4 Best Digital Download Apps for Shopify in 2023 (Free Options!)
The popularity of selling physical products is being replaced by selling digital products online. Why? Because it’s one of the best ways to make an income online and is accessible to pretty much anyone committed to growing their digital product store.
If you’re opening up a Shopify store and want to start selling digital products, the best way to do this is with digital download apps. Why? Because not only do your customer expect instant access to digital purchases, why would you want to go through the manual work of delivering them yourself?
While there are dozens of Shopify apps for delivering digital downloads, most of them work generally the same and there are really only a couple that you need to look at. In this post, I’ll quickly go over the best digital download apps for Shopify in 2023.
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Best Shopify Digital Download Apps in 2023
EDP – Easy Digital Products
5.0 ⭐️ / 170+ reviews / free & paid plans
Easy Digital Products offers advanced features in an intuitive interface. With the ability to sell and license digital assets, you can prevent unauthorized sharing. It allows uploading up to 10 files per product or variant, offering flexibility for your digital offerings.
Main features:
- Upload up to 10 files to a single product or variant
- Download button on order confirmation page (instant access for your customers)
- Enhanced protection with license keys
- Customizable emails
- Paid plan features: PDF stamping, download limits, SMTP, API, and more
Pricing:
- Free plan for up to 3 products, 30 orders/month and 100MB storage
- Paid plans starting from $9.99 per month
Click here to check out Easy Digital Products
SendOwl
4.4 ⭐️ / 150+ reviews / free & paid plans
SendOwl offers highly secure downloads, faster download processes, and instant delivery of files to customers. With it, you can offer multiple digital products to customers, deliver multiple files simultaneously, and provide reliable customer service for any installation or functionality queries.
Main Features:
- Highly secure downloads
- Instant delivery of files to clients
- Ability to offer multiple digital products to customers
- Can sell more types of digital products like courses and memberships, not just downloads.
Pricing:
- Starter plan: Free to install, pay 5% per order
- Paid plans start at $15/month + a .33/order fee with a 14 day free trial
Click here to check out SendOwl
DDA – Digital Downloads
5.0 ⭐️ / 60+ reviews/ free & paid plans
DDA Digital Downloads offers a range of unique features for delivering digital downloads to your customers. With features such as IP address restrictions, fraud protection, email customization, it ensures a secure and efficient digital delivery process. The app supports selling any type of file with any size within your plan’s storage limits, allows unlimited asset attachments to products, and provides email tracking to monitor link sharing.
Main features:
- Customizable IP address restrictions for download access
- Email customization using your own address
- Download links available in customer accounts and Thank You page
- Ability to sell personalized files
- Email tracking and analysis for all orders
- Sell any file type and size (within storage limits)
- Option to disable download emails
- Fraud protection feature
- Price: Free plan available with 1GB storage, ability to upgrade to 1TB, and 7-day free trial on all paid plans
Pricing:
- Free plan: 1gb storage, 1 file per product/variant, unlimited orders
- Paid plans: start at $9/month and increase # of files per product/variant, add pdf stamping, stats, etc.
Click here to check out DDA Digital Downloads
Sky Pilot – Digital Downloads
4.9 ⭐️ / 140+ reviews / free & paid plans
Sky Pilot provides your customers with immediate access to their digital downloads with automated delivery. You can completely customize the delivery process to match your brand, ensuring a seamless and on-brand experience. Host and deliver digital downloads directly in your store, offering your customers a frictionless and secure transaction.
Main features:
- Seamless delivery of multiple digital products
- Subscription option to deliver recurring content
- Enhanced security limited downloads and expired access
- Customizable delivery page to align with your branding
Pricing:
- Free plan: 100mb storage, 2gb of monthly bandwidth
- Paid plans: starting at $9/mo for 10gb storage, 15gb of monthly bandwidth
Click here to check out Sky Pilot
Bonus option: Use Your Email Marketing Platform
Are you already using an email platform that integrates with Shopify and has automation available? You might want to look into simply delivering your products with an email, instead of using an app.
For example, I use ConvertKit and have it connected with Shopify. When I launch a new digital product, I go this quick process:
- Add a “rule” in ConvertKit to add anyone who purchases that item to a “tag”.
- Create a “Sequence” (automated email) with delivery info in ConvertKit. This can include links to download, links to log in to a course or membership, etc.
- Create a rule that anyone added to the product “tag” in ConvertKit is added to the “Sequence”
So basically…
Customer buys a product on Shopify -> “Tag” is added to that customer in Convertkit -> Customer gets email with digital product delivery.
It’s pretty simple and takes about 5 minutes to set up. This way, you’re able to not just give them their digital product, but create a customized email that gives them more information and nurtures them as a customer.
How do I add a digital download to Shopify?
If you want to sell digital goods on Shopify, you will need to find a way to deliver your digital products. A great way to do that is to find a digital downloads app that allows you to add the download to the backend product pages so that the attached file either appears or gets delivered to your customer upon purchase. This is an easy way to sell your products and create a great customer experience with instant gratification. See the list above of the top 4 digital download apps for Shopify.
How to choose the best digital download app
Choosing the best digital download app for Shopify can be tricky. If you’re simply selling regular digital products like PDF ebooks or image files, almost any app will work fine for you. However, if you’re looking for features such as adding multiple files to a single product, selling large files like video or audio files, or other specific features.
You’ll also want to consider things like ease of use and check customer reviews from other store owners to make sure that it functions as promised!
Should you choose a free app or paid app?
Many Shopify digital download apps are free, or at least have a free option. So if you’re a new store on a budget, it’s a good idea to check the range of features offered to free options against your needs.
What are the best digital downloads to sell on Shopify?
Selling digital downloads on Etsy is a great way to make an income, whether it’s a side hustle or full-time income. Content creators can easily create a digital store on Shopify selling things like:
- Spreadsheets
- Digital art
- Online courses
- Email templates
- Ebooks
- Graphic templates
Final Thoughts
Honestly, if you’re just looking for a simple digital downloads app, any of the above will likely work for you! But if you need special features, or want to sell certain types of files, it’s a good idea to check out the features of all the best apps listed above. Using a digital downloads app is the best way to instantly provide your customers with digital content right when they complete their order so they’re satisfied and you don’t have to lift a finger!
