Short answer: yes, both let you sell what an AI character makes, with different limits. Once a character has fans, the next question is what to sell them besides a tip button: wallpapers, prints, a lookbook, stickers. Etsy and Gumroad are where most people try first.
Etsy allows AI art you prompted yourself, and you must say so. "Sellers must disclose within their listing description if an item is created with the use of AI."
Etsy bans four AI things outright. Mass-generated listings ("entirely bot-generated AI content"), AI-written how-to guides and e-books ("AI-generated functional instructions are not allowed"), AI prompt bundles, and AI that infringes another person's "privacy, publicity, intellectual property, or other rights".
Gumroad has no ban on AI-made content. It bans selling "AI services": access to AI tools, chatbots, "image or content generation services" fulfilled outside Gumroad. Sell finished files, not custom generation.
Fees. Etsy: $0.20 per listing and 6.5% of the sale, plus payment processing. Gumroad: 10% + $0.50 per direct sale plus card processing (2.9% + $0.30), or a flat 30% when the buyer finds you through Gumroad's marketplace.
Yes. Twitch's Community Guidelines don't mention AI at all, and the one place they name VTubers applies the same content rules to avatars as to people. What they ban is deepfakes used to abuse or sexualise a real person, impersonation and faked viewer counts. To earn, the channel needs Affiliate: 25 followers, 4 hours streamed on 4 different days and 3 average viewers. Subscriptions split 50/50.
Allowed if not on the list; no "get rich quick" or "business opportunities"
AI prompt bundles
No
Not on the list
Selling AI generation as a service
Custom AI pieces made for a buyer are allowed (Etsy's example: a pet portrait)
No. "image or content generation services ... fulfilled outside of Gumroad"
Mass-generated listings
No. Every item needs "individualized human oversight"
Not covered
AI of a real person
No if it infringes privacy, publicity or IP rights
Terms ban impersonating "any person or entity"
Adult AI content
Must follow Etsy's adult content policy
No: "sexually-oriented or pornographic content" is prohibited
Platform fee
$0.20 per listing + 6.5% per sale
10% + $0.50 per direct sale; 30% via Discover
Processing
Etsy Payments fee, by your bank's country
Card 2.9% + $0.30 (direct sales); included in the 30%
What Etsy's AI rules say
Etsy's Creativity Standards sort every item into four groups, and "all items must incorporate a human touch". AI art sits under Designed by a seller, as "creations that were generated using AI tools ... based on a seller's original prompts". Etsy's own examples: "a fantasy scene based on a seller's original prompt" and "a custom portrait of a buyer's pet generated using AI tools". So a set of phone wallpapers of your character, a printable poster, or a custom scene for a fan all fit.
Etsy's Seller Handbook article on AI (dated 22 October 2026) adds the parts that catch people out:
Disclose it in the description. Not only in a tag or a photo: "within their listing description". One plain line does it: "Made with AI from my own character designs."
No bot shops. "Every item listed on Etsy must involve direct, individual human prompting, curation, and creative input into that specific item." Scripts that turn out hundreds of listings "without individualized human oversight" are banned. A small shop of pieces you picked is fine; a generator pointed at a shop is not.
No AI-written instructions. "Functional instructions" covers patterns, recipes, project plans, manuals and "instructional guides or e-books that provide directions for completing a task". Etsy's reason: buyers find the mistakes only after they've spent time and materials. So an AI-written "How to start an AI influencer" e-book can't be sold on Etsy, even with a label. Write it yourself or sell it somewhere else.
No prompt bundles. "We prohibit the sale of AI prompt bundles on Etsy." Prompts may only come with the finished artwork.
Honest listing photos. AI can place an item in a scene, but images must "honestly and accurately represent the item a buyer will receive", and sellers who use AI in listing images must add "at least one unedited photo against a real background". For a printed item, photograph the real print.
No real people. Sellers "may also not use AI to create content that infringes on the privacy, publicity, intellectual property, or other rights of another person". An original character who looks like nobody real is fine; a lookalike of a celebrity is not.
Breaking these "may" get a listing removed, and "severe or repeated violations may result in permanent shop closure".
Prints and wallpapers fit Etsy's 'Designed by a seller' group, labelled as AI-made.
What Gumroad's rules say
Gumroad sells digital products, memberships and courses, and its prohibited list doesn't mention AI-made content at all. Three entries matter for a character account:
No AI services. The first entry bans "selling access to AI tools, chatbots, image or content generation services, or subscriptions to AI services that are fulfilled outside of Gumroad". So "send me a prompt and I'll generate your picture" is out. A finished wallpaper pack you made is in.
No adult content. "Sexually-oriented or pornographic content" of any format is banned, and so is any content with characters "who are minors, are depicted as minors, or are suggested to be minors in any sexual or sensual context".
No income schemes. The list bans "'get rich quick' schemes, business opportunities" and "deceptive marketing practices". A course promising "$10k a month from my AI influencer" sits squarely in that territory.
The Terms of Service also ban content that "impersonates any person or entity". If you're unsure, Gumroad asks you to email [email protected] "with a description or example of the content" before you sell it.
What it costs: fees in 2026
Etsy:
$0.20 per listing, charged whether or not it sells, and again each time it renews (listings expire after four months; auto-renew is on unless you turn it off).
6.5% transaction fee on the item price plus shipping and gift wrap.
Payment processing through Etsy Payments, which "vary based on the location of your bank account".
Offsite Ads: if Etsy's own ads bring the buyer, 15% of that order (12% once your shop passes $10,000 in yearly sales). Shops under $10,000 can opt out.
A one-time set-up fee may apply when you open the shop; Etsy shows it during sign-up if it does.
Gumroad:
10% + $0.50 per sale through your own profile or links, plus card processing 2.9% + $0.30 (or PayPal's fee).
30% flat when a new customer finds you through Gumroad's Discover marketplace, processing included.
Over $20,000 in a month, new direct sales that month drop to 5% + $0.50.
Gumroad has been the merchant of record since 1 January 2025, so it collects and pays sales tax and VAT on your sales.
A worked example: a $10 wallpaper pack. On Etsy: $0.20 listing + $0.65 transaction fee, so about $9.15 before payment processing, less if Offsite Ads brought the buyer. On Gumroad from your own link: $1.00 + $0.50 + about $0.59 card processing, so about $7.91. On Gumroad through Discover: about $7.00. Etsy keeps more of a small sale; Gumroad needs no listing fees and handles tax. Income tax on what's left is yours: see tax on AI influencer income.
On a $10 item, Etsy's fees come to under a dollar before processing; Gumroad's direct fee is about $1.50.
What to sell, and where
A shop works once people already care about the character. Build the audience first on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, then link the shop from the bio. Things that fit the rules:
Phone wallpapers and desktop backgrounds of the character's world. Either site; on Etsy, say it's AI-made.
Printable posters or a printed calendar. Etsy, as a digital download or through a print partner (Etsy requires you to name the production partner and where it ships from).
A lookbook or "behind the scenes" PDF: how a scene was planned and which frames were thrown out. Fine on Gumroad. On Etsy it's not a how-to guide as long as it shows rather than instructs; a step-by-step method written by AI is.
Custom scenes for fans, made one at a time. Allowed on Etsy (like its pet-portrait example), labelled as AI. On Gumroad, sell a fixed pack instead: custom generation counts as an AI service.
Not these: prompt packs on Etsy, AI-written e-books on Etsy, "make money with AI" courses with income promises anywhere, and anything that looks like a real person.
Influgen posts to Instagram, TikTok and X today, not to Etsy or Gumroad, so download the pictures you want to sell and list them yourself.
FAQ
Can you sell AI-generated art on Etsy? Yes, if it was made from your own prompts and the listing description says it was made with AI. Etsy bans AI prompt bundles, AI-written instructions and mass-generated listings.
Can you sell an AI-written e-book on Etsy? Not a how-to one. Etsy's AI article says "instructional guides or e-books that provide directions for completing a task" can't be AI-generated.
Does Gumroad allow AI-generated products? Yes. Gumroad bans selling AI services (access to AI tools or custom generation fulfilled outside Gumroad), adult content and get-rich-quick schemes, not AI-made files.
Which is cheaper, Etsy or Gumroad? For a small item, Etsy: $0.20 plus 6.5% and processing, against Gumroad's 10% + $0.50 plus processing. Gumroad charges no listing fees and handles sales tax for you.
Can an AI influencer have an Etsy shop? Yes. The shop belongs to the person or business behind the character, items must be labelled as AI-made, and the character mustn't copy a real person.
For every platform's rules in one place, see the short answers on /rules.
Make yours
Influgen gives every AI influencer a small team: a head writer for the ideas, a creative director and stylist for each scene, a critic who rejects frames before they post. Every post is made fresh for your character and labelled as AI, and you approve it before it goes out. Start here, or try the free tools first.
Yes, on both. Neither bans AI-made content, but both ban passing it off as something it isn't, AI adult material and AI that copies a real person. Ko-fi takes 0% on one-off tips (5% on the rest), Buy Me a Coffee takes 5%, and payment processing comes on top. Here is each rule, read on their own pages.
Yes. Patreon allows AI-generated people on pages for all audiences, as long as there is no nudity or adult material and the page is honest about what it is. New pages pay a 10% platform fee plus processing, and the person behind the character verifies their own identity to get paid. Here is each rule, read on Patreon's own pages.
