $3k) | Not published | On top: your gateway’s fees | Above $3k a month: 5.27% on the overage, or the next plan, whose price is not shown. |
| CopeCart | $69 + €20 (card orders) | $690 + €200 (card orders) | CopeCart is the merchant of record; no own Stripe account needed | Other payment methods: 4.9% + €1 per sale. |
| Lemon Squeezy | $60 (no monthly fee) | $600 (no monthly fee) | Lemon Squeezy is the merchant of record; some payments may carry extra fees | |
| Gumroad | $110 (direct sales) | $1,100 (direct sales) | Gumroad takes the payment as merchant of record | Sales through its Discover marketplace: 30%. |
| Payhip | $49 (Plus) | $99 (Pro) | On top: PayPal and Stripe at their standard rates | |
| Stripe | $0 (Payment Links) | $0 (Payment Links) | 2.9% + 30¢ per domestic card is the whole charge | Managed Payments, Stripe as merchant of record: 3.5% more per transaction. |
| Kajabi | $179 (Basic) | $179 (Basic) | On top: Kajabi Payments 2.9% + $0.30 (US) | A third-party processor adds 2% on Basic. |
| ClickFunnels | $97 plan + fee not published | $97 plan + fee not published | Processors not named on the pricing page | |
| Systeme.io | $0 (Free) | $0 (Free) | On top: your Stripe or PayPal fees | The free plan has 3 funnels and 2,000 contacts; Startup is $17 a month. |
How we worked it out: the plan price for one month on monthly billing, plus the platform’s own percentage of sales, plus any fixed fee per sale counted on an average order of $50 (20 orders on $1,000, 200 on $10,000). Where a platform has several plans we use the cheapest one at that volume. Card processing is shown separately because it depends on your processor and your buyers’ cards; a merchant of record takes the payment itself. “Not published” means the vendor’s pages did not state the fee or the plan for that volume. Vonza’s row shows its live plan price only: your payment provider’s fees come on top, and the full fee table is on the pricing page.
The twelve checkout platforms, one by one
1. Vonza
PublisherBest for: Creators who sell courses, communities, products or services and want checkouts, order bumps and an after-payment offer in the account that delivers them
Vonza AI writes a checkout from a description of what you sell, or you start from one of 15 templates in three layouts. One checkout carries up to 6 prices, from one-time and recurring to instalments of up to 120 payments and pay what you want, up to 5 order bumps and one offer right after payment that the buyer takes in one click on the card just used. Buyers pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through your own Stripe account, PayPal for one-time payments, or Paystack for Naira sellers; coupons and affiliate referrals work at checkout, and each checkout has its own sales and customers pages.
Vonza is the publisher of this guide. A checkout sells in your account’s one currency, Vonza does not calculate sales tax or VAT, and Checkouts have no split tests, countdown timers or free trials (split tests and trials are in Vonza Funnels). Every checkout page shows a “Made with Vonza” footer.
- Price
- $99/mo on the lowest plan, live from the pricing page
- Fee
- Plan price, plus your payment provider’s fees; the full fee table is on the pricing page
- Free plan or trial
- 14-day free trial on every plan
Source:vonza.com/pricinglive price; feature facts from the Vonza product pages.Vonza Checkoutsorder bumpsone-click upsellsthe best sales funnel builders
Start 14 Day Free Trial2. ThriveCart
Best for: A flat price with no fee on sales, bumps, upsells and split tests on the entry plan
ThriveCart’s Standard plan lists 1 bump offer, 1-click upsells and downsells, A/B split testing of checkout pages or funnels, abandoned cart recovery and sales tax automation, with modal, single-page or multi-step layouts. Pro+ adds multiple order bumps and an affiliate centre with automated payouts.
Standard allows one bump offer. The annual price did not render on the day we read the page, and ThriveCart runs on top of your own processor, so card fees come on top.
- Price
- $47 a month (Standard); Pro+ $87 a month; lifetime Standard $495 one-time
- Fee
- 0% fees on sales; Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.Net fees passed on
- Free plan or trial
- 30-day free trial
Source:thrivecart.comread on 5 November 2026.ThriveCart Alternatives
3. SamCart
Best for: Sellers who will pay for Pro’s order bumps, upsells and A/B tests on top of a hosted checkout
SamCart’s Core plan includes cart abandonment, a courses app and AI page design, with SamPay for buy now, pay later and 1-click checkout. Pro adds 1-click upsells and order bumps, A/B testing, an affiliate centre and third-party processors.
Order bumps and one-click upsells are on Pro only, at $199 a month. The yearly plan is advertised as 25% off without a dollar figure.
- Price
- $79 a month (Core); Pro $199 a month
- Fee
- No added fees on SamPay, whose rate is 2.9% + 30¢; tax collection 50 bps on Core, 35 on Pro
- Free plan or trial
- 7-day free trial
Source:samcart.comread on 5 November 2026.SamCart Alternatives
4. PayKickstart
Best for: Subscriptions, payment plans and affiliate programs, while revenue stays within the plan
PayKickstart lists one-click upsells, order bumps, coupons and cart recovery, more than 50 one-step and multi-step checkout templates, a two-tier affiliate centre with a marketplace, and tax profiles for US sales tax, EU VAT and GST.
The price follows your revenue: past $3k a month you pay 5.27% on the overage or move up a plan, and the higher plans’ prices are not shown. The annual discount is 20%, but its dollar figure did not render.
- Price
- $79 a month for up to $3k in monthly revenue
- Fee
- No platform fees; 5.27% on revenue above the plan’s limit
- Free plan or trial
- 14-day free trial
Source:paykickstart.comread on 5 November 2026.
5. CopeCart
Best for: Sellers in Europe who want a merchant of record and an affiliate network with no monthly fee
CopeCart is the merchant of record: it sells to your buyer and handles tax compliance, so you do not need your own Stripe account. It lists order bumps, upsells, downsells and one-time offers, nine payment methods including PayPal and buy now, pay later, and affiliate management.
Every sale costs a percentage plus €1, and card orders cost more from 31 October 2026. The English pricing page returned a 404 and the US one was blocked, so the rates come from CopeCart’s EU help article; its own pages disagree about EU VAT.
- Price
- No monthly fee
- Fee
- 4.9% + €1 per sale; 6.9% + €1 for card payments on new orders from 31 October 2026
- Free plan or trial
- Free account; no trial needed
Source:copecart.comread on 5 November 2026.
6. Lemon Squeezy
Best for: Software and digital product sellers who want tax handled as merchant of record
Lemon Squeezy is the merchant of record and collects sales tax and VAT for you, with hosted checkouts and checkout overlays, bundles and upsells, affiliate tools, and email marketing free for up to 500 subscribers.
Order bumps and one-click offers after payment are not stated. The site carries a 2026 notice about Lemon Squeezy and Stripe Managed Payments that we did not read, so check it before you commit.
- Price
- $0 a month
- Fee
- 5% + 50¢ per transaction; some payments may carry additional fees
- Free plan or trial
- Free to start; no trial needed
Source:lemonsqueezy.comread on 5 November 2026.
7. Gumroad
Best for: A first digital product with no monthly fee and tax handled for you
Gumroad has been the merchant of record since 1 January 2025 and handles your sales tax, with email broadcasts and automated workflows to your buyers.
Its per-sale fee is the highest in the cost table once you sell steadily. Order bumps, one-click upsells, checkout templates and A/B tests are not on its pages.
- Price
- $0 a month
- Fee
- 10% + $0.50 on direct sales; 30% on Discover marketplace sales
- Free plan or trial
- Free to start
Source:gumroad.comread on 5 November 2026.Gumroad Alternatives
8. Payhip
Best for: Digital products with VAT handled, every feature on every plan and many payment gateways
Payhip gives every plan every feature and changes only the fee. It collects, reports and remits EU and UK VAT and US and Canadian sales tax, connects Stripe, PayPal, Paystack and ten other gateways, and has coupons, affiliates and discounted cross-sells after purchase.
Order bumps, one-click upsells, checkout templates and A/B tests are not on its pages. The fee falls as the plan price rises, so the cheapest plan depends on how much you sell.
- Price
- $0 (Free) + 5%; Plus $29 a month + 2%; Pro $99 a month, no transaction fee
- Fee
- 5%, 2% or 0% by plan; PayPal and Stripe charge their standard rates
- Free plan or trial
- Free plan
Source:payhip.comread on 5 November 2026.
9. Stripe
Best for: A payment page with no software fee, or Managed Payments as merchant of record
Stripe Payment Links make a payment page without code, with your logo and colours, promotion codes and quantities. Stripe Checkout adds subscription upsells, product cross-sells and recovery emails for abandoned carts, and Managed Payments makes Stripe the merchant of record with tax compliance in more than 75 countries.
Order bumps, one-click offers after payment, A/B tests and an affiliate program are not stated. Stripe Tax costs 0.5% per transaction where you are registered, on top of the card fee.
- Price
- No monthly fee (Payment Links and Checkout)
- Fee
- 2.9% + 30¢ per domestic card; Managed Payments adds 3.5%; a custom domain for Payment Links is $10.00 a month
- Free plan or trial
- Pay as you go
Source:stripe.comread on 5 November 2026.
10. Kajabi
Best for: Established course and coaching businesses that want the checkout inside the platform
Kajabi adds upsells, downsells and order bumps to its course platform, with a cart for several products, embeddable checkout forms, Kajabi Sales Tax and affiliate programs.
It has the highest entry price here, and a third-party processor adds 2% on Basic. Checkout templates and A/B tests are not on the pages we read.
- Price
- $179 a month (Basic); $143 a month billed annually
- Fee
- No revenue sharing; Kajabi Payments 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, or 2% more with a third-party processor
- Free plan or trial
- Free trial, length not stated; 30-day money-back guarantee
Source:kajabi.comread on 5 November 2026.Kajabi Alternatives
11. ClickFunnels
Best for: Funnel-first sellers who want the checkout built into their funnels
ClickFunnels’ Smart Checkout offers one-time offers during checkout, subscription upgrades and one-click checkout for returning buyers, beside order form bumps, one-click upsells, conversion templates and A/B tests on funnels and email.
The pricing page does not state a transaction fee or name the payment processors, and the affiliate centre is not on Launch.
- Price
- $97 a month (Launch); $81 a month billed annually
- Fee
- Not stated on the pricing page
- Free plan or trial
- Free trial, length not stated; 30-day money-back guarantee
Source:clickfunnels.comread on 5 November 2026.ClickFunnels Alternatives
12. Systeme.io
Best for: Starting free with bumps, upsells and A/B tests, and 0% fees on every plan
Systeme.io’s free plan includes 1 order bump, 1 one-click upsell and 1 A/B test, rising to 10 each on Startup and unlimited on Unlimited, with Stripe or PayPal payments, funnel templates and your own affiliate program.
Sales tax and VAT are not mentioned on the pages we read, and you bring your own Stripe or PayPal account, so their fees apply.
- Price
- $0 (Free); Startup $17 a month; Webinar $47; Unlimited $97
- Fee
- 0% transaction fees on every plan
- Free plan or trial
- Free plan, never expires, no credit card
Source:systeme.ioread on 5 November 2026.Systeme.io Alternatives
How we chose
- Every figure comes from the vendor’s own pages, read on 2026-11-05 and saved as plain text; nothing comes from review sites, listicles or memory.
- The cost table uses only those figures: the monthly plan price, the platform’s percentage and any fixed fee per sale, counted on a stated average order. Where a vendor does not publish a fee or a plan for that volume the cell says “Not published”.
- Where a page did not state a figure the table says so. "Not stated" means the page did not mention it, not that the platform lacks it.
- Vonza is the publisher and appears first with its live plan price; its per-sale platform fee is not repeated here, so its row reads “plus your payment provider’s fees” and points to the pricing page. Its row is written from its own product, and no competitor is scored or ranked.
Questions
Answered from the pages we read, with the date we read them.
It depends on your volume and on who should handle tax. ThriveCart ($47 a month, 0% fees) and SamCart ($79 a month, bumps and upsells on Pro) suit sellers who want a flat price. Lemon Squeezy, Gumroad and CopeCart act as merchant of record for a share of every sale. Payhip and Systeme.io start free, and Stripe Payment Links costs only card fees. Vonza suits creators who sell their courses, communities and products on Vonza and want the checkout in the same account.
Software that builds the page where a buyer pays and runs what happens around the payment: prices, payment plans and coupons, order bumps on the page, an offer after payment, receipts, and on some platforms sales tax. It connects to a payment processor such as Stripe or PayPal, or acts as the seller itself as a merchant of record.
ThriveCart charges 0% fees on sales, Systeme.io 0% on every plan, PayKickstart has no platform fees within its plan’s revenue limit, SamCart adds no fees on SamPay, Kajabi takes no revenue share with Kajabi Payments and Payhip Pro takes no transaction fee. Card processing still applies on every one of them.
A merchant of record sells to your buyer in its own name, so it collects and pays the sales tax or VAT and handles the payment. Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy and CopeCart say they are; Stripe offers it as Managed Payments for 3.5% per transaction on top of its card fee. ThriveCart, SamCart, PayKickstart, Payhip, Kajabi, ClickFunnels and Systeme.io run on your own processor account.
ThriveCart has 1 bump and 1-click upsells on Standard; SamCart has both on Pro; PayKickstart, CopeCart, Kajabi and ClickFunnels list both; Systeme.io includes 1 of each free and more on paid plans. Lemon Squeezy lists bundles and upsells, Payhip discounted cross-sells after purchase, and Stripe Checkout cross-sells and subscription upsells. Vonza checkouts take up to 5 order bumps and one offer right after payment, taken in one click on the card just used.
For each platform we took the monthly plan price, added its own percentage of sales and any fixed fee per sale counted on the stated average order, and used the cheapest plan at each volume. Card processing is listed beside the result rather than added in. Where a vendor does not publish a fee or a plan for that volume the cell says so. Vonza’s cell shows its live plan price, with your payment provider’s fees on top.
No. Vonza checkouts sell in your account’s currency through your own Stripe, PayPal or Paystack account, and Vonza does not calculate or remit sales tax or VAT. If you need a merchant of record to handle tax, the platforms that say they are one are named above.
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