Self-Hosted Digital Sales with PHP and Stripe
More control also means more operating responsibility.
What you get
Simple Stack gives you a storefront, Stripe Checkout, purchase records and protected downloads on your own server. You control the source, branding and customer database. The template does not charge a per-sale platform fee, but Stripe and your other providers still do.
The tradeoffs
Gumroad’s current pricing distinguishes direct sales and discovery, and includes merchant-of-record services. A self-hosted Stripe integration is not an equivalent tax/compliance service. Compare the full responsibilities and the current offer, not a simplistic percentage-versus-template-price calculation.
What to try first
Choose self-hosting when the control is worth maintaining the server, handling support and configuring your selling obligations. Configure protected files and test a complete purchase, delivery, refund and access revocation. Choose a managed sales platform if you value the services it handles for you.
Try before choosing
The live demos use sample data and simulated payments. The download includes the source and setup guides; your own launch still needs provider configuration and end-to-end testing.
Explore the demos · Price, licence and requirements · All guides