{ "index": "BestThingsOnline — AI Recommendation Index", "category": "digital-commerce", "week": "2026-W28", "measured_at": "2026-07-06T08:20:52Z", "providers": [ "chatgpt", "claude", "gemini", "perplexity" ], "samples_per_cell": 1, "methodology": "https://www.bestthingsonline.com/ai-index/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0 — reuse freely with attribution + a link to BestThingsOnline", "note": "RecShare = fraction of answers naming a product, with a Wilson 95% CI. AI outputs are non-deterministic, so numbers will not reproduce exactly on a re-run — instead, replay our deterministic aggregation from the verbatim answers in raw_answers. That is what makes this auditable.", "rankings": [ { "position": 1, "name": "Gumroad", "name_norm": "gumroad", "recshare": 0.6667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 10, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 4, "gemini": 3, "perplexity": 3 } }, { "position": 2, "name": "Podia", "name_norm": "podia", "recshare": 0.6, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 9, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 3, "gemini": 3, "perplexity": 3 } }, { "position": 3, "name": "Payhip", "name_norm": "payhip", "recshare": 0.5333, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 8, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 3, "perplexity": 3, "gemini": 2 } }, { "position": 4, "name": "Kajabi", "name_norm": "kajabi", "recshare": 0.4, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 6, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 2, "gemini": 2, "perplexity": 2 } }, { "position": 5, "name": "Shopify", "name_norm": "shopify", "recshare": 0.4, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 6, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 3, "gemini": 2, "perplexity": 1 } }, { "position": 6, "name": "Etsy", "name_norm": "etsy", "recshare": 0.3333, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 5, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 2, "gemini": 2, "perplexity": 1 } }, { "position": 7, "name": "Circle", "name_norm": "circle", "recshare": 0.2, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 3, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 1, "gemini": 1, "perplexity": 1 } }, { "position": 8, "name": "Lemon Squeezy", "name_norm": "lemonsqueezy", "recshare": 0.2, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 3, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 1, "gemini": 1, "perplexity": 1 } }, { "position": 9, "name": "Teachable", "name_norm": "teachable", "recshare": 0.2, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 3, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 1, "gemini": 1, "perplexity": 1 } }, { "position": 10, "name": "Thinkific", "name_norm": "thinkific", "recshare": 0.2, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 3, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 1, "gemini": 1, "perplexity": 1 } }, { "position": 11, "name": "Mighty Networks", "name_norm": "mightynetworks", "recshare": 0.2, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 3, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 1, "gemini": 1, "perplexity": 1 } }, { "position": 12, "name": "Patreon", "name_norm": "patreon", "recshare": 0.1333, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 2, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 1, "gemini": 1 } }, { "position": 13, "name": "Sellfy", "name_norm": "sellfy", "recshare": 0.1333, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 2, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "perplexity": 2 } }, { "position": 14, "name": "Quick note", "name_norm": "quicknote", "recshare": 0.1333, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 2, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 2 } }, { "position": 15, "name": "Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing", "name_norm": "amazonkindledirectpublishing", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "perplexity": 1 } }, { "position": 16, "name": "Easytools", "name_norm": "easytools", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "perplexity": 1 } }, { "position": 17, "name": "Kartra", "name_norm": "kartra", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "perplexity": 1 } }, { "position": 18, "name": "Skool", "name_norm": "skool", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 1 } }, { "position": 19, "name": "Draft2Digital", "name_norm": "draft2digital", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "perplexity": 1 } }, { "position": 20, "name": "ThriveCart", "name_norm": "thrivecart", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "gemini": 1 } }, { "position": 21, "name": "WooCommerce", "name_norm": "woocommerce", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "gemini": 1 } }, { "position": 22, "name": "Amazon KDP", "name_norm": "amazonkdp", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "gemini": 1 } }, { "position": 23, "name": "Beamly", "name_norm": "beamly", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "perplexity": 1 } }, { "position": 24, "name": "Creative Market", "name_norm": "creativemarket", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 1 } }, { "position": 25, "name": "Ghost", "name_norm": "ghost", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "gemini": 1 } }, { "position": 26, "name": "LearnWorlds", "name_norm": "learnworlds", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "gemini": 1 } }, { "position": 27, "name": "SamCart", "name_norm": "samcart", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "perplexity": 1 } }, { "position": 28, "name": "Stan Store", "name_norm": "stanstore", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "gemini": 1 } }, { "position": 29, "name": "Whop", "name_norm": "whop", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 1 } }, { "position": 30, "name": "Quick guidance", "name_norm": "quickguidance", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 1 } }, { "position": 31, "name": "Quick tip", "name_norm": "quicktip", "recshare": 0.0667, "ci_low": null, "ci_high": null, "mentions": 1, "answers": 15, "per_provider": { "claude": 1 } } ], "questions": [ "What's the best platform to sell digital products?", "Which platform should I use to sell an online course?", "What's the best place to sell ebooks and templates online?", "What are the best Gumroad alternatives?", "What's the best platform for paid memberships and communities?" ], "raw_answers": [ { "question_id": 17, "provider": "claude", "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6", "sample": 0, "answer": "# Top 5 Platforms to Sell Digital Products\n\n1. **Gumroad** - Extremely simple setup with low friction, great for creators just starting out with minimal fees on free plan\n\n2. **Shopify** - Most scalable option with powerful customization and integrations for serious digital businesses\n\n3. **Payhip** - Zero transaction fees on subscriptions and strong built-in marketing tools like affiliate programs\n\n4. **Podia** - Best all-in-one if you sell courses, memberships, AND downloads under one roof\n\n5. **Etsy** - Huge built-in audience makes it ideal for digital downloads like templates, printables, and design assets\n\n---\n\n**Quick note:** The \"best\" depends on your product type - courses favor Podia, passive downloads favor Gumroad or Etsy, and scaling a brand favors Shopify." }, { "question_id": 17, "provider": "gemini", "model": "gemini-2.5-flash", "sample": 0, "answer": "Here's a ranked list of the best platforms to sell digital products, with a short reason for each:\n\n1. **Gumroad**\n * **Reason:** Incredibly easy to set up and start selling various digital products (ebooks, software, music, art) with built-in audience features and simple pricing.\n\n2. **Shopify**\n * **Reason:** Robust, scalable e-commerce platform offering complete control and extensive customization for serious businesses and a wide range of digital goods (requires apps for digital delivery).\n\n3. **Podia**\n * **Reason:** Excellent all-in-one platform for selling courses, memberships, and digital downloads with strong marketing tools, ideal for creators building an audience.\n\n4. **WooCommerce (with WordPress)**\n * **Reason:** Unparalleled flexibility and control for WordPress users, with no platform transaction fees (beyond payment processors), making it ideal for those who want full ownership.\n\n5. **Etsy**\n * **Reason:** Massive marketplace excellent for selling specific digital products like digital art, printables, planners, and craft patterns to an existing, engaged audience." }, { "question_id": 17, "provider": "perplexity", "model": "sonar", "sample": 0, "answer": "**Easytools** is the top platform to sell digital products because it’s ranked first overall and excels for ebooks and courses[1]. \n**Gumroad** is second due to its strong reputation, ease of use, and built-in audience for creators[1]. \n**Payhip** is third as it’s the best place to sell digital downloads with free access, low fees, and all-in-one features[1][3]. \n**Podia** is fourth for its integrated teaching tools, community features, and simple pricing for digital creators[1]. \n**Etsy** is fifth because it offers a massive built-in audience ideal for design assets and creative digital products[1]." }, { "question_id": 18, "provider": "claude", "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6", "sample": 0, "answer": "# Top 5 Platforms to Sell an Online Course\n\n1. **Teachable** - Most beginner-friendly with solid sales tools, customizable course pages, and reliable payment processing\n2. **Thinkific** - Great free tier to start, strong course-building tools, and no transaction fees on paid plans\n3. **Kajabi** - Best all-in-one option (email marketing, website, community included) if you want everything under one roof\n4. **Podia** - Simple, clean interface with no transaction fees and good support for digital downloads alongside courses\n5. **Gumroad** - Best if you want minimal setup and just need a quick, low-friction way to sell without building a full course site\n\n---\n\n**Quick guidance:**\n- Just starting out → **Thinkific** (free plan)\n- Serious about scaling → **Kajabi**\n- Simplest possible setup → **Gumroad**" }, { "question_id": 18, "provider": "gemini", "model": "gemini-2.5-flash", "sample": 0, "answer": "Here's a ranked top 5 list of platforms for selling an online course, with one short reason for each:\n\n1. **Kajabi**\n * **Reason:** All-in-one platform for serious entrepreneurs, combining courses with extensive marketing tools, sales funnels, email marketing, and website builder.\n\n2. **Thinkific**\n * **Reason:** Robust course creation and student experience with excellent customization options, strong analytics, and flexible pricing.\n\n3. **Teachable**\n * **Reason:** User-friendly and great for beginners, focusing on straightforward course creation, sales page builder, and integrated payment processing.\n\n4. **Podia**\n * **Reason:** Excellent for selling multiple digital products (courses, downloads, memberships, webinars) from one dashboard with no transaction fees.\n\n5. **LearnWorlds**\n * **Reason:** Focuses on interactive learning and strong educational features, ideal for formal courses, certifications, and building a highly engaging student experience." }, { "question_id": 18, "provider": "perplexity", "model": "sonar", "sample": 0, "answer": "1. **Kartra** – The best overall all-in-one platform, covering every tool needed (videos, marketing, communities, memberships) in one subscription to scale a course business without extra costs [2].\n\n2. **Thinkific** – Highly customizable with powerful sales features like single-page checkout, order bumps, and high-converting templates to boost conversions and simplify eCommerce tasks [2][3][5].\n\n3. **Kajabi** – Superior for marketing courses on autopilot with built-in upsells, cross-sells, abandoned cart recovery, and advanced analytics to track performance [2][3].\n\n4. **Teachable** – Best for starters and creators wanting an easy, flexible course builder with powerful selling tools and full control over content, payments, and the learning environment [1][2][3][5].\n\n5. **SamCart** – Ideal for experienced marketers and eCom pros selling low-ticket courses or multiple upsells, offering the industry’s leading shopping cart software to start making sales immediately [2]." }, { "question_id": 19, "provider": "claude", "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6", "sample": 0, "answer": "# Top 5 Places to Sell Ebooks & Templates Online\n\n1. **Gumroad** - Extremely beginner-friendly with zero upfront costs and simple digital delivery built in\n2. **Etsy** - Massive built-in audience actively searching for templates and digital downloads\n3. **Payhip** - Generous free plan with solid marketing tools and no technical setup required\n4. **Shopify** - Best for scaling a serious brand with full control over your store and customer experience\n5. **Creative Market** - Highly targeted audience of designers and creatives specifically looking for quality templates\n\n---\n\n**Quick tip:** Many sellers list on **multiple platforms simultaneously** (especially Gumroad + Etsy) to maximize reach without much extra effort." }, { "question_id": 19, "provider": "gemini", "model": "gemini-2.5-flash", "sample": 0, "answer": "Here's a ranked top 5 list of the best places to sell ebooks and templates online, considering versatility, ease of use, and potential reach:\n\n1. **Gumroad**\n * **Reason:** Extremely easy to set up, minimal fees for free tier, and perfect for selling both digital ebooks and templates directly to your audience.\n\n2. **Etsy**\n * **Reason:** Massive marketplace with a huge built-in audience, especially strong for creative templates (planners, invitations, digital art, social media templates) as digital downloads.\n\n3. **Shopify (with Digital Downloads app)**\n * **Reason:** Offers ultimate control, branding, and scalability for building your own professional online store, ideal for those with a larger product catalog or who want full ownership.\n\n4. **Payhip**\n * **Reason:** A strong all-in-one platform with a generous free plan, good for selling various digital products including ebooks, templates, and even courses, with excellent branding options.\n\n5. **Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)**\n * **Reason:** Unmatched global reach for selling **ebooks only** to a vast reading audience, though it has specific formatting requirements and is not suitable for templates." }, { "question_id": 19, "provider": "perplexity", "model": "sonar", "sample": 0, "answer": "1. **Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)** – Offers unparalleled access to millions of active readers via the world’s largest eBook marketplace, making it the top choice for maximum visibility and sales potential[2].\n\n2. **Payhip** – Provides the lowest transaction fees (5%) among user-friendly platforms, enabling creators to sell directly from their own website while building a community and retaining full control[2][4].\n\n3. **Gumroad** – The easiest platform for beginners to launch an eBook or template shop in under 10 minutes with no monthly fees, charging only a flat 10% per sale[2][4].\n\n4. **Draft2Digital** – Features an intuitive, step-by-step interface that simplifies publishing and allows effortless distribution to multiple retailers beyond Amazon, including Apple Books and Google Play[2].\n\n5. **Sellfy** – An all-in-one e-commerce platform with generous royalties, powerful marketing tools, and seamless digital delivery, ideal for creators selling both eBooks and templates alongside print-on-demand items[2]." }, { "question_id": 20, "provider": "claude", "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6", "sample": 0, "answer": "# Top 5 Gumroad Alternatives\n\n1. **Lemon Squeezy** - Modern interface, handles global tax/VAT automatically, and strong developer tools\n2. **Payhip** - Very generous free tier with simple setup, great for beginners selling digital products\n3. **Podia** - Best for bundling digital downloads with courses and membership communities in one platform\n4. **Shopify** - Most scalable option if you anticipate significant growth or want to sell physical products too\n5. **Whop** - Strong fit for selling communities, software access, and digital products to younger audiences" }, { "question_id": 20, "provider": "gemini", "model": "gemini-2.5-flash", "sample": 0, "answer": "Here are the top 5 Gumroad alternatives, ranked best first:\n\n1. **Podia**\n * **Reason:** Best all-in-one platform for digital products, courses, and memberships with powerful marketing tools and no transaction fees on paid plans.\n\n2. **Lemon Squeezy**\n * **Reason:** Modern platform acting as a merchant of record, simplifying global tax and compliance for digital sales (VAT, sales tax handled for you).\n\n3. **Payhip**\n * **Reason:** Very similar to Gumroad, offering an easy and affordable way to sell digital products, courses, and memberships with a generous free plan.\n\n4. **ThriveCart**\n * **Reason:** Focuses on high-converting checkout pages and sales funnels with advanced upsell/downsell capabilities, often available as a lifetime deal.\n\n5. **Stan Store**\n * **Reason:** Excellent \"link-in-bio\" tool designed for social media creators to sell digital products, courses, and services directly from their profile." }, { "question_id": 20, "provider": "perplexity", "model": "sonar", "sample": 0, "answer": "1. **Payhip** – The best overall Gumroad alternative for selling all types of digital products, featuring a built-in marketplace, no monthly fees, and lower transaction fees per sale [1][2].\n\n2. **Lemon Squeezy** – Ideal for SaaS, software, and subscription-based creators, offering hands-off sales tax compliance and significantly lower fees (5% + $0.50) compared to Gumroad [1][6].\n\n3. **Podia** – Best for creators who need a single platform for courses, communities, memberships, email marketing, and coaching under one roof [1][2].\n\n4. **Sellfy** – Perfect for creators selling a mix of digital downloads and physical merchandise (including print-on-demand) from a single customizable dashboard [1][4].\n\n5. **Shopify (Digital Downloads)** – The top choice for building scalable, high-control ecommerce stores, especially for print-on-demand or physical product businesses [1][2]." }, { "question_id": 21, "provider": "claude", "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6", "sample": 0, "answer": "# Top 5 Platforms for Paid Memberships & Communities\n\n1. **Skool** - Clean, gamified community experience with courses built in; rapidly growing and creator-friendly pricing\n\n2. **Circle** - Most polished all-in-one community platform with strong customization, courses, and live events\n\n3. **Mighty Networks** - Best for building a branded \"network\" feel with native apps and solid course integration\n\n4. **Kajabi** - Strongest option if memberships are paired with heavy course/marketing funnel needs\n\n5. **Patreon** - Easiest entry point for creators wanting simple tiered memberships with minimal setup\n\n---\n\n**Quick note:** The best choice depends on your priority — Skool/Circle for community-first, Kajabi for sales/courses-first, Patreon for simplest monetization." }, { "question_id": 21, "provider": "gemini", "model": "gemini-2.5-flash", "sample": 0, "answer": "Here's a ranked top 5 list of platforms for paid memberships and communities:\n\n1. **Circle**\n * **Reason:** Built from the ground up specifically for communities, offering a clean, modern interface, robust features for content, events, and seamless paid membership integration.\n\n2. **Mighty Networks**\n * **Reason:** An all-in-one solution for communities, courses, and content, providing powerful tools for engagement, monetization, and a flexible structure.\n\n3. **Kajabi**\n * **Reason:** A premier all-in-one platform for selling courses and digital products, with excellent integrated membership site capabilities and robust community features.\n\n4. **Patreon**\n * **Reason:** Best for individual creators seeking direct fan support through recurring memberships, offering built-in content delivery and essential community interaction features.\n\n5. **Ghost**\n * **Reason:** Excellent for content creators and publishers who want to run paid newsletters and a members-only website, with growing community features and full content ownership." }, { "question_id": 21, "provider": "perplexity", "model": "sonar", "sample": 0, "answer": "The best platform for paid memberships and communities overall is **Circle**, specifically designed to build branded, interactive community spaces.\n\nHere is the ranked top 5 list of specific products for paid memberships and communities:\n\n1. **Circle** – Best for building branded community spaces with events, marketing tools, and advanced AI agents for member transformation [1][2].\n2. **Mighty Networks** – Best for building interactive, structured learning communities where live events and cohort programs are the main product [1][3].\n3. **Kajabi** – Best all-in-one digital business platform for creators who need courses, memberships, email marketing, and funnels under one roof [1][3].\n4. **Podia** – Best for solo creators and beginners selling digital products or small courses with minimal setup and no transaction fees [1][3].\n5. **Beamly** – Best for podcast and video creators who want a single hub for public and premium content with 0% platform fees [3]." } ], "content_sha256": "ade5a93791b81fd5d1ce1fe7c415b7447b29029d48ad3d354784707245890fc4" }