It’s now easier than ever to build a profitable business from your passions thanks to selling well-crafted digital products.
Unlike physical goods, digital assets like e-books, online courses, and templates offer the unique benefit of infinite scalability. You create them once, and they can be sold countless times without incurring additional costs.
This guide presents 25 digital product ideas, ranging from online courses to printables, and ranked by difficulty, designed to help you establish a thriving passive income stream and achieve financial independence.
Spoiler alert: one of the best ways to sell digital products is by using a sales funnel platform that makes it easier for users to complete purchases. To skip to the good stuff, learn how ThriveCart can help grow your online sales with ease.
What Are Digital Products? (And Why Should You Sell Them?)
Digital products are products you can sell and deliver online. Common formats include:
- instructional online courses
- coaching and how-to videos
- eBooks and reports
- artworks and graphics
- music or audio files
- and more
Selling digital products offers a perfect solution for generating income without trading time for money. Unlike physical goods, digital products eliminate the need for inventory, shipping, or storage, leading to exceptionally high-profit margins. This “create once, sell forever” business model forms the basis of true passive income. It’s your ticket to financial freedom.
The process is straightforward: create a valuable product such as an ebook, template, or online course, then upload it to a platform like ThriveCart. ThriveCart’s automated system manages the checkout process and instantly delivers the product, allowing you to earn money 24/7, even while you sleep. This frees up your time to focus on other aspects of your life or business.
By selling digital products, you can reach a global audience, making the potential for passive income truly limitless. Break free from the constraints of a traditional 9-to-5 and build a business that works for you.
25 Most Profitable Digital Products to Sell in 2025
The digital commerce market is booming, projected to exceed $26 trillion by 2034, with B2B and educational content as major drivers.
This presents a golden opportunity for entrepreneurs to monetize their expertise through digital products. The appeal of digital products lies in their high-profit margins and the potential for passive income, as they eliminate physical inventory, shipping, and storage costs that can easily eat into profits.
A common hurdle for many is the time and effort involved in content creation. This is where Private Label Rights (PLR) products offer an excellent solution. PLR products are digital assets — such as ebooks, articles, templates, or courses — that can be legally purchased, rebranded, and resold as your own. This can save you significant time and money.
A PLR license grants you intellectual property ownership, which allows for significant modification and customization. This differs significantly from a standard resell license, which only permits selling the product as-is. While PLR offers a quick launchpad, remember to rebrand and add unique value to differentiate your offerings from your competitors.
For Educators & Course Creators
The digital education market focuses on providing transformative learning experiences, with a massive demand for personalized, on-demand content. This has created a multi-billion dollar industry where expertise can be directly monetized.
Many online services also establish subscriptions, which leads to monthly recurring revenue (MRR).
Online Courses
What is it: A comprehensive collection of video lessons, modules, and supplementary materials for teaching specific skills. A truly successful online course is an entire ecosystem, often including private community forums, live coaching calls, and bonus resources. For example, a “Beginner’s Guide to Digital Photography” course could feature weekly photo challenges and a dedicated Facebook group for feedback.
Ideal for: Experts in any field who want to create a structured learning experience. The audience for online courses is incredibly broad, from professionals seeking to upskill to individuals pursuing a new hobby. Platforms like Teachable and Kajabi host thousands of courses on a wide range of subjects.
Profitability: The online education market is booming, projected to reach $203.81 billion in 2025. People are willing to pay a premium for high-quality, in-depth instruction that helps them achieve a specific goal. The average profit margin for a digital course is estimated to be over 80%, as you create the core content once, and it can serve a limitless number of students with minimal ongoing effort.
Sales difficulty: Hard. The difficulty lies in creating a course that stands out, not just in content, but in student engagement and outcome. Successful course creators often spend months on content planning, filming, and building a marketing funnel.
Webinars & Workshops
What is it: A live or pre-recorded presentation on a focused topic, often with Q&A. A workshop is more hands-on, with participants completing tasks in real-time. For instance, a “Productivity Workshop” could walk attendees through setting up a project management board in Trello, with the instructor providing immediate feedback.
Ideal for: Public speakers, coaches, and consultants who excel at live teaching. This is an ideal product for building authority and a reputation as a thought leader in your niche.
Profitability: They have a high perceived value and can be offered at a premium price, sometimes costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a specialized workshop. They are also a phenomenal marketing tool, as attendees who love the content are likely to convert into higher-paying customers for your other products.
Sales difficulty: Medium. While the creation is simpler than a full course, success hinges on your ability to attract a live audience and deliver a compelling, valuable presentation.
Lesson Plans & Teacher Resources
What is it: Ready-made plans, printable worksheets, and classroom activities that save educators countless hours of preparation time.
Ideal for: Current or former teachers who understand the curriculum and challenges of the classroom.
Profitability: The demand is consistent, and teachers are always looking for high-quality, time-saving resources. Platforms like Teachers Pay Teachers have shown this is a highly lucrative niche.
Sales difficulty: Easy. You can start with a single, high-quality resource and build a library over time.
Workbooks & Guides
- Description: Digital workbooks, companion guides, and interactive journals designed to accompany a course, help with personal development, or teach a practical skill. A workbook is more than just a PDF; it’s an interactive tool for learning.
- Ideal for: Coaches, mentors, and course creators who want to provide a structured path for their students.
- Profitability: They complement other products and can be sold as low-cost upsells or as standalone items. They have a very high-profit margin and are incredibly easy and fast to produce.
Sales Difficulty: Easy
Private Label Rights (PLR) Products
What is it: Pre-written articles, ebooks, and courses that you purchase with a license to edit, rebrand, and sell as your own. When you buy PLR content, you are purchasing the intellectual property rights to modify and use it, ensuring the final product feels authentic to your brand.
Ideal for: New entrepreneurs and bloggers who want to quickly build a product library without starting from scratch.
Profitability: PLR dramatically reduces the time and effort of content creation, allowing you to launch products in a fraction of the time. You save on development costs and can focus on marketing and sales.
Sales Difficulty: Easy.
For Designers & Visual Artists
The internet provides a direct avenue for artists to monetize their creativity and license their work. No longer are they dependent on galleries or major companies; they can sell directly to their audience and maintain control of their intellectual property.
Templates (Canva, Photoshop, etc.)
What is it: Customizable design files for social media graphics, presentations, or resumes that a user can easily edit to fit their needs. A good template pack for a wedding photographer, for example, might include a pre-designed pricing guide and a client welcome packet, all with a consistent visual identity.
Ideal for: Graphic designers who have a knack for creating beautiful, functional layouts.
Profitability: Templates are in high demand across industries and can be sold an infinite number of times. You can create a master template once and sell it to thousands of people. According to data from Creative Market, top-selling designers earn significant passive income from their template shops.
Sales Difficulty: Medium.
Digital Art Prints & Illustrations
- What is it: High-resolution digital files of original artwork that customers can download and print at home or through a printing service.
- Ideal for: Artists and illustrators who want to monetize their art beyond commissions or physical prints.
- Profitability: It allows artists to sell their work globally with zero shipping or material costs. The intellectual property remains theirs, but they grant a license for personal use.
- Sales Difficulty: Easy.
Procreate Brushes & Palettes
What is it: Custom brush sets and color palettes for the popular iPad drawing app, Procreate. These tools help digital artists streamline their workflow and achieve unique effects.
Ideal for: Digital artists who specialize in Procreate and understand its tools.
Profitability: This is a niche but highly engaged market. A single brush set can be an evergreen product, generating consistent sales for years.
Sales Difficulty: Medium.
Stock Photos & Videos
What is it: High-quality images and video clips that businesses and content creators can license for their websites, marketing materials, and social media. The market is moving towards authentic, niche-specific content, such as a collection of photos showcasing diverse body types.
Ideal for: Photographers and videographers who have an extensive library of professional content.
Profitability: This is a classic passive income model for creatives. Once you upload your content to a stock platform, it becomes a long-term asset that can generate revenue for years.
Sales Difficulty: Medium.
Fonts & Typeface Design
What is it: A complete digital font file that a designer or brand can install and use for branding, websites, or print projects.
Ideal for: Graphic designers and typographers who can create unique and aesthetically pleasing typefaces.
Profitability: Fonts are a fundamental element of design and are in constant demand. Designers will pay a premium for a unique, well-designed font that sets their work apart.
Sales Difficulty: Hard.
Brand Kits & Style Guides
What is it: A pre-packaged set of branding assets including a logo, color palette, font recommendations, and brand guidelines. This is a “done-for-you” solution for small businesses or solo entrepreneurs.
Ideal for: Branding experts and designers who want to productize their services.
Profitability: It bridges the gap between hiring a custom designer and a DIY solution, offering a professional solution at an accessible price point.
Sales Difficulty: Hard.
For Writers & Content Creators
The written word is a powerful currency in the digital world. From captivating stories to SEO-optimized articles, there is a constant demand for high-quality content. Writers can now sell their creations directly to consumers or other businesses, bypassing traditional publishing gatekeepers and generating passive income along the way.
Ebooks & Guides
Description: A digital book on a specific niche topic, ranging from a short guide to a full-length manuscript. Ebooks can be informational, fiction, or how-to guides.
Ideal for: Writers, experts, and anyone with a story to tell or knowledge to share.
Profitability: Ebooks have a low barrier to entry and can be a powerful lead magnet or a primary source of income. They are easy to produce and distribute, and the profit margins are nearly 100%. On platforms like Amazon Kindle, many self-published authors earn six-figure incomes.
Sales Difficulty: Easy.
Private Label Rights (PLR) Articles
Description: A bundle of articles or blog posts on a specific topic that you can purchase with a license to resell under your own brand.
Ideal for: Bloggers, marketers, and content creators who need to produce a high volume of content quickly.
Profitability: PLR articles save you countless hours of research and writing. You can acquire the intellectual property for a low cost, edit the content to be unique to your brand, and publish it, gaining organic traffic.
Sales Difficulty: Easy.
Newsletter Templates & Content Kits
Description: Pre-written newsletter copy and templates for email marketing campaigns. These help small businesses and creators stay in touch with their audience without the constant pressure of writing from scratch.
Ideal for: Copywriters and email marketing experts.
Profitability: They provide a subscription-based model or one-time sale that solves a major pain point for business owners—consistent, high-quality communication with their audience.
Sales Difficulty: Medium.
Audiobooks
Description: A narrated version of a written work. This allows a writer to reach a new audience who prefers to listen to content on the go.
Ideal for: Authors and creators who have already written an ebook or a series of articles.
Profitability: Audiobooks are a rapidly growing market. You can repurpose existing content, which means you’re creating a new product without significant new development work.
Sales Difficulty: Medium.
For Business Professionals
Productivity and efficiency are non-negotiable for business professionals. They are constantly seeking tools and resources that can streamline their work and provide a competitive edge. Selling digital products online means they can use their existing know-how to bring in a steady revenue stream.
Spreadsheet & Database Templates
Description: Pre-built templates for platforms like Excel, Google Sheets, or Airtable. These could be project trackers, financial planners, or inventory management systems that simplify complex tasks.
Ideal for: Business analysts, project managers, and financial experts who are proficient with data management tools.
Profitability: Business professionals are constantly looking for ways to increase efficiency. A well-designed template can save them dozens of hours, and they are willing to pay for that convenience.
Sales Difficulty: Medium.
Business Plan & Marketing Plan Templates
Description: Comprehensive documents that provide a framework for creating a business or marketing strategy. They include fill-in-the-blank sections, examples, and step-by-step guidance.
Ideal for: Business consultants and marketing strategists.
Profitability: They provide a valuable, actionable product that helps entrepreneurs and small business owners avoid costly mistakes and save time.
Sales Difficulty: Medium.
Legal Document Templates
Description: Standardized legal forms and contracts, such as non-disclosure agreements, freelance contracts, or privacy policies.
Ideal for: Legal professionals and consultants (with the caveat that they must include a disclaimer that the documents are for informational purposes only and not a substitute for legal advice).
Profitability: They provide a crucial, high-value solution for small businesses that can’t afford a lawyer for every contract.
Sales Difficulty: Hard.
AI Prompts
Description: Curated and optimized text prompts for AI tools like ChatGPT or Midjourney. These collections help users get better, more specific results from AI without the guesswork.
Ideal for: AI experts, copywriters, and marketers who have mastered the art of “prompt engineering.”
Profitability: With the explosion of AI, people are actively looking for shortcuts to get the best results. A well-designed prompt pack provides instant value and can be sold at a very high-profit margin.
Sales Difficulty: Easy.
For Hobbyists & Lifestyle Creators
The maker economy is thriving, and people are eager to learn new skills and find products that enhance their hobbies. This market is driven by passion, and a good digital product in this space can create a loyal, long-term customer base.
Printables (Planners, Trackers, etc.)
Description: Digital files that customers can download and print at home. This category includes everything from daily planners and budget trackers to meal prep sheets and party invitations.
Ideal for: Anyone with a creative eye and a knack for organization.
Profitability: Printables have a wide appeal and a low price point, making them an excellent volume-based business. According to data from platforms that analyze Etsy sales, items like digital planners and wall art continue to be a top-performing category.
Sales Difficulty: Easy.
Digital Stickers & Planners
Description: Digital versions of planners and stickers designed for apps like GoodNotes or Notability. These are popular with students and professionals who use a tablet for note-taking and organization.
Ideal for: Digital artists and designers who want to tap into the growing market of paperless planners.
Profitability: Digital planning is a rapidly growing niche with a passionate user base. Once created, a digital planner or sticker set can be sold indefinitely with no additional costs.
Sales Difficulty: Medium.
Recipe Ebooks
Description: A collection of recipes, often themed around a specific diet (e.g., keto, vegan, gluten-free) or cuisine. They can include photos, meal plans, and nutritional information.
Ideal for: Chefs, food bloggers, and home cooks.
Profitability: People are always looking for new recipes and a clear path to follow a specific diet. Recipe ebooks can be sold at a low price point to a large audience.
Sales Difficulty: Easy.
Social Media Templates
Description: Customizable templates for platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. These can be used for posts, stories, and pins, helping users create a cohesive and professional social media presence.
Ideal for: Graphic designers and social media managers who understand branding and platform aesthetics.
Profitability: They save creators and small businesses immense time and help them grow their audience. The market for social media marketing tools is vast and ever-expanding.
Sales Difficulty: Easy.
Digital Scrapbook Kits
Description: A collection of digital graphics, papers, and embellishments for creating digital scrapbooks. These kits can be sold as a complete package or in individual bundles.
Ideal for: Digital artists and hobbyists who enjoy crafting and can create high-quality graphics.
Profitability: This product taps into a passionate and dedicated community of digital scrapbookers. The products are evergreen and can be continually updated with new collections.
Sales Difficulty: Medium.
Is Selling Digital Products a Good Side Hustle? (A Reality Check)
Selling digital products offers an excellent opportunity for a side hustle, but it’s crucial to have realistic expectations. While the idea of creating a product once and selling it indefinitely is appealing, building a profitable business requires significant and ongoing effort. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme.
For a beginner, initial earnings are often modest. A low-priced item like a printable or an ebook might generate a few hundred dollars a month. In contrast, an expert with an engaged audience can see substantial income. An established course creator can achieve six-figure launches, while some self-published authors on Amazon Kindle earn six-figure royalties.
This success is built on a significant upfront investment of time and effort in building an audience and reputation. The real work is in continuous content creation and marketing, which continues long after the product is finished.
The misconception that digital products are effortless leads to common pitfalls. The most significant is failing to conduct adequate market research and choosing a product that lacks demand.
A poorly designed product that doesn’t solve a genuine problem won’t sell, regardless of promotion. Many entrepreneurs expect their products to sell themselves, but without a clear strategy for reaching the target audience, the product will remain unnoticed.
To truly profit from this side hustle, you have to be ready to learn about digital marketing, email list building, and social media promotion.
The reality is that selling digital products is a long-term business model that demands consistent effort, strategic thinking, and adaptability. You must treat it as a business from day one, focusing on solving a specific problem for a particular audience to build a sustainable and profitable stream of income. The most successful creators view their digital products not as a shortcut, but as a valuable asset built over time to serve their audience.
The Boring (But Crucial) Stuff: Costs & Legal Basics
Launching a successful digital product business involves more than just a brilliant concept. While the low barrier to entry is a significant advantage, addressing crucial financial and legal factors from the outset is vital for sustained success and a healthy profit margin. Proactive attention to these aspects will prevent considerable problems in the future.
Startup Costs & Platform Fees
Your cost to sell digital products varies depending on the platform you choose. These expenses generally fall into three main categories:
- Essential Software: These are the tools necessary for creating your products. For designers, examples include Adobe Creative Cloud ($52.99/month) or Canva Pro ($12.99/month). Writers might use Microsoft 365 ($6.99/month), and course creators may need video editing software like Final Cut Pro ($299 one-time).
- Domain & Hosting: To establish a professional online presence, you’ll need a domain name (typically $10-$20/year) and a website hosting plan (usually $5-$30/month).
- Selling Platforms: This is the most crucial choice that directly impacts your profit.
Marketplaces (e.g., Etsy): These platforms offer built-in traffic and easy setup, making them suitable for beginners. However, fees can reduce your profit. For example, Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee on the total sale price, and a 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee. These costs can quickly accumulate, particularly for high-volume, low-priced items.
Self-Hosted Platforms (e.g., Shopify): Building your own storefront provides complete control but requires more effort to drive traffic. Shopify’s Basic plan costs $39/month and includes transaction fees of 2.9% + $0.30 per sale. The main trade-off is paying a higher monthly fee to retain a larger share of your sales.
One-Time Payment Platforms (e.g., Thrivecart): Thrivecart provides lifetime access for a one-time payment of $495. Favored by established businesses and high-priced product sellers, this model has no monthly fees beyond standard payment processing (Stripe, PayPal). It offers the most long-term profitability for high-volume sellers.
Do I Need an LLC?
Beginners typically don’t need a formal business structure. The IRS automatically classifies you as a sole proprietorship, the simplest option, requiring no special paperwork and allowing business income/expenses on your personal tax return. However, this offers no personal asset protection if your business faces lawsuits or debt.
An LLC (Limited Liability Company) provides legal separation between your personal and business liabilities. While offering this protection, it involves additional steps and costs, such as filing formation documents and paying an annual fee. For a single-member entity, an LLC doesn’t typically change how you’re taxed; you’ll still report income on your personal tax return. The primary reason to form an LLC is for legal protection, making it a prudent step for businesses that grow significantly.
Ultimately, whether you need an LLC depends on your business’s size and risk level. If you’re selling a few digital products, a sole proprietorship is sufficient. As your business grows and your revenue increases, you should consult a legal or financial professional about forming an LLC.
How to Create Your First Digital Product in 4 Steps
Developing a digital product may appear daunting, but it becomes a straightforward process when approached through distinct, actionable stages. This guide will help you transform your concept into a lucrative venture.
Step 1: Ideation and Validation
Start by identifying digital product ideas based on your expertise and passions. Consider problems you can solve or knowledge you possess. For example, if you’re good at organizing, a digital planner works. Then, validate these ideas to confirm market demand. Research platforms like Etsy or Amazon for similar products and check social media for common questions. A validated idea means people will pay for a solution.
Step 2: Content Creation & Design
With your idea validated, begin content creation and design. Tools vary by product. For visual products like planners, guides, or social media templates, Pikto AI has you covered. For data-driven visuals like infographics and presentations, Pikto AI simplifies professional, on-brand content. Writers use word processors; course creators need recording equipment. The goal is a high-quality product delivering tangible value.
Step 3: Pricing Your Product
Pricing plays a crucial role in determining both profit and revenue. Start by researching competitor pricing for similar products to establish a market baseline. Then, consider the inherent value your product offers. A basic budget spreadsheet template might be priced at $15, whereas a comprehensive financial course teaching a valuable skill could command several hundred dollars. The perceived value and the problem your product addresses should drive its price. Additionally, tiered pricing can be used to appeal to different audience segments, with a lower-priced version and a premium version offering more features at a higher cost.
Step 4: Choosing Your Sales Platform (And Avoiding Hidden Fees)
When deciding where to sell your digital products, you have several platform options, each with its own advantages and fee structures.
Marketplaces like Etsy and Creative Market offer immediate visibility due to their large existing audiences, making product discovery easier. However, they typically charge listing and transaction fees, which can impact your profit margins.
Self-hosted platforms such as Shopify provide complete control over your brand and customer data. While they require you to drive your own traffic, they offer more autonomy. Shopify charges a monthly fee and a small transaction fee.
A third alternative is a one-time payment platform like Thrivecart, which eliminates recurring fees.
By understanding the fee models of these platforms, you can avoid unexpected costs and select the option that best supports your business goals.
Where to Sell Digital Products
After creating your digital product, the next step is deciding where to sell it. The platform you choose can make or break your business, impacting everything from your reach to your profitability. There’s no “best” platform. The right choice depends on your business goals, target audience, and product type.
Self-Hosted/Cart Solutions
- ThriveCart: ThriveCart offers serious digital product creators lifetime access for a one-time payment, ensuring higher profit retention. Its robust features, including one-click upsells, bump offers, an integrated affiliate center, and advanced analytics, boost conversions and average order value. Despite a higher initial cost, it’s ideal for creators with high-priced products or substantial sales.
- Shopify: Ideal for digital products, Shopify offers a professional storefront, brand customization, and app integration. Its monthly subscription helps spread initial costs.
- Gumroad: Popular with creators for its simplicity, Gumroad allows easy setup and quick sales, perfect for beginners testing a single product.
General Marketplaces
- Etsy: Etsy, known for handmade and vintage items, is also a major marketplace for digital products such as planners, printables, templates, and digital art. It offers broad user reach via search but presents high competition and fees that can cut profits.
- Creative Market: This marketplace is ideal for designers to sell creative assets like fonts, templates, graphics, and themes to a specialized audience of fellow creatives.
- Envato Market: Envato Market, part of the Envato ecosystem, offers website templates, stock video, and graphic design assets to a global audience of web developers and digital designers.
Course & Education Platforms
Platforms for Selling Online Courses, Memberships, and Coaching Programs
- Teachable: This platform offers an all-in-one solution for building and selling online courses, managing students, processing payments, and marketing, simplifying the process for educators.
- Thinkific: Thinkific, like Teachable, is a robust platform for online courses, notable for its community, assessment, and quiz features. The best choice between the two depends on specific creator needs.
- Udemy: Udemy, an open marketplace for online courses, differs from self-hosted platforms like Teachable and Thinkific. While Udemy manages marketing and promotion, offering wider reach, it also takes a significant percentage of sales. Despite this, it’s a valuable platform for initial traction.
Stock Content Platforms
- Shutterstock: Earn passive income selling photos, vectors, or videos on a leading microstock site.
- Adobe Stock: Integrates with Adobe Creative Cloud; ideal for Adobe users. Reaches creative professionals and brands.
- Alamy: Alamy offers high commissions to contributors, especially professional photographers selling unique or editorial images.
Start Selling Your Digital Products Today with ThriveCart
Transform your expertise into a thriving digital product business. While many marketplaces promise effortless solutions, their recurring fees diminish your profits over time and penalize growth.
ThriveCart offers a distinct advantage: a one-time payment for lifetime access, rather than monthly fees that penalize your growth. Create your product, set up your checkout page, and let the automated system handle the rest.
ThriveCart’s built-in conversion-boosting tools, including one-click upsells and a high-converting checkout process, effortlessly increase your average order value.
Ready to build a business that truly works for you? Get lifetime access to ThriveCart and launch your digital product today!
