I spent 2 weeks testing every popular SamCart alternative so you don’t have to.
SamCart works fine, but it’s nowhere near perfect. Monthly fees stack up fast, and basic features can cost extra. I wanted to find sites similar to SamCart that give you more without bleeding your budget dry.
This guide covers 10 platforms I personally tested. Some are direct SamCart competitors, some overlap partially with its features, and some are straight-up better than SamCart.
I’ll show you what each SamCart alternative does best, as well as what it costs and who should use it. No fluff, just practical comparisons based on my hands-on testing.
My selection and testing process for SamCart alternatives
I started from a basic question: “Why would I use this SamCart alternative, if at all?” This opened up the pool and let me handpick the best solution for each use case. I used seven factors to cut the full list down to 10:
Standout features
Ease of use and setup
Branding and customization options
Pricing and value
Product types supported
Integrations
Marketing and sales tools
Pricing is especially hard to compare across platforms. So I listed the starting plan and best value plan for each alternative to SamCart.
Disclaimer: Pricing, features, trials, and even platform names change constantly. Everything here reflects what was publicly available when I wrote this. Check directly with each platform before committing. Study their product pages, contact support, and use your judgment.
My testing process
I tested each SamCart alternative roughly the same way:
Signed up for the free tier or trial
Customized pages and built storefronts
Created products (used fruit images as test files)
Tested marketing features
Previewed my pages and stores
Note: The analytics in some of my screenshots are flat because, obviously, this is just a test and there’s no actual traffic. But I did study each platform’s marketing features (setting up funnels, creating courses, etc.) to give you a complete picture.
Sites like SamCart in brief
Here’s a quick overview of my top 10 alternatives to selling on SamCart. The Ease of use and Customizability sections use a scoring scale of 1 to 10 (1 = Terrible, 10 = Perfect).
Platform
Ease of use
(1 - 10)
Customization
(1 - 10)
Best for
Pricing
9
9
Digital creators, artists, small businesses, and entrepreneurs
$29/month
8
9
Marketers who want subscription-free checkout optimization
$495 (one-time)
9
6
Digital-first creators and software sellers
$15/month
10
6
Beginners and artists testing products
10% + $0.50 per transaction
8
7
Solo course sellers and membership sites
$33/month
7
8
Funnel-focused businesses selling info products
$97/month
6
8
SaaS businesses and subscription services
Pay-as-you-go (6% of revenue)
8
7
Established knowledge businesses
$89/month
9
7
Beginners who want a free, accessible platform without limits
Fees start at 5% per transaction)
6
8
Marketing-focused businesses and funnel builders
$59/month
Top 10 SamCart alternatives for selling online
1. Sellfy: The best all-around SamCart alternative
Quick overview
Sellfy beats SamCart with the complete package you get right out of the box.
I found everything needed to launch and grow an online business: a storefront, email marketing, promotional tools, an affiliate program, and analytics. You’re not paying extra for email marketing or upsells (let alone technical support) like with other sites similar to SamCart.
Everything from cart abandonment recovery to product analytics is built in. The interface is clean and intuitive, so you can have your store live in minutes. Plus, there are zero transaction fees, which means more money stays in your pocket with every sale you make.
Why I picked Sellfy
With my review criteria, Sellfy hit all the marks. Feature-rich, sells all product types, very easy setup, impressive integrations, and won’t drain your budget. Since Sellfy is my top SamCart alternative, I want to break down the five things that stood out to me about it:
A wizard (the software kind, sadly) guided me as I created a profile, chose one of the pre-designed store themes, and tweaked it a bit. That’s all it took for my digital fruit store to come to life!
Built-in print-on-demand (POD)
Most platforms only handle POD through extra plugins or external apps. Sellfy is unusual because POD is built directly into it.
Marketing and upsells are built in
Most creators struggle piecing together checkout tools, email campaigns, cart abandonment, affiliate links, and upsells. Sellfy bundles these so you don’t have to do any duct-taping.
Digital file delivery (and security)
Sellfy covers all the essentials of digital product selling with instant delivery, support for large files, and strong anti-piracy protection. You focus on content creation and promotion, while Sellfy handles security and the nasty backend stuff.
Out of all the platforms like SamCart that have free tiers, Payhip’s Free Forever plan takes the cake. Why? Because every Payhip feature is available on every plan. It doesn’t lock you out of upsells, affiliate management, or discount tools because you’re on the free tier.
Payhip gives you more storefront control than most basic platforms. You can add text blocks, slideshows, videos, and custom pages. Don’t like the fonts or colors? Change them to match your brand.
Support runs 24/7 for all users, and Payhip handles EU VAT automatically for international sales.
That said, free comes with a catch: a 5% transaction fee. It’s also built for simplicity over advanced optimization, so don’t expect the conversion tools you’d find in other online marketplaces like SamCart.
Why I picked Payhip
In one word: accessibility. Payhip removes every starting barrier with its free plan. It’s easy to use and has decent customization and integration options.
Best value plan: Plus ($29/month + 2% transaction fee)
All features
Unlimited products
Unlimited revenue
Pros and cons
Pros
Cons
Forever-free plan
Basic analytics and reporting
No feature paywalls across tiers
Basic affiliate management
24/7 customer support on all plans
Basic checkout optimization
Decent storefront customization
Limited conversion optimization tools
Beginner-friendly interface
Limited dunning management
Multi-currency support
No advanced A/B testing
3. ThriveCart: Best one-time payment SamCart alternative
Quick overview
ThriveCart mirrors SamCart’s features but costs way less. It gives you lifetime access for a single payment, which is huge if you’re tired of subscription fatigue.
You get the same core functionality as SamCart: checkout pages, upsells, bump offers, affiliate management, and A/B testing. Checkout customization is actually better than SamCart. You can control layout, element positioning, and design details that other SamCart competitors lock down.
ThriveCart is not perfect, though. The upfront cost is steep, and there’s no free trial, so you’re committing before you test.
Why I picked ThriveCart
Easy to use, offers most SamCart features, and doesn’t have recurring payments (though the one-time payment is quite the commitment). It’s one of the closest e-commerce platforms to SamCart.
Best value plan: ThriveCart Pro+ ($790 first payment, then $295/year from year 2)
Everything in Basic
Pro+ Sales & Reporting Tools (annual cost)
Multiple Order Bumps (↑ 30% AOV increase)
Crypto Payments (↑ 7% AOV increase)
Tax Inclusive Pricing (↑ 22% sales increase)
Sales Tax Automation
QR Codes
Subscription 1-Click Upgrades & Downgrades
Subscription Dunning
Subscription Analytics & Funnel Comparisons
Affiliate Center & Automated Payouts
Joint Venture Platform & Automated Payouts
Coupons Offers & Analytics
UTM Tracking
Custom Branding & Domains
Multi-user Permissions
Business Intelligence Reporting
Free trial is not available
Pros and cons
Pros
Cons
Similar features to SamCart
High upfront cost
One-time payment
No free trial/tier
Intuitive interface
Limited template designs
Integrated course platform
No storefront or product pages
Subscription management
Not ideal for physical product
High-converting checkouts
4. SendOwl: Best simple SamCart alternative for digital products
Quick overview
I found the appeal of SendOwl to be its simplicity. It strips away everything that complicates selling digital products and focuses purely on getting orders to customers fast with instant delivery, affiliate tools, and subscription support in a clean interface that takes minutes to learn. The pricing is straightforward and pretty affordable compared to other sites like SamCart.
The tradeoff is that SendOwl isn’t a full storefront or website builder. It focuses on the backend elements (payments, delivery, and subscriptions), which you can plug into an existing website. And because of this “plug-in” approach, SendOwl doesn’t have the deep branding control you get with other SamCart competitors. So if you want a complete e-commerce solution, this is not it.
Why I picked SendOwl
Refreshingly clean and focused. Setup is quick and easy. The straightforward approach stands out in an industry full of overly complicated UIs.
Standout features
Instant digital delivery
License keys and drip support
Embeddable checkout
Simple affiliate management
Lightweight, developer-friendly setup
Products you can sell
Digital goods
Software and license-based products
URL redirect products (sell access)
Physical goods (supported but not their strength)
Services, coaching, consulting
Product bundles
Drip-released digital content
Integrations
PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, Alipay, BitPay, Shopify, Square, Zapier, ActiveCampaign, GetResponse, Mailchimp, Quaderno, BirdSend, CustomerHub, Thrive Apprentice, and general mailing list services.
5. Gumroad: Best SamCart alternative for beginners
Quick overview
Gumroad gets you selling faster than most SamCart competitors out there. Setup is almost instant, and I personally liked its UI better than the other platforms.It strips everything down to basics: upload product > set price > collect money.
The free plan removes financial risk entirely. On the flipside, you pay 10% plus 50 cents per direct sale, or a whopping 30% per sale through Gumroad’s native marketplace. And you won’t find advanced marketing tools or deep customization options here.
Also, it’s not ideal for scaling. Limited integrations, basic analytics, and extremely restricted payout options mean you’ll outgrow it fast. You’ll probably migrate elsewhere as your business grows.
Perfect for launching your first product or testing ideas. Extremely simple, accessible, and fast to launch. Great for artists, writers, or anyone with big ambitions on a tight budget.
Standout features
Simple creator-friendly storefront
Instant digital delivery
Pay-what-you-want pricing
Memberships and subscriptions
Built-in audience messaging
No-code setup with minimal friction
Products you can sell
Digital products
Courses and tutorials
E-books
Memberships
Product bundles
Service-type products (commissioned work, calls)
Physical goods
Integrations
Zapier, Circle, Discord
Pricing
Gumroad does not charge a monthly fee. It takes a cut per sale as follows:
Sales through your profile or direct links: 10% + $0.50 per transaction
Sales through Gumroad Discover: 30% per transaction
Pros and cons
Pros
Cons
Extremely easy setup
Large fees on sales
Lightweight storefront
Limited integrations
Built-in analytics
Limited design customization
No upfront costs
Limited analytics
Weekly payouts
Payout is limited to direct deposits (and PayPal in specific cases)
6. Podia: Best SamCart alternative for solo creators
Quick overview
Podia is a SamCart alternative that works best for team-of-one creators who need everything in one place: course hosting, email marketing, website builder, and payment processing. You don’t have to worry about subscription juggling or integration headaches.
The course builder is straightforward. You can drip content, create quizzes, and track student progress without touching code. Community features let you engage your audience directly instead of relying on, say, Facebook Groups.
Payouts hit your account in two business days, which beats most platforms.
Now for the tradeoff: weak e-commerce capabilities, limited customization, and basic analytics. If you’re selling physical products or need advanced conversion optimization, look elsewhere.
Why I picked Podia
Handles the essentials without overcomplicating things. You get what matters most for knowledge products without paying for features you won’t use. Impressive features, relatively easy to use, reasonable pricing.
7. ClickFunnels: Best SamCart alternative for funnel builders
Quick overview
ClickFunnels is not a checkout platform. It’s a funnel builder. But for a list about where to sell other than SamCart, I just could not skip this one.
ClickFunnels is incredibly powerful at taking someone who has never heard of you, and turning them into a customer. You get landing pages, email sequences, upsells, downsells, and order bumps all working together toward a single goal: selling. The templates are built for conversion based on years of split testing data.
While powerful, it’s also pretty complex (and pricey). So expect a learning curve and a higher price tag than online marketplaces like SamCart.
Why I picked ClickFunnels
It wasn’t a straightforward pick. But if you’re selling online and need to build conversion-ready funnels, this is one of the best out there. It’s packed full of solid features and strong integrations.
8. PayKickstart: Best SamCart alternative for subscriptions and SaaS
Quick overview
If you’re selling SaaS, membership sites, courses, or recurring subscriptions, PayKickstart shines as an alternative to SamCart. It handles complex recurring billing, usage-based pricing, and automated revenue recovery better than other SamCart competitors.
The dunning tools alone can recover thousands in failed payments that other platforms would let slip through. You get detailed SaaS metrics like MRR, churn rate, and lifetime value built into the dashboard. Subscription management is incredibly flexible with proration, upgrades, downgrades, and usage-based billing all supported.
The catch: it’s neither cheap nor easy to learn. Also, don’t expect a landing page builder or complete storefront. This is backend subscription infrastructure, not a full e-commerce solution.
Why I picked PayKickstart
The master of subscription and recurring billing management. Running a SaaS business or selling subscriptions? This is as deep as it gets.
Requires additional tools for complete e-commerce setup
Deep integrations
Overkill for simple one-time sale
Flexible trial, rebill, and usage-based pricing
Webhooks and API
9. Kajabi: Best SamCart alternative for course creators
Quick overview
Kajabi is made for coaches, consultants, and course creators selling knowledge online.
You don’t need to juggle Teachable, ConvertKit, WordPress, and Calendly. Kajabi replaces all of them.
I’m talking course hosting, website building, landing pages, email marketing, sales funnels, webinars, coaching tools with scheduling, and a community platform. Pretty neat for a single platform!
Clean and modern interface. Drag-and-drop builders. No coding.
Kajabi costs more than other SamCart competitors, but serves a different purpose: building a complete knowledge business instead of just processing payments. Customization is a bit limited as well. So this isn’t the right fit if you’re selling physical products or running traditional e-commerce.
Why I picked Kajabi
The easiest way to build a complete course or coaching business without juggling multiple tools. Better than SamCart at selling courses, coaching, and memberships.
Standout features
All-in-one for selling knowledge
Courses, coaching, memberships, communities
Powerful email and automation workflows
Mobile app for student access
Quality templates, polished branding
Built-in analytics and CRM
Products you can sell
Online courses
Memberships
Coaching programs
Communities
Podcasts
Newsletters
Digital downloads
Physical products (limited)
Integrations
Creator.io, Zapier, Drip, MailChimp, Google Tag Manager, Segment, Meta Pixel, Stripe, ConvertKit, Aweber, Google Analytics, ActiveCampaign, PayPal
Pricing
Starting plan: Kickstarter ($89/month)
1 product
250 contacts
1 website
1 community + unlimited access groups
1 extra admin user
Unlimited marketing emails
Unlimited landing pages
Unlimited funnels
24/7 support
Kajabi AI features
Creator Studio
Best value plan: Growth ($249/month)
50 products
25,000 contacts
Everything in Kickstarter
10 extra admin users
3rd party integrations
Custom domain
Remove Kajabi branding
Affiliate program
Advanced automations
Universal inbox
Comment-to-DM
Cohort courses
Webhooks
Free trial is available.
Pros and cons
Pros
Cons
Truly all-in-one for knowledge sellers
Expensive for beginners
Clean, modern UI and templates
Not ideal for physical products or e-commerce
Email marketing and automation built in
Limited customization (locks you into its platform and design system)
Strong community features
Overkill if you only need basic payment processing
No transaction fees
Great support and onboarding
Drag-and-drop builders
Integrated coaching tools with scheduling
10. Kartra: Best SamCart alternative for marketing automation
Quick overview
Kartra is a marketing platform first and a cart solution second. You get way more than just the checkout features of platforms like SamCart. Email automation, campaign templates, sales funnels, and video hosting are all included.
Kartra also has landing page builders, surveys, and quizzes to engage customers. I also like the idea of Kartra Experts (real users who help newcomers get started).
The catch is the learning curve. If you’re new to online selling, expect to invest time figuring things out.
Why I picked Kartra
Marketing platform first, SamCart alternative second. I picked it because it offers something unique: a complete promotional toolkit wrapped around your checkout process.
Standout features
Full business operating suite
Funnels, checkout, and CRM in one place
Email and automation are deeply integrated
Memberships and helpdesk built in
Video hosting and calendar scheduling
Affiliate management and tracking
Products you can sell
Digital products
Physical products
Services
Subscriptions and recurring memberships
One-time purchases
Bundled products
Integrations
Stripe, Square, PayPal, Braintree, Authorize.net, aMember, Digital Access Pass, Kajabi, OptimizePress, s2Member Pro, WishList Member, Elastic Email, Mailgun, Postmark, SendGrid, Plivo, Twilio, Zoom, Google Calendar, Google Meet, Zapier, Nexmo, Kartra mail.
Pricing
Starting plan: Essentials ($59/month)
500 contacts
10,000 emails/month
5% transaction fees
1 custom domain
5 pages
1 product
1 membership or course
Kartra AI (30 uses)
Form builder
Funnel mapper
Advanced analytics
Checkouts
100 pre-built campaigns
Best value plan: Starter ($119/month)
2,500 contacts
Unlimited email and SMS
0% transaction fees
1 custom domain
Everything in Essentials, plus:
Unlimited pages
Unlimited products
Unlimited memberships and courses
Kartra AI (100 uses)
Video hosting
5 team members
Calendars
Free trial is available.
Pros and cons
Pros
Cons
Powerful email marketing automation
Not beginner-friendly
Built-in video hosting
Expensive if all you need is a basic cart solution
To migrate from SamCart, you should export the data you need and use it to set up your SamCart alternative of choice. After that, test that everything is working, tell your customers about the change, and update your links everywhere to point people to the new platform. The table below tells you what you can/cannot export from SamCart.
Data/asset
Exportability
Notes
Product details (name, description, tags, etc.)
Partially
No full export of all product metadata.
Orders / Purchase records
Yes
Export CSV via Orders tab (choose date range).
Website design/checkout templates/layout
No
Must be recreated manually; not exportable.
Customers (list + details)
Yes
Export via the Customers tab.
Marketing data (campaigns, automations)
Limited
Only basic checkout analytics are exportable.
Subscriptions (active/recurring)
Yes (with help)
Migration needs SamCart support for PCI compliance.
Steps to migrate from SamCart
Export everything from SamCart
Download customers, orders, sales data, and emails as CSVs. Build a spreadsheet listing every product with its name, price, description, and delivery method.
Screenshot your checkout flows, upsells, custom fields, and email automations. Write down membership configs and any external URLs you’re using to deliver files.
Build on your new platform
Set up your store on one of the platforms similar to SamCart. Upload those CSV files if your new platform accepts them. Most tools have import features or support teams who’ll help migrate your checkout configs.
Can’t import automatically? You’ll rebuild products, upsells, memberships, and emails manually. Takes longer, but it’s straightforward.
Test before you flip the switch
Buy something from your store. Make sure checkout works, emails arrive, and files download. Check that members can access content and that everything is delivered correctly. Run through every product type you sell.
Let customers know what’s happening
Send an email explaining the move. Give them dates and clear steps to access their purchases on the new platform.
Put together a quick FAQ. Be ready to help anyone who gets stuck.
Make the switch
Update your links everywhere: emails, ads, social media. Point everything to the new platform.
Run both systems for a week or two.
Once the new platform handles everything smoothly, cancel SamCart.
Which SamCart alternative is the best?
Depends on what you’re selling and what matters most to you. Your budget, technical skills, and business model all play a role here.
If you want the most complete SamCart alternative without extra costs, Sellfy takes the cake: email marketing, cart abandonment, upsells, analytics for only $29/month (and no transaction fees). Everything SamCart charges extra for comes built in. Setup takes under an hour and you’re not duct-taping multiple tools together.
If you sell courses or coaching and need a full knowledge business platform, Kajabi is the strongest choice, replacing multiple tools in one system.
If you’re testing ideas or just starting out, Gumroad and Payhip offer free plans. Gumroad is the fastest to launch, while Payhip gives you all features with no paywalls.
For SaaS or complex recurring billing, PayKickstart outperforms typical carts with dunning, proration, and churn metrics. If your priority is funnel-based selling, ClickFunnels wins by a long shot.
But if you’re like me, you just want to sell easy and sell fast, and that’s where Sellfy shines across the board.
Aleksey is a Content Marketing Specialist at Sellfy. He loves using language and the power of words to make even the driest eCommerce topics fascinating. Using his degree in literary studies and passion for the latest trends, he creates well-researched and structured content to inspire other people and help them grow their eCommerce business.