Selling Lightroom presets can be as simple as saving your edit settings, uploading the files and sharing a link. Photographers sell them on Etsy, on preset marketplaces such as FilterGrade, or from a page on their own site.
There are a few things to work out before you put your presets up for sale. A preset is a small settings file, and one common problem is sending buyers a file their version of Lightroom can't open. The different selling options also vary in what they charge and who handles the tax.
This guide looks at the different ways to sell digital products like presets, from marketplaces to your own checkout. We'll compare what each costs, which files to send so they work in every Lightroom app, and how to set up a checkout of your own.
Quick answer: A Lightroom preset is a saved set of edit settings, stored as a small .xmp file, that applies the same look to another photo in one click. To sell presets, you choose where buyers pay, package the files so they open in Lightroom on desktop, Lightroom for mobile and Lightroom Classic, and add a short install note. Marketplaces take anywhere from a few percent to half of each sale. With Checkout Page, you sell from your own page with 0% per transaction fees, so on the free plan Stripe's processing fee is the only cost per sale.
Where to sell Lightroom presets
Once your presets are ready to sell, the first decision is where buyers will find them and pay for them. You can use a marketplace that brings its own shoppers and takes a cut, or set up your own checkout, where you bring the buyers and keep more of each sale.
If you're considering a marketplace, four names come up regularly when selling presets: Etsy, FilterGrade, Gumroad and Payhip. Etsy brings its own search traffic, and our breakdown of Etsy's fees has every charge. FilterGrade is a marketplace for presets specifically: you apply to sell, the standard split is 50/50, and on sales you refer yourself as an affiliate you can keep up to 75%. Payouts go out monthly by PayPal or Venmo, on the 15th of the following month, once you've earned at least $50. Gumroad charges a cut plus card processing, and our guide to Gumroad's fees has the detail. Payhip has a free plan with a 5% cut, with Stripe's or PayPal's processing fee on top.
If you already have somewhere to reach potential buyers, you can also sell directly through your own checkout. You put a page on your site or share a link, the buyer pays, and the files are delivered straight after. With Checkout Page there's no commission on each sale, so on the free plan the only cost per sale is Stripe's processing fee.
How tax works when you sell Lightroom presets
Tax is another part of the decision worth checking before you choose where to sell. Some platforms take on some or all of the tax for you. Gumroad and Payhip act as the merchant of record for the VAT they cover: the platform becomes the seller on the transaction, so registering for that tax, collecting it and paying it over sits with the platform. Etsy collects and remits VAT on digital items for buyers in the countries it lists, and US sales tax as a marketplace facilitator. The table shows what each one says on its own help pages.
Route | Who handles tax | Best when |
|---|---|---|
Etsy | Etsy, VAT in listed countries and US sales tax | You want Etsy's search traffic |
FilterGrade | Not stated on its seller pages | You want a marketplace for presets specifically |
Gumroad | Gumroad, EU and UK VAT; US only on Discover sales | You want a storefront without a website |
Payhip | Payhip, EU and UK VAT, US sales tax | You want a free store that handles VAT |
Your own checkout (Checkout Page) | You | You have an audience and want to keep more |
Tax handling from each platform's own help pages, checked 13 November 2026. FilterGrade's seller pages say nothing about tax, so ask before you apply.
The arrangement changes if you sell through your own checkout. You're the seller, so registering for any tax you owe, collecting it and paying it over is your job.
The best option can depend on how you expect to find your buyers. If you're starting with no audience, a marketplace's cut pays for the shoppers it brings. If you have followers on Instagram or a mailing list, your own checkout keeps about $24 of a $25 sale. Plenty of sellers run both, and our guide to the best platforms to sell digital products compares the wider field.
How much to charge for Lightroom presets
Once you've considered where to sell, it's worth looking at what buyers typically pay for Lightroom presets. Looking across the guides and marketplaces that rank for this topic, prices cluster like this (observed, not measured):
- A single preset: a few dollars, usually $5 to $15.
- A pack of ten or so: mostly $15 to $35, which is where the guides put a typical pack.
- A large bundle: $50 and up, with full collections reaching $100 or more.
If you're offering presets at different prices, a starter set can give buyers a lower-cost way to try your edits. Three presets from the pack at $9 lets someone try your look before paying $25 for all ten. Going much lower than that runs into the fixed part of card fees: at $5, Stripe's fee takes almost 9% of the sale; at $25, about 4%.
How buyers get their Lightroom presets
After checkout, buyers need to download the files and import them into their version of Lightroom. There are three Lightroom apps, and they don't all open the same files. Adobe's own help pages say what each one imports:
- Lightroom on desktop (the cloud-based app) imports .xmp preset files, and it can import a ZIP of presets without unzipping it. Presets imported here sync to the same person's Lightroom on their phone.
- Lightroom for mobile imports .xmp, .DNG or .lrtemplate files one at a time. It cannot open a ZIP, so a phone-only buyer needs the loose files.
- Lightroom Classic imports .xmp presets, singly or as a ZIP. Version 8.2 or earlier can't import .xmp at all and needs the older .lrtemplate format.
To cover all three current Lightroom apps, it's worth including three parts in the download. The .xmp files go in one ZIP for desktop and Classic buyers, the loose .xmp and .DNG files are there for buyers who only use their phone, and a one-page install note explains which to open. The .DNG version is a photo with your edit settings saved inside it, and Lightroom for mobile imports it the same way as an .xmp file.
A short install note can help buyers get started without having to contact you for instructions. Three lines taken from Adobe's steps are enough. In Lightroom on desktop, choose File > Import Profiles & Presets and pick the ZIP. In Lightroom for mobile, download the files to the phone, open a photo, tap Edit > Presets > Yours, then the options menu > Import Presets. In Lightroom Classic, go to the Develop module's Presets panel, select Add > Import Presets, and pick the files or the ZIP. Adobe's page on importing presets on a phone has the full steps if you'd like to link to it from the note.
Can buyers share your Lightroom presets?
This is another question worth considering before you sell your presets. The plain answer is that nothing stops buyers from sharing them, because an .xmp file is a text file and there's no technical lock on it.
You can still set out how buyers are allowed to use the files. Put a short license in the download that says the presets are for the buyer's own photos, not for resale or redistribution. Re-downloads go through the customer portal, which the buyer opens with a link sent to their email, rather than a public link. And keep improving the pack, because file updates only reach the people who paid.
What it costs to sell Lightroom presets
Now that you've looked at the selling options and typical prices, it's worth comparing the costs side by side. Selling presets costs some mix of a platform cut, a card processing fee, a listing fee and sometimes a monthly plan. The table shows what each route takes from a $25 ten-preset pack, and what that adds up to at 40 packs a month.
Route | Fees per $25 pack | You keep | Fees on 40 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
Checkout Page, free plan (Stripe 2.9% + 30¢) | $1.03 | $23.97 | $41.20 |
Payhip Free (5% + Stripe) | $2.28 | $22.72 | $91.20 |
Etsy (20¢ listing, 6.5%, 3% + 25¢) | $2.83 | $22.17 | $113.20 |
Gumroad direct (10% + 50¢, plus Stripe) | $4.03 | $20.97 | $161.20 |
FilterGrade (50%) | $12.50 | $12.50 | $500.00 |
US rates from each platform's own pages: Payhip and FilterGrade checked 13 November 2026, Gumroad 3 November, Etsy 28 October, Stripe 6 November. Card processing included where the platform charges it. Etsy's listing fee counted once per sale. Before refunds, disputes or taxes.
Calculate your Stripe feesCheckout Page is free up to $3K in monthly sales. Paid plans are a monthly price based on your sales volume. Stripe's processing fees apply.
On the free plan, your pages pause once you pass $3K in a 30-day period and reopen when the period resets or you upgrade.
How to sell Lightroom presets from your own checkout
If you've decided to sell presets from your own checkout, the six steps below take you from a folder of files to a link you can share. We've used Checkout Page as the example, so each step shows you the setting to look for, with a ten-preset pack called "Portland overcast" as the product.
Step 1: export and name your preset files
Start by exporting each preset as an .xmp file so buyers can import it into Lightroom. In Lightroom on desktop, right-click the preset and choose Export, and Lightroom saves it as an .xmp file. Name the files so they read well in a list, such as "portland-overcast-01-soft-light.xmp", because buyers see the file names after they pay. Then make the .DNG version of each one for phone buyers: in Lightroom for mobile, apply the preset to a photo, choose Share > Export as, and set Settings to Preset and File Type to DNG.
Put the .xmp files in one ZIP, keep the loose files beside it, and save the install note as a PDF. For a ten-preset pack that's 22 files.
Step 2: create a checkout page
Once your files are ready, you can create the page buyers will use to buy the pack. Create a checkout page from the dashboard and give the product the name buyers will search for. In the description, say what the look is, which cameras and light it was built for, and that the pack works in all current Lightroom apps. Add before-and-after pairs from your own photos as the images, so buyers can see what they're paying for.
Step 3: set the prices
With the checkout page in place, you can set the prices buyers will see. Add a variant called "Choose your pack" with two options: Full pack at $25, pre-selected, and Starter set at $9. Each option has its own price, and in the next step you link each one to its own files, so a buyer who pays $9 gets the three presets and not the whole pack. Select Multiple Prices on the page so the variant is the only pricing on it.
Step 4: add the files and the install note
Once buyers can choose their pack, you can attach the files they receive with each option. Upload them under Details > File downloads, following the help center's steps for digital downloads. Then open each variant option and use its File downloads setting to link the right ones. The full pack gets the ZIP, the ten loose .xmp files, the ten .DNG files and the install PDF; the starter set gets three of each plus the PDF. Checkout Page stores and delivers the files; it doesn't preview or install them. Then write the confirmation message and email: tell the buyer which file to open for their Lightroom, repeat the three-line install note, and include a customer portal link so they can download the files again later. If you revise the pack, you can upload the new version and every existing buyer gets it.
Step 5: run a test payment
Before you share the page with buyers, it's worth checking the whole purchase process yourself. Buy the pack in test mode to see what a buyer sees. Open Test payments in the editor and complete a checkout in the preview with the test card details shown there. Check that the right files appear under View files on the confirmation screen and behind Access your downloads here in the email, and import one of the downloaded .xmp files into your own Lightroom to be sure it opens.
Step 6: share the link
Once you've checked the purchase process, the page is ready to share with potential buyers. Publish the page and share the link where your photos already are. If you sell from Instagram, that's the link in your bio. If you have a website on Squarespace, Wix, WordPress or Framer, you can embed the checkout on a page or open it as a pop-up from a button; our guide to selling digital products on your website covers the options.
Start selling presets for freeSell more than Lightroom presets
Once your preset pack is selling, you might also consider offering other digital products for photographers. The same setup works for Photoshop actions and LUTs for video, since these are files too. If you release new presets often, our guide to selling memberships shows how to charge a monthly price for a club, and if you also sell prints, our guide to selling digital art covers downloads and print on demand.
If you'd like to try the setup above, you can sell presets on the free plan and upgrade once your sales pass $3K a month.
How to sell Lightroom presets FAQ
Can you make money selling Lightroom presets?
Yes, and how much you make depends on where you sell as well as the presets themselves. On a $25 pack you keep $23.97 on your own checkout, $22.17 on Etsy and $12.50 on FilterGrade, so the route can nearly halve what a sale earns. It also helps to have people who already like your photos, because they're the likely buyers.
Is it legal to sell Lightroom presets?
Yes, presets you've made yourself are your own files to sell, since a preset is a file of your saved edit settings. It's worth writing a short license that explains what buyers can do with the files. This usually means allowing them to edit their own photos but not reshare the presets. A preset built from someone else's work is the one case to check first.
Do I need a business to sell presets?
No, you can start selling presets as an individual. Stripe, for example, lets a sole proprietor sign up with a Social Security number instead of an Employer Identification Number. Once sales become regular, it's worth asking an accountant whether a registered business makes sense for you and how to report the income.
Will my presets work in Lightroom Classic?
Yes, as long as you sell them as .xmp files. Current versions of Lightroom Classic import .xmp presets one at a time or as a ZIP, from the Presets panel in the Develop module. Lightroom Classic 8.2 or earlier can't import .xmp and needs the older .lrtemplate format, so it's worth saying in the listing that the pack needs a later version than 8.2.
