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Easy Digital Downloads vs Leaky Paywall: Which is right for you? (1970)

TL;DR

  • Choose Easy Digital Downloads if keeping fees low matters most.
  • Choose Leaky Paywall if your stack already leans in that direction.
  • Both work for: wordpress.

Easy Digital Downloads

Personal $99/year. Extended $199/year. Professional $299/year.

WordPress plugin for selling digital products. Strong for software developers selling plugins or themes. Open source core with paid extensions.

Leaky Paywall

From $99/month

Native WordPress plugin for local news and independent publishers.

Pricing comparison

Pricing model
flat_annual
flat_monthly
Detail
Personal $99/year. Extended $199/year. Professional $299/year.
From $99/month

Feature comparison

Easy Digital Downloads
Leaky Paywall
Merchant of record
No
No
Paywalls
No
Yes
A/B testing
No
No
Tax handled
No
No
No-code
Yes
Yes
Open source
Yes
No
Ease of setup
4/5
4/5
Fee competitiveness
4/5
3/5
Conversion tooling
2/5
2/5
Advanced billing
2/5
1/5

Best for

Easy Digital Downloads is best for WordPress, Digital products, ebooks, software, plugins, Publishers. Leaky Paywall is best for WordPress, local news, independent publishers, Media & publishers, Publishers, Fast setup.

FAQ

Is Easy Digital Downloads better than Leaky Paywall?

Neither is universally better. Easy Digital Downloads is the right pick if keeping fees low matters most; Leaky Paywall wins if your stack already leans in that direction.

Which is cheaper, Easy Digital Downloads or Leaky Paywall?

Easy Digital Downloads ranks higher on fee competitiveness (4/5). Easy Digital Downloads pricing: Personal $99/year. Extended $199/year. Professional $299/year.. Leaky Paywall pricing: From $99/month.

Can I switch from Easy Digital Downloads to Leaky Paywall?

Yes — most subscription and billing tools support migration via CSV import or API. Expect to reconfigure webhooks, paywalls, and entitlements. Check both vendors' migration docs before committing.

Does Easy Digital Downloads handle sales tax?

No. Easy Digital Downloads does not handle tax registrations — you handle those yourself or via a separate tool.

All Easy Digital Downloads alternatives →All Leaky Paywall alternatives →

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