F+2: Digital Downloads Pro vs Audioly — In-Depth Comparison

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. F+2: Digital Downloads Pro vs. Audioly ‑ Sticky Audio Player: At a Glance
3. Features: What Each App Actually Does
4. Pricing & Value
5. Integrations & Working With Shopify
6. Security, Delivery, and Fraud Controls
7. Content & Media Support
8. Setup, User Experience, and Merchant Workflow
9. Customer Support & Reviews
10. Use Cases and Recommendations
11. Scaling, Migration, and Long-Term Considerations
12. Support & Review Patterns in Practice
13. The Alternative: Unifying Commerce, Content, and Community Natively
14. Migration & Case Study Highlights
15. Decision Criteria: Which Tool To Use When
16. Practical Checklist Before Installing Either App
17. Conclusion
18. FAQ

Introduction

Selling digital products on Shopify can feel simple until real-world needs appear: license keys, secure file delivery, audio previews, and an integrated membership experience. Choosing the right tool depends on product type, customer experience goals, and whether keeping customers inside the Shopify checkout matters.

Short answer: F+2: Digital Downloads Pro is a focused tool for secure file delivery, license keys, and general digital goods management; Audioly ‑ Sticky Audio Player is a lightweight solution for audio previews and on-page playback. For merchants who want to combine courses, memberships, communities, and physical products without redirecting customers off Shopify, a native platform like Tevello presents a more unified option.

This article provides a detailed, feature-by-feature comparison of F+2: Digital Downloads Pro and Audioly ‑ Sticky Audio Player to help merchants choose the right tool for their needs. After the direct comparison, the article outlines why a native, all-in-one alternative can solve common limitations of single-purpose or external apps.

F+2: Digital Downloads Pro vs. Audioly ‑ Sticky Audio Player: At a Glance

Features: What Each App Actually Does

F+2: Digital Downloads Pro — What it offers

F+2 focuses on delivering downloadable products in a secure, manageable way. Key features include:

• Instant digital setup: Attach files to any product or variant in Shopify and automate delivery.
• File management and version control: Replace a source file and push updates to products that use it.
• License keys: Support for both automatic and manual license key delivery, with an optional validation API.
• Fraud and delivery controls: Options to deliver files only after payment checks and integrate with fraud apps.
• Customizable customer-facing messaging: Translate and brand delivery emails and thank-you pages.
• Storage and throughput tiers: Plans scale by storage size and allowed monthly orders.

These features are aimed at merchants who need reliable digital fulfillment, whether for ebooks, downloadable software, or one-off files like printable patterns.

Audioly ‑ Sticky Audio Player — What it offers

Audioly is narrowly focused on audio playback and previewing:

• Player types: Inline product player and a sticky bottom player for continuous playback across pages.
• Waveform visualization: Modern waveform display that improves the appearance and perceived quality.
• Automatic sample generation: Create preview clips from full audio files with duration controls and mp3 conversion.
• Add-to-cart conversion: Bottom player includes an add-to-cart button to reduce friction from preview to purchase.
• Responsive design: Player adapts to desktop and mobile layouts.

Audioly is not a streaming or DRM platform — it’s a conversion-focused UX tool for stores selling audio files that want shoppers to hear samples before buying.

Feature comparison — practical implications

• File security and delivery controls: F+2 includes robust delivery timing and fraud checks; Audioly provides no DRM or streaming protection and is explicit about not being a DRM service.
• License keys: F+2 supports license key workflows; Audioly has no license key features.
• Media presentation: Audioly delivers a higher-fidelity audio preview experience with waveform and sticky player options; F+2 handles download delivery and email customization but not specialized on-page audio controls.
• Content updates: F+2’s version control for source files makes content updates straightforward for shops with multiple products sharing a file; Audioly’s value is in conversion, not content lifecycle management.
• Localization: F+2 allows translating delivery emails and thank-you pages, which helps global sellers.

Use this as a rule of thumb: pick F+2 when the primary need is secure delivery and license management; pick Audioly when the primary need is richer audio previews and playback-driven conversions.

Pricing & Value

F+2 Pricing structure

F+2 offers a tiered pricing model:

• Free plan: 1GB storage, 50 monthly orders, basic branding, advanced security & fraud prevention. Useful for experimentation or small-volume sales.
• Starter ($10/month): 10GB storage, 1,000 monthly orders, license keys, custom links, full branding.
• Advanced ($20/month): 20GB storage, 10,000 monthly orders.
• Plus ($30/month): 50GB storage, 50,000 monthly orders.

Practical notes:

• Predictable scaling: Storage and monthly order caps make costs predictable for planned volumes.
• Security included: Even the free plan advertises advanced security and fraud prevention, which is a differentiator for sellers that prioritize secure delivery.

Audioly Pricing structure

Audioly has a single listed plan:

• Monthly plan ($10/month): Offers the audio player and preview tools with unlimited use implied by a flat monthly fee.

Practical notes:

• Simple pricing: A single monthly fee is easy to understand and predictable.
• Narrow focus: Pricing reflects Audioly’s single-purpose design — expect a lower price for fewer features.

Value analysis

• For merchants selling many types of digital goods or who expect to scale download volume, F+2’s tiered plans provide capacity and features (license keys, fraud controls) that justify higher tiers.
• For stores selling a catalog of audio samples and wanting a conversion-optimized player, Audioly offers strong value at $10/month as an add-on UX improvement.
• Neither app includes built-in course, membership, or community features. For merchants who want to convert learners into repeat buyers and bundle physical and digital goods, an integrated platform that adds community and course features may provide better long-term value.

Integrations & Working With Shopify

Native Shopify behavior

Both apps integrate into Shopify, but they serve different points in the customer journey:

• F+2: Works with Shopify checkout, customer accounts, subscriptions, memberships, fraud apps, and thank-you pages. It is explicitly built to integrate with the Shopify purchase flow and post-purchase delivery experience.
• Audioly: Focuses on front-end product pages and the storefront experience; it enhances collection pages and product pages with play buttons and a bottom player, and includes an add-to-cart button in the player for conversion. Audioly is not a streaming DRM provider and does not advertise deep integrations with Shopify Flow or subscription engines.

Integration implications

• Checkout experience: F+2’s interactions with the checkout and thank-you pages are well suited for ensuring secure file fulfillment and reducing support tickets related to failed deliveries. Audioly keeps the customer on the storefront and reduces friction to add-to-cart, improving pre-checkout conversion rate for audio products.
• Subscriptions and memberships: F+2 lists compatibility with subscriptions and memberships, but it remains a downloads app. Audioly does not provide membership or subscription content gating.
• Third-party tools: Both apps can coexist with other Shopify apps, but practical workflows matter. A merchant using Audioly to preview audio files still needs a delivery tool (like F+2 or Shopify’s native digital download features) to deliver purchased files.

Security, Delivery, and Fraud Controls

F+2: Designed for secure delivery

Security is central to F+2’s positioning:

• Controlled file delivery: Deliver files only after payment checks, which helps combat chargeback-related fraud.
• Advanced security and fraud prevention: Included across plans, including the free tier.
• License key workflows and optional validation API: Useful for software sellers who need to validate keys programmatically.

These controls reduce the common support and refund pain points associated with digital deliveries.

Audioly: Focus on previewing, not secure streaming

• No DRM: Audioly explicitly states it is not a streaming or DRM service. Sample generation creates short MP3 clips for on-page listening.
• Delivery required separately: After a sale, merchants will still need a secure delivery method for purchased audio files (e.g., Shopify’s digital downloads, F+2, or a third-party delivery system).

Security takeaway: Audioly improves pre-sale conversion but does not solve post-purchase delivery security and license control problems. For downstream security, pairing Audioly with a delivery app is necessary.

Content & Media Support

Audio and media capabilities

• Audioly is purpose-built for audio: waveform display, automatic sample creation, responsive sticky player, and inline players all exist to enhance listening and conversion.
• F+2 supports audio files as downloadable products, but it lacks rich playback UI on product pages. F+2’s value is secure storage, delivery, and management of the file itself.

Video and course content

• Neither Audioly nor F+2 is a full course or membership platform. Both will require additional tools or workarounds to deliver multi-lesson course content, drip schedules, certificates, or community features.

For merchants focused on media-rich courses and communities, evaluate solutions that natively support video hosting, drip schedules, and member areas.

Setup, User Experience, and Merchant Workflow

F+2 setup and merchant workflow

• Drag-and-drop file management and source-file updates speed initial setup for many digital products.
• Automated delivery and email customization reduce manual work and support load.
• License key management and optional APIs require some setup but open opportunities for software sellers or vendors with license workflows.

Audioly setup and merchant workflow

• Straightforward: Upload audio files or point the player to existing files, set sample durations, and enable bottom or inline player behavior.
• Immediate storefront impact: Adds a visual and interactive playback feature that can boost conversion with little complexity.

Merchant UX summary: Audioly provides faster visible improvements to product pages. F+2 provides a more rigorous backend for digital fulfillment.

Customer Support & Reviews

Review snapshot

• F+2: 2 reviews, 5.0 rating. Small review count but high satisfaction among raters.
• Audioly: 4 reviews, 4.9 rating. Slightly more reviews with nearly equivalent satisfaction.

Both apps have very small review samples in the Shopify App Store. Where possible, prioritize apps with more proven adoption or contact developers to confirm fit for specific workflows.

Support expectations

• For both apps, support responsiveness and developer engagement should be verified prior to purchase when merchant workflows are complex (license APIs, high-volume delivery, custom player behavior).
• Audioly’s help should be focused on front-end behavior and display customization.
• F+2’s support should be prepared to advise on fraud rules, delivery timing, and license key setup.

When the stakes are high — large course catalogs, complex license validation, or big member bases — consider platforms with proven enterprise migration experience and clear success stories.

Use Cases and Recommendations

When to choose F+2: Digital Downloads Pro

Choose F+2 when the primary business need is secure, repeatable, and scalable digital delivery. Typical use cases:

• Selling ebooks, software, printable patterns, or templates that require secure file links.
• Delivering license keys and validating them via API.
• Needing version control for files used across multiple products.
• Merchants who expect moderate to high download volumes and want predictable, tiered pricing.

F+2 fits merchants who prioritize backend reliability and delivery security over front-end preview features.

When to choose Audioly ‑ Sticky Audio Player

Choose Audioly when audio presentation and conversion are the priority. Typical use cases:

• Music stores, sample libraries, podcast episode purchases, or sound-effect packs where previews directly affect conversion.
• Merchants who want an engaging product page with waveform visualization and a sticky bottom player that encourages add-to-cart behavior.
• Stores that already have a digital-delivery workflow but want to improve pre-purchase engagement.

Audioly fits merchants who already have or plan to set up a secure delivery process and only need to improve the pre-purchase audio experience.

When neither app is enough

Both apps lack native course structures, gated member areas, drip content, community discussions, or certificates. If the goal is to build a course business, a gated membership community, or to bundle courses and physical products under a single purchase experience, a platform that natively supports courses and communities should be considered.

Scaling, Migration, and Long-Term Considerations

Scalability concerns

• F+2’s tiered storage and monthly order caps help plan costs for growth. However, moving between tiers increases monthly cost as delivery demands grow.
• Audioly’s flat monthly fee is predictable but may lack pricing options if usage or volume expectations change.

Migration and support load

• Merchants using multiple specialized apps (e.g., Audioly for previews + F+2 for delivery + a separate course platform) can create friction during account recovery, logins, or content access, leading to higher support tickets.
• Consider the operational cost of stitching together multiple single-purpose apps versus a single platform that unifies commerce and content.

Support & Review Patterns in Practice

• Low review counts for both apps mean merchant diligence is necessary. Request demos, ask for setup examples, and check support SLAs.
• For mission-critical or high-volume merchants, prioritize platforms with documented migrations and enterprise-level case studies.

The Alternative: Unifying Commerce, Content, and Community Natively

The problem of platform fragmentation

Platform fragmentation occurs when merchants assemble multiple single-purpose tools to create a complete experience. Common friction points caused by fragmentation:

• Disjointed customer experience: Customers get pushed off the main storefront to consume content (courses or community discussions) on third-party platforms, increasing drop-off and reducing conversion opportunities for related physical products.
• Operational complexity: Multiple subscriptions, separate login systems, and disconnected analytics increase support work and make retention strategies harder to execute.
• Revenue leakage and decreased LTV: When digital experiences live off-store, cross-sells and bundles between digital courses and physical products become more difficult to implement at checkout.

Fragmentation forces merchants to manage more integrations and increases cognitive load for customers, undermining the brand experience.

Why a native approach matters

A native, all-in-one platform keeps customers "at home" inside the Shopify store. Benefits include:

• Unified checkout and cart behavior, enabling seamless bundles of physical and digital goods.
• Single customer account and access management, reducing password fatigue and support tickets.
• Better analytics: Sales, membership activity, and product purchases are visible in one place.
• Easier cross-sell opportunities and higher lifetime value by bundling digital courses with physical product purchases.

A native platform reduces the operational overhead of stitching together multiple tools and improves the buyer journey from discovery to repeat purchase.

Tevello: A native alternative that brings the pieces together

Tevello is a Shopify-native platform built to sell courses, digital products, and host communities directly inside the store. It aims to eliminate the downsides of fragmented systems by combining content and commerce within Shopify’s ecosystem.

Key value propositions:

• Native checkout integration and compatibility with Shopify Flow make bundling digital and physical products seamless and reliable. See how Tevello is natively integrated with Shopify checkout.
• A single subscription price that supports unlimited courses and members makes budgeting predictable; merchants can choose a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses.
• Feature set tailored for learning and membership experiences includes drip content, certificates, bundles, memberships, and community tools. Explore all the key features for courses and communities.

Concrete outcomes from merchants using a native approach:

• Crochetmilie consolidated courses and physical products on Shopify and sold over 4,000 courses, generating over $112K in digital revenue by bundling courses with physical products.
• Fotopro used the native platform to upsell existing customers and generated over €243,000 by upselling existing customers.
• Charles Dowding migrated a large community onto Shopify, migrating over 14,000 members and reducing support tickets.
• Other merchants achieved higher repeat purchase rates and higher average order values by bundling physical kits with digital lessons, such as Klum House achieving a 59%+ returning customer rate.

These case studies demonstrate that keeping content and commerce together reduces friction, increases average order value, and improves retention.

How Tevello solves specific gaps

• Audio preview + secure delivery: Tevello supports media hosting and course content natively, which removes the need to pair Audioly for previews and a separate delivery tool for file fulfillment. For merchants set on audio previews, Tevello’s media and content tools can be combined with product pages in Shopify to create a single purchase and learning flow.
• License and download management: While F+2 specializes in license key delivery, Tevello focuses on course and member experience. For software-license-heavy merchants, evaluate whether a hybrid approach is required or if a native platform plus a license-management add-on is the right path.
• Bundles and checkout behavior: Tevello uses Shopify’s native checkout to combine digital courses and physical products without requiring customers to create separate accounts on third-party platforms.

If the goal is to increase lifetime value, create repeatable bundles of physical and digital goods, and reduce support overhead, a native option is worth evaluating. Merchants can compare pricing and plans directly to see if a native platform matches growth and budget goals: choose a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses or check the app listing to understand how it behaves with Shopify checkout natively integrated with Shopify checkout.

Migration & Case Study Highlights

Several real-world examples demonstrate the commercial impact of moving to a native platform:

• Crochetmilie consolidated content and physical goods on Shopify and sold over 4,000 courses, generating over $112K in digital revenue by bundling courses with physical products. This shows a direct revenue uplift from removing platform fragmentation.
• Fotopro generated over €243,000 by upselling existing customers using a native approach, with a notably high repeat-purchase rate.
• Charles Dowding migrated over 14,000 members and reduced support tickets by consolidating a fractured stack into a single, native Shopify experience.
• Klum House bundled physical kits and courses to get a 59%+ returning customer rate, along with a substantially higher AOV for returning customers.

These examples illustrate how moving content "home" to Shopify can directly increase revenue and lower operational friction.

Decision Criteria: Which Tool To Use When

• Use F+2 when:
  • The primary business is selling downloadable files (ebooks, patterns, software).
  • License key distribution and validation is required.
  • Delivery security and fraud prevention are top priorities.
  • The merchant prefers a predictable tiered cost model that scales by storage and orders.
• Use Audioly when:
  • The store sells audio files and needs rich previews to improve conversion.
  • A sticky player or waveform display will materially change the storefront experience.
  • The merchant already has or will implement secure delivery for purchased files.
• Consider Tevello when:
  • The objective is to build courses, memberships, or communities and sell them alongside physical products.
  • Increasing LTV via bundles, drip content, and member retention is a priority.
  • Reducing support tickets and keeping customer accounts inside Shopify matters. Merchants can see how merchants are earning six figures and weigh the platform’s benefits.

Practical Checklist Before Installing Either App

• Confirm the exact problem to solve: secure delivery, audio preview, license keys, or community features.
• Estimate monthly digital order volume and storage needs to pick the right pricing tier.
• Ask developers about support SLAs and migration help for large catalogs or member bases.
• Verify how the app works with Shopify checkout, customer accounts, and any subscription services in use.
• Consider long-term needs — if courses, memberships, or community features will be added later, evaluate a native platform now to avoid future migration costs.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between F+2: Digital Downloads Pro and Audioly ‑ Sticky Audio Player, the decision comes down to function and priority: F+2 is the stronger choice for secure file delivery, license key management, and predictable tiered scaling; Audioly is the better fit when on-page audio previews and a modern playback experience are the main drivers of conversion.

Both apps solve specific problems, but they do not replace an all-in-one course and community platform. The cost and complexity of stitching together multiple single-purpose apps often produce friction for customers and added operational overhead for merchants. A native platform that keeps content and commerce together eliminates those weaknesses.

Tevello offers a Shopify-native approach that unifies courses, digital products, and communities directly in the store. Merchants can compare plans and see whether the native model aligns with growth goals using a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses and learn about how Tevello natively integrates with Shopify checkout. Reviewers and real merchants highlight measurable outcomes, such as generating over $112K in digital revenue by bundling courses with physical products and migrating over 14,000 members and reducing support tickets. Explore all the key features for courses and communities and see how merchants are earning six figures to determine if the native path is a better fit for long-term growth.

Start your 14-day free trial to unify your content and commerce today. A simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses and the app’s Shopify listing (natively integrated with Shopify checkout) make it straightforward to evaluate whether a native platform reduces complexity and grows revenue.

FAQ

How do F+2 and Audioly differ in terms of secure file delivery?

F+2 is designed for secure file delivery with controlled timing, fraud prevention, and license key support. Audioly focuses on pre-purchase audio previews and does not provide DRM or secure streaming. Merchants that need secure post-purchase delivery should pair Audioly with a download/delivery tool or choose a delivery-first app such as F+2.

Can Audioly replace a full course or membership platform?

No. Audioly improves audio preview UX but does not provide gated course content, drip schedules, certificates, or community features. For course and membership needs, evaluate platforms built for those workflows.

Is F+2 a good replacement for a course platform?

F+2 manages downloads and license keys well but lacks course structure and community features. For merchants building multi-lesson courses or member communities, a native course platform is more suitable.

How does a native, all-in-one platform like Tevello compare to specialized or external apps?

A native platform reduces fragmentation by keeping content, commerce, and community inside Shopify. This approach simplifies checkout bundling, reduces support tickets, and increases opportunities to boost lifetime value. Case studies show measurable benefits, such as generating over €243,000 by upselling existing customers and doubling conversion rates after replacing fractured systems. For merchants who prioritize unified experiences and predictable pricing, compare options on a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses and review the app listing to understand Shopify integration (natively integrated with Shopify checkout).