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How to sell an ebook without a website: one hosted sales page, one checkout, and a file delivered by email the moment someone pays. systeme.io does that on a free plan, on its own subdomain, with a 0% platform fee, so an author with a Facebook group or a mailing list can sell direct without building or buying anything. Card processing is the only fee left.
What “without a website” looks like: one page and a checkout
A funnel on systeme.io is a set of pages on a systeme.io subdomain. One of them can be the sales page, with the order form on it. That page is the whole website. Share the link in your group, your newsletter or your bio; nobody visiting it knows or cares that there is no homepage behind it.
Set it up in four steps
- Upload the file as a digital product: PDF, EPUB, ZIP or MP3. Storage is unlimited.
- Build the sales page from a template: cover image, what is inside, who it is for, price, button.
- Connect Stripe or PayPal and set the price on the order form. Add a payment plan if the product is a $60 workbook rather than a $12 guide.
- Check the delivery email. It is sent automatically with the download link; edit the wording once.
Total time is an hour. The buyer’s email lands in your list, and the one automation rule on the free plan can send a follow-up a week later.
How to sell a workbook or audio course the same way
A workbook is a PDF with a higher price and a payment plan; nothing else changes. An audio course is either a set of MP3s delivered as a ZIP, or a course area with one lesson per track so buyers stream instead of download. The course area is on the free plan (one course, 500 students) and keeps the files behind a login.
The free way to sell an ebook, and the two fees that remain
systeme.io charges nothing monthly and 0% per sale on every plan. Two costs stay: the card processor, about 2.9% plus 30 cents in the US, and sales tax or VAT, which you handle yourself. Gumroad and Payhip collect tax for you and charge a per-sale fee for the service; on Gumroad that is 10% plus 50 cents.
Where systeme.io is not the pick
If you sell in many countries and do not want to think about VAT, Payhip’s or Gumroad’s tax handling is worth their fee. If you want zero setup and no page at all, Gumroad’s product link is faster. If most sales come from Amazon’s search rather than your own audience, keep KDP and use direct sales for the readers you already reach.
Free plan, no card. Affiliate link; we earn a commission on paid plans.
Frequently asked questions
How do I sell an ebook without a website?
Build one sales page with an order form on systeme.io, upload the PDF as a product, connect Stripe or PayPal. The page lives on a free subdomain and delivery is automatic.
Is there a free way to sell an ebook?
systeme.io free has no monthly fee and a 0% platform fee. You pay only card processing, and you handle any sales tax yourself.
How do I sell a workbook online?
The same setup with a higher price and, if useful, a payment plan on the order form.
How do I sell audio courses online?
Deliver MP3s as a ZIP download, or put one track per lesson in a course area so buyers stream behind a login. Both work on the free plan.
Related: sell digital products without Shopify or Etsy, email marketing for authors, Gumroad alternatives.