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Stores
Here's a bunch of comparisons of online store platforms for selling art. This is written from the perspective of someone who sells comics that contain gore and sex in them, as well as digital files of those comics. This may or may not help you if you sell other adult art like writing or videos.
I will list pros, cons, and whether they allow 18+ content.
Store site
| Site | Pros | Cons | Custom Domain | Inventory Limit | Adult content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square | * Square makes those terminals that brick and mortar stores use nowadays. * Integrated inventory between physical/digital stores. * Free plan has a lot of features. | I don't like the templates. | $29/mo | Unlimited | ⛔ No "lewd, pornographic" content |
| Ecwid | A LOT of features. | Gets more expensive every year. | $25/mo | * free = 5 * $25 = 100 * $45 = 1000 | ✅Does not explicitly forbid under ecwid or lightspeed TOS |
| Limited Run | * A lot of control over HTML/CSS. * No monthly fee. | * Admin UI is probably confusing to less computer-savvy users * Missing a lot of features like shopping cart thumbnails, text input field for custom orders, importing CSVs | Free | ? | ❓ Terms : “We may, but have no obligation to, remove Content that we determine in our sole discretion are pornographic.” |
| Itch.io | Good for digital media (PDFs, games) | Weird shipping/inventory system for physical sales | ? | ? | As of July 2025, all “questionable” content is banned, whether it's non-explicit autobiographical discussion of sexual assault, or explicit porn. |
| shift4shop.com | Haven't tried | No free plan. | $39/mo | Unlimited | ✅ Openly allows high-risk industries like sex toys and adult content. |
| DLsite | Haven't tried. Connects to non-JPN bank accounts with paypal. | Takes a big chunk of money | ✅ They sell adult doujin on there. It is very explicit with questionable kinks on the front page. You'll probably have to abide by JPN censorship laws. | ||
| BOOTH | Haven't tried, it's part of pixIV. Connects to non-JPN bank accounts with paypal. | Need to have a JPN address to ship physical stuff. | ✅ They sell adult doujin on there. It is very explicit with questionable kinks on the front page. You'll probably have to abide by JPN censorship laws. | ||
| snipcart | Haven't tried, add-on rather than its own site | ||||
| thirty bees | Haven't tried, add-on rather than its own site | You need to find hosting for it | |||
| WooCommerce | You can integrate it into your existing site, barebones free. | Requires using Wordpress. Needed extensions can amount to $100's of dollars spent. |
Subscriptions
| Site | Pros | Cons | Adult content? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patreon | Known brand | Takes a noticeable percentage | ⚠️ Some vanilla NSFW. Can and will ban anything dubious (hypno, furry, anime…) |
| Ko-fi | * Integrated store & commissions * Allows recurring and single payments | Store purchases hard to manage cuz they're in the same area as regular donations with no item preview. | ⛔ NO. Will look at your other soc med and audit you. |
| SubscribeStar | * Openly allows adult content | * You will be in the same space as conspiracy theorists. * Might need to get verified? | ✅ Yes. They have an adult specific brand. They allow many kinks that are legal in their host country. I'm pretty sure baraag is on there if you're wondering how far they go. |
Commissions
| Site | Pros | Cons | Adult content? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artconomy | Free | Some fees and differing buyer/seller protections depending on payment plan. | ✅ Allows anything legal within their state's law. |
| Picarto | * Free * Integrated streaming, shop, and tipping | Not sure where the fees structure is at first glance. | ✅ Allows most things. ⛔ No underage sexuality. |
| VGen | * Large marketplace, people go on there to find artists * Integrated digital shop | * Need invite * 5% service fee | ⛔ Absolutely no nudity or sex. Possibly extends to "tortious" violence. |
Payment Processors
Mastercard/Visa are notoriously anti-porn, because they are high-risk transactions. Search “itchio steam nsfw ban” for more details.
Paypal and Stripe are the most common online processors, and also ban sexual content. If you use them, use invoices to send to your customers, and do not allow your customer to add custom notes about 500 inch dragon dildos or other adult implications.
You may wish to use alternative adult-friendly payment processors, which almost all have higher processing fees.
- Authorize: The payment processor pillowfort uses. It's a subsidiary of Visa, but allows adult content. 12%+ fee.
- A list of payment gateways for adult websites: This guy did more research than me.
- Segpay: Their TOS explicitly allows adult content.
Avoid
- Shopify: no “Mature and adult content or services, or products that have nudity”
- Lemon Squeezy: owned by stripe, no “sexually-oriented or pornographic content.”
- Payhip: “We do not allow any of the following content: Pornography”
See Also
These links will have more sources, some crossover with my list of stuff, and other people's personal experiences and opinions. You should see multiple perspectives on the same thing, including your own experience, to form a full picture.
- Conjured.ink: A list of Hosts and payment processors for adult creators, with pricing and country of origin.
- Yes Porn Allowed by Qwaxi-Lixard. Another list of sites, software, hosts, and such, focused for artists and game devs. See also: No Porn Allowed for a list of services that ban adult content.
- Buying and Selling Queer Content by Dax Murray: Proposes embedding listings from shopify (and other stores that ban adult material) on your personal site, where you will put your title and description that may have adult content. Not fool proof because you can still get banned by Stripe or other mainstream payment processors, they can and will track how you're using their service.
- Indie Game Store template by Liana P:
- includes instructions on how to integrate Stripe with a self-hosted store – but with a very important caveat that you're trying to go under the radar.
- “It is unlikely that Stripe pays any attention to your small indie game, but technically you do have to comply with their TOS. If you don't and get banned from Stripe, consider whether you might need to use it for other projects and whether a risk of being banned is a problem for you.”
- Will work better when it has instructions on how to integrate with adult-friendly payment processors.
- Ren'Py NSFW Patching: Guide to making a SFW version of a game that can be optionally patched to have NSFW content. There are quite a few games like this sold on Steam and so on. Direct Google Docs link
Politics
- https://yellat.money/: how to fight payment processor censor shit
Some inspos
For design that isn't just a blank white background