Channelwill Upsell Cross Sell vs. BIG Digital Downloads Products: An In-Depth Comparison

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Channelwill Upsell Cross Sell vs. BIG Digital Downloads Products: At a Glance
3. Deep Dive Comparison
4. Use Cases and Merchant Recommendations
5. The Alternative: Unifying Commerce, Content, and Community Natively
6. Final Comparison: Which Tool for Which Merchant
7. Implementation Checklist: How to Choose and Test
8. Conclusion
9. FAQ

Introduction

Shopify merchants increasingly sell digital products, courses, and memberships alongside physical goods. Choosing the right app affects delivery reliability, customer experience, recurring revenue potential, and long-term brand value. The marketplace includes focused single-purpose tools and broader, integrated course-and-community platforms. Picking between them means balancing short-term needs (simple file delivery or cart upsells) against long-term goals (higher lifetime value, seamless checkout, and fewer support tickets).

Short answer: Channelwill Upsell Cross Sell is a lightweight upsell tool best suited for merchants who want quick cart and thank-you page offers with simple pop-ups; BIG Digital Downloads Products is a mature, full-featured digital-delivery app for merchants who need robust file hosting, license-key handling, and download controls. For merchants seeking a durable, high-LTV outcome that keeps customers inside Shopify, a native courses-and-communities platform like Tevello provides a more complete path by combining content, commerce, and membership management without sending customers off-store.

This article provides a detailed, feature-by-feature comparison of Channelwill Upsell Cross Sell and BIG Digital Downloads Products to help merchants choose the right tool for their needs. It then explores the limits of single-purpose tools and shows how native alternatives can simplify operations and boost revenue.

Channelwill Upsell Cross Sell vs. BIG Digital Downloads Products: At a Glance

Deep Dive Comparison

This section compares the two apps across features, pricing and value, integrations and workflows, delivery reliability and security, user support and reviews, and recommended merchant profiles.

Features: What Each App Actually Does

Channelwill Upsell Cross Sell — Feature Summary

Channelwill positions itself as a focused upsell/cross-sell app that improves conversion through offers and pop-ups on key pages. Core features include:

• Product page popup sale for on-page incentives.
• Cart add-ons and post-purchase upsells shown on the thank-you page.
• Configurable combined discounts and reward offers.
• Simple, quick integration and user-friendly setup.
• Works with checkout (post-purchase flows).

Strengths lie in straightforward promotional triggers that can raise average order value (AOV) by offering related items or discounts at the point of purchase or immediately afterwards. For merchants who only need simple boost tactics without heavy customization, Channelwill's minimal surface area is attractive.

Limitations include a narrow scope: it is not a digital-delivery specialist and lacks advanced file-handling, gated content, or course management features. With only 2 public reviews, there is limited social proof to evaluate real-world scale.

BIG Digital Downloads Products — Feature Summary

BIG Digital Downloads Products is engineered for delivering digital goods. Feature highlights include:

• Support for virtually any file type (pdf, jpeg, mp4, zip, rar, etc.).
• Unlimited storage and downloads on paid tiers; 500MB on the free plan.
• License and serial key management for software and game keys.
• PDF stamping to protect documents.
• Limitations on download times and counts per purchase.
• Bulk import of products and orders on PRO/ELITE tiers.
• Custom sender and higher storage/bandwidth options on ENTERPRISE.

This app suits merchants selling downloadable assets, software, or license keys, and those who need control over access and download behavior. The large review base (644 reviews, 5.0 rating) provides evidence of wide adoption.

Limitations include that it focuses narrowly on file delivery. It does not manage classroom-style courses, member communities, or native bundling with physical products beyond attaching digital assets to products.

Pricing & Value

Pricing depends on store scale and needs. Value should be judged by the fit between features and merchant goals.

Channelwill Pricing Snapshot

• Free Plan (Plan1) — Free for stores with 0–50 orders/month. All features included; 24/7 support.
• Plan2 — $5.99 / month for 51–100 orders/month. All features; 30-day free trial.
• Plan3 — $11.99 / month for 101–200 orders/month. All features; 30-day free trial.

Value proposition: predictable monthly cost scaling tied to store order volume. For small stores doing under 200 orders monthly, the app is affordable and includes all features without per-feature upsells.

Considerations: Pricing is based on store order counts, which can be valuable for stores wanting simple cost predictability but may be less aligned with merchants who track revenue, product SKUs, or member counts.

BIG Digital Downloads Pricing Snapshot

• FREE — 500MB storage; 15 orders; 3 products.
• PRO — $12.49 / month: unlimited products/downloads/keys, 10GB storage, PDF stamping, download limits, bulk import.
• ELITE — $19.99 / month: 50GB storage, custom sender.
• ENTERPRISE — $54.99 / month: 1000GB storage, custom email, bandwidth fees after 1TB.

Value proposition: tiered storage and bandwidth to support growing digital catalogs. The free plan provides an easy test path; paid tiers add practical features like bulk import and PDF stamping.

Considerations: For merchants who sell many large video courses or high-volume downloads, bandwidth fees on the Enterprise plan should be modeled. The app focuses on variable resource consumption, which can be efficient for digital-heavy stores but requires monitoring.

Comparing Pricing Models

• Channelwill is priced by store order volume and keeps feature access flat across tiers — predictable for merchants who want upsell capabilities at a known cost.
• BIG Digital Downloads is priced by storage and delivery needs — predictable for file-heavy businesses but involves tracking storage/bandwidth usage.

Which offers better value depends on the merchant’s business model:

• For occasional digital attachments and basic upsells: Channelwill’s low entry cost might be better value.
• For dedicated digital storefronts selling multiple files, license keys, or large video downloads: BIG Digital Downloads offers greater utility and scalability.

Integration, Native Behavior, and Workflow

How Each App Fits into Shopify

Channelwill and BIG Digital Downloads Products both integrate with Shopify, but their functional focus determines how "native" the experience feels to customers.

• Channelwill works with checkout flows to present post-purchase upsells. It modifies front-facing pages (product, cart, thank-you) with pop-ups and offers without needing customers to leave the store.
• BIG Digital Downloads attaches downloadable files to orders and customer accounts, ensuring buyers get access pages and emails with download links.

Both apps maintain the Shopify checkout path. However, neither app is a full course-management system that manages membership access, drip content, quizzes, and community features natively inside Shopify. That gap matters when selling courses or running membership programs.

Developer Ecosystem and Third-Party Integrations

Channelwill’s scope is narrow, so fewer external integrations are expected or required. Its value is quick setup and minimal configuration.

BIG Digital Downloads includes features that facilitate exports and bulk imports and works with customer accounts and email delivery. For workflows involving subscriptions, advanced email automation, or complex bundles with physical goods, merchants typically stitch together multiple apps.

The practical impact: both tools can be part of a working system, but merchants should plan for extra integration work if the objective is an all-in-one experience that supports community, drip content, or native membership features.

Delivery Reliability, Security, and Compliance

Digital Delivery and Download Controls

BIG Digital Downloads is purpose-built for this domain:

• Per-order download pages and emails.
• Download limits (hours/days, number of downloads).
• PDF stamping to discourage redistribution.
• License key management and custom sender options.

These capabilities reduce support tickets associated with lost files and unauthorized sharing.

Channelwill does not specialize in file delivery. If digital product delivery is a core part of the business, BIG’s delivery controls are the clear advantage.

Security and Data Handling

Both apps operate through Shopify’s app framework, but differences in file storage (BIG provides storage and bandwidth) bring extra responsibility:

• Merchants using BIG must be aware of storage limits and potential extra costs on large bandwidth.
• PDF stamping and download limits are ways to improve protection for intellectual property.

Merchants delivering membership-protected content (courses/video) should evaluate whether simple download links are sufficient or whether a dedicated access control system (member accounts, course progression) is needed.

User Support, Reviews, and Social Proof

Channelwill — Support and Reviews

• Number of Reviews: 2
• Rating: 5.0

The app’s positive rating suggests good experiences for those users, but the small sample size limits confidence about scalability, edge cases, or long-term support.

Support is advertised as 7*24 for all plans, which is generous on paper. For merchants evaluating the app, asking for references or trialing during a busy launch window would validate response times.

BIG Digital Downloads — Support and Reviews

• Number of Reviews: 644
• Rating: 5.0

A large review base indicates strong adoption and maturity. The volume of reviews helps surface recurring patterns (feature requests, reliability, support experiences) that merchants can use to make informed choices.

Support expectations: with multiple paid tiers and Enterprise offerings, the app is designed to serve from small sellers up to volume merchants.

Operational Considerations: Maintenance, Reporting, and Support Load

Both apps reduce friction for specific tasks:

• Channelwill reduces the manual work of setting up cart-level discounts and post-purchase offers.
• BIG Digital Downloads automates file delivery and reduces manual file-send requests.

However, neither addresses broader needs such as engaging returning customers through community features, bundling digital content with physical SKUs in a course portal, or reducing login and access friction across systems. Those gaps lead to extra operational overhead (multiple logins, troubleshooting download links, migrating content between systems).

Use Cases and Merchant Recommendations

This section provides practical guidance on which app matches common merchant scenarios.

When Channelwill Upsell Cross Sell Makes Sense

Channelwill is a fit for merchants who:

• Want to run quick, lightweight upsell or cross-sell campaigns.
• Need pop-ups on product pages or cart add-ons with immediate setup.
• Sell primarily physical goods but want to increase AOV with simple digital add-ons or warranties.
• Have low order volume and want a predictable, low-cost upsell tool.

Practical examples of use:

• Offering a digital instruction PDF as an add-on on the product page.
• Recommending a warranty purchase on the thank-you page immediately after checkout.
• Presenting limited-time discount bundles at checkout.

Channelwill is not the right tool for managing gated course content, license-key orchestration at scale, or for running a member community.

When BIG Digital Downloads Products Makes Sense

BIG Digital Downloads suits merchants who:

• Sell primarily digital goods (ebooks, templates, music, software keys).
• Require license-key delivery, PDF stamping, or download limits.
• Need reliable file hosting with options for scaling storage and bandwidth.
• Want a mature digital-delivery system backed by many merchant reviews.

Practical examples of use:

• Selling downloadable photography presets with download limits and PDF stamping.
• Distributing license keys for software or game downloads.
• Delivering multiple files per purchase with per-file access controls.

BIG is not a course LMS or community platform; it focuses on delivery mechanics. For building class-based learning experiences, drip content, or member discussions, another layer will be required.

When Neither App Is Enough

Merchants planning to:

• Build a course catalog with member progress and certificates.
• Bundle digital courses tightly with physical product kits.
• Run an engaged community with forums, comments, and native member profiles.
• Reduce customer churn by driving repeat purchases through community and content.

…will encounter fragmentation if they rely solely on an upsell app or a file-delivery tool. That fragmentation can cause customer confusion, extra development and support work, and lost upsell or retention opportunities.

The Alternative: Unifying Commerce, Content, and Community Natively

Fragmentation is a common operational pain point. Many merchants stitch together separate apps for checkout, file delivery, course hosting, community forums, and subscriptions. That creates several problems:

• Customer friction: multiple logins, separate access portals, and inconsistent branding dilute trust and conversion.
• Operational overhead: syncing user accounts, troubleshooting access, and manually bundling physical and digital SKUs increases support load.
• Revenue leakage: third-party platforms often siphon traffic and create sales friction at the point of checkout.
• Analytics gaps: tracking LTV, cohort retention, and course engagement across disconnected systems is harder.

A native, all-in-one approach addresses these problems by keeping customers "at home" inside the Shopify store and by centralizing commerce, content, and community.

Tevello is built as a Shopify-native platform that brings courses, digital products, and communities together inside the merchant’s store. This approach reduces friction and unlocks revenue opportunities that single-purpose apps struggle to capture.

• Tevello supports membership and community features natively and uses the Shopify checkout to keep purchases seamless.
• Merchants have bundled commerce options that tie digital courses to physical products—this directly increases lifetime value.

See how merchants are earning six figures by using a native platform to consolidate content and commerce: see how merchants are earning six figures.

Concrete proof points:

• How one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses with physical products: Crochetmilie consolidated their courses onto Shopify and sold over 4,000 digital courses, generating $112K+ in digital revenue while also adding $116K+ in physical product revenue through tight bundling strategies; that case shows the value of keeping everything on Shopify and bundling products effectively. Read the Crochetmilie study here: how one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses with physical products.
• Generated over €243,000 by upselling existing customers: Fotopro used a native setup to sell 12,000+ courses and captured more than €243K, with 50%+ of sales from repeat buyers who purchased additional courses; that demonstrates how native upsells and membership features can improve repeat purchase behavior. Review the fotopro study: generated over €243,000 by upselling existing customers.
• Migrated over 14,000 members and reduced support tickets: Charles Dowding moved 14,000+ members from a fragmented system to a native Shopify solution, added 2,000+ members, and substantially reduced support inquiries—evidence that a consolidated platform minimizes operational overhead. Read the Charles Dowding case: migrated over 14,000 members and reduced support tickets.
• Additional proofs: Klum House saw a 59%+ returning customer rate with a 74%+ higher AOV for returning customers by bundling physical kits with on-demand courses; Launch Party doubled conversion by replacing a fragmented system; Madeit converted 15% of challenge participants into paid masterclass customers by keeping the experience on-site. Explore more success stories: see how merchants are earning six figures.

All these outcomes point to the same pattern: when digital content, commerce, and community live natively in Shopify, conversion, retention, and customer experience improve.

All-in-One vs. Specialized Tool: Operational Trade-offs

• Specialized tools (Channelwill, BIG Digital Downloads Products) win at focused use cases with less complexity and a smaller price tag for that function.
• An all-in-one native platform reduces integration work, centralizes analytics, and simplifies customer access, often producing higher LTV and lower support costs over time.

Merchants should weigh short-term needs against long-term brand goals. For merchants who expect to scale content offerings, member communities, and product bundles, the predictable benefits of a single, native platform often outweigh the lower initial cost of piecing together several apps.

Start your 14-day free trial to see how a native course platform transforms your store. Start your 14-day free trial

Tevello Features That Address the Gaps

Tevello is built to handle use cases that fall between the two apps reviewed earlier:

• Native bundling of digital courses and physical products to increase AOV.
• Unlimited courses and members on the Unlimited Plan for a single predictable fee, providing a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses that simplifies budgeting. a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses
• Built-in memberships, drip content, certificates, quizzes, and community features so customers never need a second platform. Explore all the key features for courses and communities: all the key features for courses and communities
• Case studies and proof points that show real merchant outcomes: see how merchants are earning six figures

Native Checkout and the Merchant Experience

Native integration with Shopify checkout preserves conversion rates and streamlines payments, which is essential during launches and paid acquisition campaigns. For those who value the Shopify ecosystem’s reliability, tools that integrate inside the same customer flow reduce friction at scale.

Read the 5-star reviews from fellow merchants who have moved to a native approach: read the 5-star reviews from fellow merchants

Final Comparison: Which Tool for Which Merchant

This section distills the analysis into practical recommendations so merchants can match app capabilities to business goals.

Good Fit for Channelwill Upsell Cross Sell

Choose Channelwill when:

• The immediate need is to increase AOV with pop-ups and thank-you-page offers.
• The store sells mostly physical goods and only occasionally attaches a digital file.
• The store prefers predictable pricing tied to order volume and minimal configuration.
• A simple, lightweight solution is preferable to an entire membership or course system.

Channelwill delivers fast value for conversion-focused, small-to-medium merchants who do not need digital delivery mechanics.

Good Fit for BIG Digital Downloads Products

Choose BIG Digital Downloads Products when:

• The business model is primarily digital goods (ebooks, templates, software).
• File control, license keys, PDF stamping, and download limits are essential.
• The merchant needs dedicated file hosting and wants to scale storage and bandwidth.
• There's a plan to sell large numbers of downloads and manage digital rights at scale.

BIG is an operationally strong choice for digital-product stores but will need to be supplemented for course-style membership experiences.

When to Consider a Native, All-in-One Platform (Tevello)

Choose a native all-in-one like Tevello when:

• Expectation is that digital products will grow into structured courses or memberships.
• Bundling digital content with physical goods is important for increasing LTV.
• Community features and member engagement are a core part of marketing and retention.
• Reducing support tickets and operational complexity is a priority.

Evidence suggests a native approach pays off. For example, Crochetmilie consolidated courses and physical kits on Shopify to sell 4,000+ courses and generate $112K+ in digital revenue while also growing physical sales—an outcome that a specialized upsell or download app alone would not have produced. Read the Crochetmilie case: how one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses with physical products.

Implementation Checklist: How to Choose and Test

When evaluating any of the three paths (Channelwill, BIG Digital Downloads, or a native platform), use this checklist to validate assumptions.

• Define immediate need:
  • Upsells and AOV improvement? Channelwill is relevant.
  • Secure download and license delivery? BIG Digital Downloads is relevant.
  • Courses, communities, and bundling with physical products? Tevello is relevant.
• Test in a controlled launch:
  • Simulate high-traffic checkout and download scenarios.
  • Measure support ticket volume for access and delivery issues.
• Model pricing vs. revenue:
  • Estimate monthly orders and storage/bandwidth needs to compare pricing predictability.
  • Consider the long-term benefits of higher LTV from community and course sales.
• Validate customer flow:
  • Ensure no forced redirects that break brand experience.
  • Confirm emails, download pages, and member areas preserve branding.
• Check analytics:
  • Ensure customer activity (purchases, course completion, engagement) can be tracked and acted on.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Channelwill Upsell Cross Sell and BIG Digital Downloads Products, the decision comes down to function. Channelwill is an effective, low-cost upsell tool for merchants focused on immediate AOV improvements through pop-ups and post-purchase offers. BIG Digital Downloads Products is the stronger choice for merchants that need reliable file delivery, license keys, and download controls at scale.

Both tools deliver value within their domains, but neither is designed to replace a native course, membership, and community platform. A consolidated Shopify-native approach often delivers better long-term outcomes by keeping customers inside the store, reducing support overhead, and enabling bundled offers that drive repeat purchases. Tevello exemplifies that native approach: it unifies courses, communities, and commerce on Shopify, and has real merchant outcomes to show for it—like selling 4,000+ courses and generating $112K+ in digital revenue for Crochetmilie, generating over €243K+ for Fotopro through upsells, and migrating 14,000+ members with fewer support tickets for Charles Dowding. Read more success stories: see how merchants are earning six figures.

Start your 14-day free trial to unify your content and commerce today. Start your 14-day free trial

FAQ

Q: Which app is better for selling single-file downloads like ebooks or PDFs?
A: For single-file downloads and license keys, BIG Digital Downloads Products is more feature-complete. It provides download limits, PDF stamping, license-key delivery, and tiered storage options suited to digital-only storefronts. Channelwill does not offer dedicated file delivery features.

Q: Can Channelwill handle post-purchase upsells for digital products?
A: Channelwill can present post-purchase upsells and cart add-ons, which can include digital products if they are set up as Shopify products. It does not handle file delivery or license-key management natively, so an additional delivery mechanism would be required.

Q: How does a native, all-in-one platform like Tevello compare to specialized or external apps?
A: A native platform like Tevello keeps the entire customer journey on Shopify—checkout, membership access, course content, and community—reducing friction and support issues. Tevello’s case studies show tangible gains: Crochetmilie generated $112K+ in digital revenue by bundling courses with physical products, Fotopro generated over €243K+ by upselling customers, and Charles Dowding successfully migrated 14,000+ members while reducing support tickets. These outcomes highlight how a native solution can amplify both revenue and operational efficiency. Learn more about Tevello features: all the key features for courses and communities

Q: What should a merchant do if they need both upsells and secure digital delivery today?
A: If the immediate need is tactical (upsells plus one-off secure delivery), using Channelwill for offers and BIG Digital Downloads for delivery is a workable short-term setup. However, plan for consolidation over time: as the digital offering scales, evaluate migrating to a native platform that supports bundling, memberships, and community to reduce long-term costs and friction. For pricing clarity and to explore native consolidation, check a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses: a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses

Read the 5-star reviews from merchants who have already adopted a native platform: read the 5-star reviews from fellow merchants