The most profitable digital products combine a high price, a low cost of delivery and a clear buyer problem. Online courses, templates, ebooks and guides, printables, stock media, design assets, presets, audio packs, software and paid memberships all fit, but they differ in how much work they take, how much you keep after fees and how crowded they are.
“Profitable” means more than “popular”. A product that sells often at a low price on a marketplace taking half of every sale may earn less than a niche product sold to a small audience from your own store. This guide compares the main types of digital product on what matters for profit: price, platform fees, effort, competition and how long the product keeps selling.
In this guide
- What makes a digital product profitable
- Online courses
- Templates
- Ebooks and guides
- Printables and planners
- Stock photos, video and design assets
- Presets, audio packs and other creative files
- Software, plugins and tools
- Memberships, communities and paid newsletters
- Comparing the options
- How to choose your first product
- Owen’s take
- FAQ
1. What makes a digital product profitable
Five factors decide whether a digital product makes real money.
- Price ceiling. How much buyers will pay. Products that save time or money for professionals can charge far more than products for hobbyists.
- Platform cut. Marketplaces bring buyers but can take 30% to 63% of a sale. Your own store keeps more but needs your own traffic.
- Creation effort. A course can take months; a template pack can take days.
- Competition. Generic products compete with free alternatives. Niche products compete with fewer sellers.
- Shelf life. Evergreen products sell for years. Products tied to a software version, a trend or a year need updating.
The best products score well on most of these at once.
2. Online courses
Courses have the highest price ceiling of most digital products, because buyers pay for a result: a skill, a qualification or a career change. A good course in a professional niche can sell for far more than any ebook on the same topic.
The catch is effort and platform economics. On Udemy, instructors receive 97% of revenue when a student buys through the instructor’s own coupon or referral link, but 37% when Udemy finds the student. Udemy also sets frequent discounts, so many sales happen well below your list price. Skillshare pays teachers from a monthly fund based mostly on minutes watched.
Selling from your own platform, such as Podia, Payhip or Teachable, lets you set prices and keep most of the revenue, but you have to bring every student yourself.
Best for: people with real expertise and an audience, or the patience to build one.
3. Templates
Templates are among the best ratios of effort to price. You build a useful structure once and sell it repeatedly. Popular types include Notion workspaces, spreadsheets and financial models, presentation decks, website templates, resume templates and social media packs.
Platforms vary widely. Notion‘s marketplace charges 10% plus 40 cents per transaction when Notion processes the payment. Creative Market‘s Shop Terms set the shop owner’s share at 50% of net revenue on standard licences, and Envato Market takes a flat 50% author fee. Webflow pays creators 95% on paid templates sold on its marketplace.
Best for: designers, analysts and power users of a specific tool. See our guide to selling PowerPoint templates and the Selling Templates directory.
4. Ebooks and guides
Ebooks are easy to start but hard to profit from at low prices. On Amazon KDP, the 70% royalty option now applies to ebooks priced from $2.99 to $12.99 on Amazon.com, an increase from the old $9.99 ceiling since July 7, 2026, minus a small delivery cost based on file size. Outside that range, the royalty is 35%.
The more profitable route is often a practical guide sold from your own store at a higher price, aimed at professionals: a checklist-driven playbook, a niche “how to” with worksheets, or a guide bundled with templates. These sell on the value of the outcome, not the page count.
Best for: writers and experts with a specific problem to solve. Browse platforms in our Self-Publishing directory.
5. Printables and planners
Printable planners, trackers, worksheets, wall art and party kits are popular on Etsy, where buyers download files instantly after purchase. Each item usually sells at a low price, so profit depends on volume and on building a catalogue in a niche, such as wedding planning, homeschooling or small business bookkeeping.
On Etsy in the US, a typical sale carries a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee and payment processing, so do the maths on low-priced items before you list. Teachers can also sell classroom resources on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Best for: designers and organisers who enjoy making many small products.
6. Stock photos, video and design assets
Stock media earns royalties every time someone licenses your work. Each sale pays a small amount, so income builds slowly with the size of your portfolio, but a large portfolio can earn for years. Fonts, illustrations, icons and graphics sell on design marketplaces such as Creative Market and DesignCuts, usually with a revenue split.
Best for: photographers, videographers and illustrators who produce a lot of work. See our Stock Media directory.
7. Presets, audio packs and other creative files
Photo and video presets, LUTs, sound effects, sample packs, loops and music beds are niche products with loyal buyers. Prices are modest, but creators with an audience on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok can sell them directly with little competition from marketplaces.
Best for: creators who already have a following that admires their style. Musicians can browse our Music & Audio directory.
8. Software, plugins and tools
Software has the highest ceiling of all, especially when sold as a subscription. WordPress plugins, browser extensions, scripts, spreadsheet add-ons and small web apps can earn recurring income. They also need ongoing support and updates, which turns a product into a small business.
Merchant-of-record services such as Lemon Squeezy handle checkout and sales tax for software sellers, and CodeCanyon sells scripts and plugins on a per-item basis.
Best for: developers who are happy to provide support.
9. Memberships, communities and paid newsletters
Recurring products turn one-time buyers into monthly income. Options include paid communities on Skool, memberships on Patreon and paid newsletters. They are profitable when you can deliver ongoing value consistently, but churn means you must keep earning your members’ money every month.
Best for: creators with an engaged audience and a reason for people to stay. See our Newsletters directory.
10. Comparing the options
| Product | Price ceiling | Effort to create | Ongoing work | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online courses | High | High | Medium | High in broad topics |
| Templates | Medium to high | Low to medium | Low | High in generic designs |
| Ebooks and guides | Low to medium | Medium | Low | Very high |
| Printables | Low | Low | Low | Very high |
| Stock media and assets | Low per sale | Medium | Low | High |
| Presets and audio | Low to medium | Low | Low | Medium |
| Software and plugins | High | High | High | Varies |
| Memberships | Recurring | Medium | High | Medium |
11. How to choose your first product
- Start from what you know. Your job, hobby or skill tells you which problems you can solve better than most.
- Find proof of demand. Look for existing paid products in your niche, plus questions people ask repeatedly in forums and social media.
- Start small. A template pack or short guide lets you test demand in weeks, not months.
- Pick the right platform. Use a marketplace if you have no audience. Use your own store, such as Gumroad or Payhip, if you can bring buyers yourself.
- Build a product ladder. Add a higher-priced product, such as a course or bundle, for buyers who want more.
- Collect emails from day one. Your list is what lets you launch the next product to people who already trust you.
You can compare creator stores, link-in-bio shops and membership platforms in our Digital Products directory.
12. Owen’s take
The most profitable digital product is rarely the one with the biggest market. It is the one that solves a specific, expensive problem for people you understand. I’d start with something small, such as a template or guide in your area of expertise, sell it from a simple store, and see who buys. Then build the course or membership for those buyers. Marketplaces are useful for discovery, but watch how much they keep, because a 50% cut changes the economics of every product.
FAQ
What is the easiest digital product to start with?
Templates and printables are the quickest to create. They are also crowded, so a clear niche matters more than polish.
Which digital products have the highest profit margins?
Products sold from your own store, such as courses, templates and software, keep the most of each sale. Marketplaces take a larger cut in exchange for bringing buyers.
Do I need an audience to sell digital products?
Not on marketplaces like Etsy, Udemy or Creative Market, which bring buyers. Selling from your own store usually needs an audience, an email list or another traffic source.
How long do digital products keep selling?
Evergreen products can sell for years. Products tied to a software version, a trend or a specific year need regular updates.
This guide is part of our Digital Products section, with every platform we have checked in that area.
Sources
- Amazon KDP, “eBook List Price Requirements”: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200634560
- Udemy Support, “Instructor revenue share”: https://support.udemy.com/hc/en-us/articles/229605008
