Looking for a Whop alternative?
Whop's pricing is the best in this category and we are not going to argue with it — 2.7% + 30c all-in with no monthly fee is close to at-cost processing, and for selling a digital product quickly it is hard to beat. The question is what you are building. Whop is a storefront and a checkout with access attached; community, learning and events are thin, there is no credential layer, no delegated staff roles, and discovery happens inside Whop's own marketplace, where your buyers are shown other sellers alongside you. Ziion is slower to set up and costs more, because it is building something different: an institution with citizens, a passport ladder, and an internal economy. Choose Whop to sell a thing. Choose Ziion to found something.
Whop pricing read from their own pricing page on 2026-10-02. If they have changed it since and we have not caught up, tell us and we will fix it.
What each one charges
Every plan on both sides — no picking their most expensive tier against our cheapest. Platform fee is the cut taken off each sale, separate from card processing.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual / mo | Platform fee on sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ziion | |||
| Ziion Starter | $59 | $49 | 10% network due |
| Ziion Growth | $99 | $82 | 0% — keep 100% |
| Whop | |||
| Whop Pay as you go | $0 | — | 2.7% + $0.30 per transaction (all-in, processing included)Included; +1.5% international cards, +1% currency conversion, ACH 1.5% capped at $5 |
Ziion's member-to-member services marketplace takes a flat 10% on both plans, and Ziion absorbs the card processing on those sales — the seller keeps a clean 90%.
What it actually costs you
Platform fee and card processing together, because some of these bundle processing and some don't. Comparing headline rates alone would hide the ~2.9% you pay Stripe either way. Ziion figures use the Growth plan.
| Your sales / month | Ziion Growth | Whop Pay as you go |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $128 | $27 |
| $2,000 | $157 | $54 |
| $8,000 | $331 | $216 |
Whop is cheaper than Ziion at these volumes, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. If price is the only thing deciding it, they are the better buy. The rest of this page is about what the money is buying.
What Whop does well
- The lowest all-in fee in this set and no monthly minimum
- Fast to launch
- Strong at one-off digital product sales
Marketplace-native checkout for digital products and paid access groups.
Where it stops
- Built around a storefront and checkout, not around an institution — community, learning and events are thin.
- No learning paths or credential layer, so you cannot certify anyone.
- Discovery is Whop's marketplace, which means your members are also being shown other sellers.
- No nation-style multi-tenancy, staff roles, or delegated administration.
What Ziion adds
Four things that none of the platforms in this comparison offer — not cheaper versions of them, none at all.
Members who sell to each other
A services marketplace inside your community: citizens list what they do, other citizens hire them, and the nation takes a cut of a transaction that would not otherwise exist. Not one platform in this comparison has an equivalent — every one of them is built for a single creator selling to an audience.
Real multi-tenancy
Nations with their own staff roles, permissions and passports. No cap on administrators, no metered spaces. Structure is a billable resource almost everywhere else.
A credential layer
Learning paths that issue verifiable certificates and a passport ladder members carry with them. None of these platforms can certify anyone — a membership ends when the subscription does.
A native mobile app, included
A branded app is $199/mo at Kajabi, a $199/mo add-on at Thinkific, and custom-priced at Circle. Ziion ships one as part of the product.
Build the institution instead of renting the audience
Nations are by application — we are selective about who gets one. Fourteen-day trial once you're in.