I Tried Whop – Here is what I think (Complete Review)

What is Whop (.com)?

At its core, Whop is an all-in-one marketplace for selling digital products and services. Whether you've created a web app, downloadable software, an engaged Discord community, or digital templates/files - Whop gives you the tools to package and sell access in a seamlined way.

The key value proposition is the ability to bundle different digital offerings together so customers get access to your full suite of products with a single purchase.

For example, a gaming creator could sell a bundle that includes access to their private Discord server, a set of custom templates/tools, and their proprietary software utilities.

But there is a catch.

Key Features That Make Whop Stand Out

Whop comes packed with powerful features tailored for digital product sellers. That includes software developers, course creators and community builders.

Before I get into pros and cons, let me quickly cover the key features of the platform. That will give you fair idea of whether it is for you or not:

Powerful API for Software Sales

One of Whop's standout features is its robust API that allows sellers to integrate their web apps or downloadable software for seamless selling and distribution.

Gaming creators can use this to sell access to their custom-built applications, utilities, or Software-as-a-Service subscriptions.

The well-documented API makes it easy to automate software access provisioning, license key generation, and usage tracking - saving tons of time compared to manual fulfillment.

Direct Discord Integration

For community-based creators, Whop's direct Discord integration is a game-changer. With just a few clicks, you can connect your Discord server and start selling roles, channels, or full community access through the Whop platform.

This opens up an entirely new revenue stream for creators who have built active Discord communities around their content, games, or trading groups. It takes away the hassle with complex bot setups or share access hassles!

Easy Digital Fulfillment for Templates

In addition to software and communities, Whop streamlines selling digital templates and files like graphics, code snippets, tutorials and more. Creators can upload their template files and instantly start selling download access.

This is a perfect solution for creators offering logos, intro packs, overlay templates, or code snippets/plugins for popular games and engines. The process is intuitive and fully automated. So no more manual file sharing after each purchase!

Bundling Capabilities

One of my favorite features of Whop is the ability to bundle different products into single offerings. For example, a gaming creator could bundle:

• Access to their private trading Discord
• A set of custom Photoshop templates/tools
• Their proprietary trading analytics software

This bundling lets creators provide an unmatched value proposition and increase average order values. Customers get the full suite of the creator's offerings with a single purchase.

As a gaming creator, Whop's bundling features have been a banger for monetizing the content. I'm able to offer my community access, templates, and software utilities in one convenient package - which my fans love." - JstnTheDude, Whop Power Seller

Whop is popular among new creators and young community.

Getting Started on Whop

Getting up and running on Whop as a seller is refreshingly simple:

1. Create your account and setup your creator profile with branding, bio, etc.
2. Set up your payment integration (Whop supports Stripe, PayPal, etc.)
3. Create your first product listing by selecting the product type, uploading files/data, setting the price.
4. Optionally, bundle your offerings by creating a combined package listing.
5. Share your product links and start selling!

Within the product listing interface, Whop gives creators tons of flexibility and control. You can create multiple pricing tiers, set up trials or demos, add videos and screenshots, and more. The platform handles Vat taxes and currencies automatically.

Whop's Stripe integration also allows creators to easily set up subscription or recurring payments for products like communities or SaaS.

Pros and Cons of Using Whop

Like any platform, Whop has its pros and cons to consider:

Good things to note:

• Easy setup and fast go-to-market for selling digital products/services
• Powerful bundling capabilities to create irresistible offers
• No hosting or file storage/delivery hassles - Whop handles it all
• Simple, intuitive interface for managing products and sales
• Automated licensing, access provisioning via APIs and integrations
• Built-in transaction handling, VAT taxes, currency support
• Seller-friendly pricing with no monthly fees (more on this later)

Bad stuff:

• Limited customization/branding options on product purchase pages
• Can't self-host the Whop platform (cloud service only)
• 3% tax on every sale (regardless of volume). Know that third-party transaction fees from Stripe, PayPal can add up

Critisisms

Many Reddit users have reported the potential scams happening on the platform. Many reviews offered for the Whop communities feel fake and made up.

This does not mean that the platform itself is fake or everyone on Whop is untrue. However, if you do not know what you are doing, it is better to do your due dilligence.

While the cons are relatively minor, it's worth evaluating them in the context of your specific business needs.

For most creators, the pros vastly outweigh the cons.

Whop.com vs Alternatives

Of course, Whop isn't the only game in town for selling digital products online. Two major alternatives are SendOwl and Skool.com, so let's compare:

Whop vs SendOwl

SendOwl is a popular platform for selling digital downloads, software, and subscriptions - making it a direct competitor to Whop's core offering.

However, SendOwl lacks the built-in bundling capabilities and integrated community/Discord features that make Whop ideal for gaming creators. SendOwl is more bare-bones with less handy bells and whistles.

That said, SendOwl allows more customization of purchase pages and has a slightly lower fee structure for large volumes. For sellers prioritizing customization over bundling, SendOwl could be a better choice.

Whop vs Skool.com

Skool is an online platform geared more towards selling courses, memberships, and subscription content. Its strength lies in things like integrated course builders, drip-feeding content, student progress tracking and built-in marketing tools.

While Skool does allow selling software, digital files, and community access, it lacks the deep integrations and optimizations for those use cases compared to Whop.

Some creators who moved from Discord to Skool are making significantly more money now from their community by leveraging the fresh platform. 

If your main product is an online course, tutorial series or coaching program, Skool may be the more suitable option with its education-focused features, otherwise Whop is still the best solution for you.

Other competitors of Whop

Skool and Sendowl are more of good alternatives to Whop for a different audience.

If your primary focus is to monetize your Telegram, Discord or Slack communities, there are other platforms like Launchpass and Mee6 bot. Both of them are gaining more attention from Whop users.

However, Whop comes as a clear winner among all of them. I tested 5 other tools as you can see below:

Pricing Review

One of the most creator-friendly aspects of Whop is its pricing model - there are no monthly fees or subscriptions required to use the platform as a seller. Instead, Whop charges a simple 3% revenue share for each sale made through their marketplace.

This revenue-sharing model scales seamlessly as your Whop business grows.

But here is a thing to note: when you're just starting out, the 3% fees are negligible. But as sales ramp up, you'll still only pay 3% of actual revenue earned.

For payment processing, Whop integrates seamlessly with Stripe and PayPal. You'll pay the standard per-transaction processing fees from these providers, just as you would on any other platform accepting online payments.

Overall, Whop's combination of revenue-share pricing and integrated payment handling makes it extremely cost-effective and low-risk for creators to get started monetizing digital products. You only pay when you actually make sales through the platform.

Tips for Optimizing Sales on Whop

While Whop handles many of the technical complexities of digital sales, creators still need to put in effort into crafting compelling product listings and optimized offers.

Here are some more tips for optimizing sales as a creator on Whop:

• Provide high-quality media like screenshots, demo videos, tutorials to showcase your products
• Leverage social proof with reviews, testimonials, and showcasing your number of happy customers
• Use SEO best practices in your titles and descriptions to get found in the Whop marketplace
• Offer product bundles, tiered pricing, or free trials to increase conversions
• Run promotions like limited-time discounts or giveaways to drive urgency
• Build an email list and promote new offerings to your existing fan base
• Analyze sales data and customer feedback to continually improve your products and listings
• Get active in the Whop seller community to learn from top creators in your niche

Note that you won't be allowed to join Whop marketplace before getting at least 1 sale by yourself. So you need to have other ways of market your subscription. Otherwise you will be missing out a key benefit of being on the platform.

Integrations and Add-Ons

Whop offers several key integrations and tools for creators to maximize your sales potential, :

• Email marketing integrations (ConvertKit, Mailchimp, etc.) to nurture leads
• Social media connection cards to promote products on your channels
• Browser widget and affiliate program for driving referral sales
• Zapier integration to connect with 1000+ other apps and automate workflows
• Developer APIs and webhooks to extend Whop's core functionality

Creators can use these add-ons to build automated marketing funnels, manage customer data seamlessly across tools, and even build custom apps/services on top of Whop.

Support and Resources

Whop has Comprehensive knowledge base with guides and tutorials, live chat and email support channels.

You can also become active in the public forum and Facebook group for the seller community.

When I registered my program I was instantly prompted to talk to a customer success manager. He spent 30 minutes to explain the platform, workings and how can I make most out of the platform.

Is Whop Right for You?

So the main question here as I mention above: Is Whop good for you.

Whope definitly gives lots of tools to make money with your community and software products. But to win on the platform, you should have a solid grasp of what Whop brings to the table. It is specially popular among gaming creators looking to monetize digital offerings like communities, software, templates and more.

In summary, Whop is a powerful, focused solution ideal for creators who:

• Want to sell access to private Discord communities
• Have web apps, downloadable software, digital templates/tools to sell
• Need to bundle different digital products into combination packages
• Desire seamless automation of billing, access provisioning, fulfillment
• Prioritize ease-of-use and an intuitive selling process
• Like the low-risk, revenue-share pricing over fixed monthly fees

However, creators requiring advanced customization capabilities, prioritizing open-source, or focused solely on info products like courses may find other platforms a better fit.

Also if your primary focus is offering content and you are looking to host your online courses, Whop offers a very limited toolkit. Skool can be a good platform in that case. 

Read Skool Review

But for the majority of creators with mixed digital offerings, especially gaming creators, Whop presents a stellar all-in-one solution to simplify selling.

It directly addresses many of the headaches creators face in packaging, distributing, and earning from their various digital assets.

So if you're ready to turn your passion into profitable digital products and engaged communities, give Whop a try!