Hey buddy,

A designer started selling Framer templates.

November 2023: $2,291 revenue.

Fast forward 18 months.

May 2025: $24,080 revenue.

One month.

No team. No employees. Just templates running on autopilot.

How? Build once. Sell to hundreds of people. Earn 100% of each sale because Framer takes 0% commission.

Plus affiliate money when people upgrade to paid Framer plans.

Build templates. Get paid forever.

Here's the thing.

Webflow template creators? Webflow takes 20%.

Gumroad template creators? Gumroad takes 10%.

Framer template creators? Framer takes 0%.

You keep 100% of every template sale.

A $49 template? You earn $49. Not $39. Not $44. Full $49.

That alone makes Framer special.

But there's more.

Framer is the fastest-growing no-code platform. Designers choosing it over Webflow. Businesses building sites in hours instead of days.

And everyone wants templates.

Why? They save time. They save money. A founder can remix a template instead of hiring a designer.

You make money from:

That's the dual income stream most people miss.

A client upgrades to Framer Pro ($20/month). You earn $10/month for a year = $120 total from one upgrade.

Build 100 templates. Get 100 free users per template. That's 10,000 potential affiliate conversions.

Even 5% convert to paid. That's 500 × $120 = $60,000/year passive from affiliate alone.

Plus direct template sales on top.

One creator's 18-month journey:

November 2023: $2,291 December 2023: $1,136 (seasonal dip) January 2024: $2,359 February 2024: $2,443 March 2024: $3,527 April 2024: $2,970 (quit client work) May 2024: $5,332 June 2024: $7,905 July 2024: $8,653 August 2024: $11,630 September 2024: $11,798 October 2024: $18,241 November 2024: $15,258 December 2024: $16,472 January 2025: $17,460 February 2025: $16,436 March 2025: $22,398 April 2025: $23,472 May 2025: $24,080

Pattern: Started at $2,291/month. Quit freelance work in April. Revenue grew consistently. By May 2025 = $24,080/month.

That's $288,960/year from templates.

Another creator (July 2025):

Direct template sales: $28,487 Framer affiliate: $8,248 Total: $36,735 (one month)

Some templates generate $1,000 within weeks of launching.

Top creators earn $4K-$10K+/month.

This is real. This is repeatable. This is scalable.

Best templates (by demand vs competition):

E-commerce templates:

Real businesses need these. They'll pay.

Real estate templates:

Niche-specific templates:

Pick a tiny niche nobody else covers. Own it.

Templates to avoid:

Portfolio templates. Saturated. Thousands exist. Skip.

Agency templates. 660 competitors, only 90 searches. Dead market.

Generic startup landing pages. Everyone builds these. Skip.

The pattern: Pick specific industries that have money and pain points.

Step 1: Learn Framer basics (1-2 weeks)

Free YouTube tutorials. Practice building 3-4 simple sites.

Understand: components, interactions, responsive design, code overrides.

You don't need to be expert. Just competent.

Step 2: Identify your niche (3 days)

Research demand. Use Framer marketplace. Google Trends. Reddit.

Pick niche with:

E-commerce, real estate, local businesses, SaaS - all good.

Step 3: Build 1-2 templates (2-4 weeks)

Don't overthink. Build.

Template should have:

Step 4: Launch on Framer Marketplace (1 day)

Upload to Framer's official marketplace.

Set price: $39-79 to start. Increase later.

Write description highlighting benefits.

Step 5: Create free versions (optional but smart)

Launch free template version with limited features.

Drive affiliate signups.

Create paid "pro" version with more pages/components.

Free version → users upgrade to Framer → you earn affiliate commission.

Paid version → direct sales revenue.

Step 6: Promote (ongoing)

Share on X, LinkedIn, Reddit, Dribbble.

"Built an e-commerce template for Framer. Saves 10 hours of design work. Link in bio."

Post weekly. Build audience. Grow sales.

New templates: $39-49

Build credibility. Get reviews. Get affiliate traction.

Popular templates (after 50+ sales): $69-99

Demand is proven. Raise price.

Premium templates (niche-specific, high-value): $79-149

For templates solving specific business problems.

Real estate templates? Agents pay $99. They need ROI.

E-commerce templates? Store owners pay $79. Saves them time.

Bundle discount: Sell 3 templates together for $129 instead of $150 each.

Increases average order value. Helps customers.

1. Direct template sales (100% to you)

Someone buys your $49 template.

You earn $49.

Framer takes $0.

2. Affiliate commissions (50% for 12 months)

User remixes your template.

They upgrade to Framer Pro ($20/month).

You earn $10/month × 12 = $120.

Free or paid template. Doesn't matter. You earn either way.

3. Retainers ($75-200/month)

Client buys template. Wants ongoing maintenance + updates.

You charge $75-200/month retainer.

Build relationships. Recurring revenue.

4. Custom variations ($500-2,000)

Someone loves your template. Wants it customized.

Charge for custom work.

5. Components ($10-50 each)

Sell smaller reusable components.

Faster to build. Lower price. Stack up.

Month 1-2:

Learn Framer. Build 1-2 templates.

Launch on marketplace.

Revenue: $0-500 (early sales trickling in)

Month 3-4:

Build 2-3 more templates. Total: 4-5 templates.

Promote on social. Consistency matters.

Revenue: $500-1,500 (templates gaining traction)

Month 5-6:

Have 6-8 templates live.

Affiliate commissions starting to compound.

Revenue: $1,500-3,000

Month 7-12:

10-15 templates live.

Monthly revenue: $3,000-6,000+

Referrals and word-of-mouth kicking in.

Year 2:

20+ templates.

Established brand in your niche.

Monthly revenue: $5,000-15,000+

The earlier creator hit $24K/month by month 18. This is the path.

Freelance design: $50/hour × 40 hours/week × 50 weeks = $100,000/year (but you're always trading time for money).

Framer templates: Build template once (40 hours). Sell to 1,000 people at $49 = $49,000 revenue (your time is paid for 1,000x).

One is active income. One is passive.

Framer wins.

Plus Framer is growing fast. No-code adoption 60%+ by 2025. Market expanding.

Demand is only going up.

Building generic portfolio templates. Everyone does this. Skip.

Underpricing. Your work is worth $49-99. Don't charge $9.

Not promoting. Build it and they won't come. You have to market.

Too many niches at once. Pick ONE. Own it.

Not updating. Framer evolves. Your templates should too.

Ignoring affiliate. Direct sales alone is $3K-5K/month. Affiliate adds another $1K-2K/month.

Giving up after month 1. No sales yet. Patience wins.

Bundle templates. Single template $49 each. Bundle 3 for $119. People buy bundles.

Use templates yourself. Show real examples of templates in use. "Used this template for 10 clients" sells.

Create Framer components pack. Sell individual components for $10-20 each. They stack up.

Write tutorials. "How to customize this template in 5 minutes." Drive traffic. Drive sales.

Get Framer Expert Badge on Contra. Credibility signals. More sales.

Join Framer communities. Help people. When they need templates, they remember you.

Upsell retainers. Sell template at $49. 20% of buyers want ongoing updates + support. Offer $100/month retainer.

Cross-sell. Sell one template. Offer 20% discount on next template. Bundle effect.

Framer: 0% commission. You keep everything.

Webflow: 20% commission. You keep 80%.

Gumroad: 10% commission. You keep 90%.

But Framer's speed. Templates sell faster. Growing platform. Community excited.

Affiliate program is 50% for a year. Massive.

Other platforms don't have that.

Talk soon, Kris