Commerce Layer vs Payhip
Commerce Layer
commercelayer.io
Payhip
payhip.comSide by side
| Figure | Commerce Layer | Payhip |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $29/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 4 |
| Spec score · Ecommerce platforms | 9.0 (#20) | 9.3 (#5) |
| Documentation depth | The developer portal provides onboarding, a 100-plus-endpoint reference, 400-plus CRUD operations, how-to guides, data-model diagrams, OpenAPI schemas, Postman collections, SDKs, CLI documentation and changelog entries. | The developer help category lists webhooks, software license keys, legacy license keys and the public API, while the API reference supplies endpoint examples and parameters. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Documented payment integrations include Adyen, Axerve, Braintree, Checkout.com, Klarna, PayPal and Stripe, with external gateways available for custom providers. | Payhip names Zoom and Calendly for coaching scheduling, Zapier and email marketing platforms for automation, and provides webhooks and a public API for coupons and license keys. |
| Licence | The official JavaScript SDK and CLI repositories are released under the MIT licence. | Payhip terms grant limited, non-transferable, non-exclusive site access and prohibit licensing, hosting, modification, reverse engineering and commercial exploitation of the service, indicating proprietary software rather than an open-source licence. |
| Payment gateways | Commerce Layer says it integrates out of the box with commonly used payment providers and also allows manual or external payment services. | Supported gateways include Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, Square, Paystack, Mercado Pago, PayU, Razorpay, PayTabs, Flutterwave, Xendit, Iyzico and Midtrans. |
| Product | Commerce Layer is a transactional commerce API for international brands that makes digital experiences shoppable. | Payhip is an e-commerce platform for selling digital products, courses, coaching, memberships, and physical products directly to customers. |
| Rating on Capterra | 5.0 out of 5 from 3 reviews | 4.5 out of 5 from 28 reviews. |
| Rating on G2 | 0.0 out of 5 from 0 reviews | 4.7 out of 5 from 5 reviews. |
| Security controls | The vendor states AES-256 encryption, MFA, granular access management, continuous monitoring, zero-trust networking, TLS 1.3-plus payment transmission and tokenization. | Security features include PDF buyer stamping, download limits, expiring links, customer or regional blocking and two-factor authentication. |
| Support | The homepage advertises 24/7 support; the Developer plan includes community support and Enterprise includes dedicated support. | Support is advertised 24 hours a day, seven days a week with a target response within 24 hours; there is no phone-support option. |
| What it does | Commerce Layer is a unified, API-first commerce and order-management platform for making websites, apps, chatbots, IoT devices and other channels transact globally. | Payhip is an ecommerce platform for selling digital downloads, courses, coaching, memberships, subscriptions and physical products through an embedded site or Payhip storefront. |
Plans
In their own words
Commerce Layer
Commerce Layer is a hosted transactional commerce API for brands making digital experiences shoppable across online and in-store channels. Its checkout supports multiple markets and currencies and can connect with payment gateways and tax calculators. A distributed order management system provides a unified inventory view across locations and automates order steps from reservation through shipping. Teams can configure market-specific promotions with a visual editor or JSON-based DSL. Its point-of-sale system uses the same API as online channels and supports store inventory, endless aisle, and shareable selling links. Commerce Layer lists 400+ API endpoints and real-time webhooks with 100+ trigger events. The homepage states an average API response time below 90 ms and guaranteed uptime of 99.99%. Listed security credentials include SOC 2 Type 2, PCI DSS Level 1 Provider, and ISO 27001 certifications; OAuth 2.0 and resource-level permissions govern API access. Third-party integrations include a documented Zapier app. The Developer plan provides 100 free live orders per month and unlimited test orders; Enterprise orders are custom quoted. There is no trial period, and on-premise deployment is not offered.
Payhip
Payhip is an e-commerce platform for selling digital and physical products, courses, coaching, and memberships directly to customers. Its drag-and-drop website builder supports storefronts, landing pages, and custom CSS, while product delivery can use a download page and email links. Course tools include videos, quizzes, certificates, drip content, and progress tracking. Sellers can set one-time payments, subscriptions, payment plans, pay-what-you-want pricing, and membership free trials. The platform names several payment gateways and integrations, and provides webhooks and a public API for coupons and license keys. Payhip says it automatically calculates, collects, and remits VAT and sales tax in the USA, Canada, UK, and EU. Protection features include PDF stamping, download limits, expiring links, customer and regional blocking, and account two-factor authentication. All plans include unlimited products, customers, revenue, bandwidth, and storage. Free Forever costs nothing with a 5% transaction fee; Plus is $29 a month with a 2% fee; Pro is $99 a month with no transaction fee. Payhip was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.