Free to use regardless of volume; the only cost is the revenue share you choose on paid sales, from 0% to 30%.
About
In practice. What you can do with itch.io.
itch.io is an open storefront for independent games, prototypes, game-jam entries and creative assets. There is no approval process: a creator publishes and sells immediately, with pay-what-you-want pricing and a self-chosen revenue share from 0% to 30% instead of a flat platform fee. Pre-orders, early access, bundling and crowdfunding campaigns are built in.
There is no paid subscription or premium tier: the whole product is free to use, and itch.io's only revenue comes from the share each creator agrees to on paid sales. The tradeoff is discovery: without algorithmic curation, visibility depends mostly on the creator's own audience rather than the platform surfacing new work.
Practical uses
Game launchPublish a finished or prototype game instantly, with no review process, and set your own price or pay-what-you-want.
Early fundingOpen pre-orders or a crowdfunding-style campaign on a project page before development is finished.
Features & use cases
Creation
Pros and cons. What itch.io does well, and what to expect.
Pros
No approval process; publishing and selling happen immediately.
Creator chooses the revenue share, down to 0%, instead of a fixed platform cut.
Cons
No algorithmic discovery, so visibility depends mostly on the creator's existing audience.
No premium tier with extra tools; all monetization comes from direct sales only.
When it makes sense. Keep itch.io, or challenge it?
Keep if
You want to publish and sell creative work immediately without a review process or platform fee commitment.
Challenge if
You need algorithmic discovery or a built-in audience to reach beyond your own following.
Our verdict. What to know about itch.io.
Why this verdict
Average
Added value
Creators can publish for free and choose a revenue share as low as 0%, so the platform can cost nothing while still allowing full commercial sales.
Simplicity
Publishing has no approval process, so a creator can list and sell a project immediately.
Fit for purpose
Discovery, downloads, pre-orders, early access and crowdfunding are documented as delivered features, matching the platform's distribution promise.
Performance
No paid tier adds extra tools, and discovery is explicitly not algorithmically curated, which caps visibility compared to larger storefronts.
Reversibility
Neutral score: export or data-portability options for a creator's page and sales history are not covered by the collected sources.