Linktree is a link page that takes 12% of digital product sales on its free plan. Beacons sells from a free plan at 9% and drops to 0% at $30 a month. Stan Store has no free plan, costs $29 a month and takes 0%. Below roughly $320 a month in sales, Beacons Free is cheapest; above it, Stan Creator or Beacons Creator Plus wins.
Linktree vs Beacons vs Stan Store comes down to what you sell each month: pick Linktree if you mostly need a link page, Beacons if you want to start selling for $0, and Stan Store once you sell more than about $320 a month. The published fees explain why. Linktree Free takes 12% of digital product sales, Beacons Free takes 9%, and Stan charges $29 a month with a 0% fee.
Checked October 2026 against Linktree's pricing page and help articles on fees and selling digital products, Beacons' pricing page and transaction fees article, and Stan Store's plan comparison and fees article. Prices are in US dollars. Linktree prices by region and shows your local currency, so your page may differ. This comparison is built from published plans and fees, not from test stores or conversion data.
All three sit behind the same thing: the link on your Instagram profile. They are part of the monetize step in our guide to the best Instagram tools, and the choice matters more than it looks, because a percentage fee is invisible at $50 a month and expensive at $2,000.
Linktree vs Beacons vs Stan Store: the head-to-head table
The short version is in the fee rows. The long version is that these are three different products that happen to share a slot in your bio.
| Linktree | Beacons | Stan Store | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No. A 14-day free trial, then paid |
| Paid plans, billed monthly | Starter $8, Pro $15, Premium $35 | Creator $10, Creator Plus $30, Creator Max $100 | Creator $29, Creator Pro $99 |
| Paid plans, billed yearly | Starter $6, Pro $12, Premium $30 a month | Creator $100, Creator Plus $300, Creator Max $900 a year | Creator $300, Creator Pro $948 a year |
| Platform fee on digital products | 12% Free, 9% Starter and Pro, 0% Premium | 9% Free and Creator, 0% Creator Plus and Max | 0% on both plans |
| Cheapest plan with a 0% fee | Premium, $35 a month | Creator Plus, $30 a month | Creator, $29 a month |
| Courses | Yes, powered by Kajabi, same fee as products | Creator Plus: unlimited courses with video hosting | Creator: unlimited course builder |
| Memberships or subscriptions | Paid communities, listed as US only | Creator Plus: unlimited memberships | Creator: recurring subscriptions |
| Bookings | A bookings feature, plus a Calendly link app on every plan | Not shown on the plan cards | Creator: calendar and booking tools |
| Sign-up collection on every plan. Mailchimp, Klaviyo and Kit integrations on Pro and Premium | Built-in sends: 50 a month Free, 500 Creator, unlimited Creator Plus | Email collection on Creator. Broadcasts and flows on Creator Pro | |
| Instagram auto-DM | Every plan: 1,000 sends a month Free, 1,500 Starter, 2,500 Pro, unlimited Premium | Smart Reply auto-DM listed on Free | Stan AutoDM on Creator |
| Analytics history | 28 days Free, 90 Starter, 365 Pro, all time Premium | Real-time analytics on Free | Store and product analytics. Advanced analytics on Creator Pro |
Source: each company's pricing page and help center, checked October 2026. Where a vendor's page does not mention a feature, the table says so.
- 01Reel or Story
Ends with one call to action
- 02Profile link
The only clickable link most followers see
- 03Link page or store
Linktree, Beacons or Stan
- 04Checkout
Stripe or PayPal takes the payment
- 05Email list
The buyer you can reach again
What each one costs at your sales volume
A flat monthly price beats a percentage fee once your sales pass a threshold, and the threshold is simple division: the monthly price divided by the fee rate. Here is the platform cost at five illustrative sales levels.
| Monthly sales | Linktree Free (12%) | Linktree Premium | Beacons Free (9%) | Beacons Creator Plus | Stan Creator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $100 | $12 | $35 | $9 | $30 | $29 |
| $300 | $36 | $35 | $27 | $30 | $29 |
| $500 | $60 | $35 | $45 | $30 | $29 |
| $1,000 | $120 | $35 | $90 | $30 | $29 |
| $3,000 | $360 | $35 | $270 | $30 | $29 |
Platform fees and subscription only, on monthly billing, from published prices checked October 2026. The sales levels are illustrative inputs, not results. Stripe or PayPal processing is left out because it applies on all three.
Computed from published fees. $1,000 is an illustrative sales level. Source: Linktree, Beacons and Stan Store pricing pages, checked October 2026
The crossover points, which are the numbers worth remembering:
| Switching from | Flat plan wins above | The math |
|---|---|---|
| Linktree Free (12%) to Linktree Premium ($35) | About $292 a month | $35 divided by 0.12 |
| Linktree Free (12%) to Stan Creator ($29) | About $242 a month | $29 divided by 0.12 |
| Beacons Free (9%) to Stan Creator ($29) | About $322 a month | $29 divided by 0.09 |
| Beacons Free (9%) to Beacons Creator Plus ($30) | About $333 a month | $30 divided by 0.09 |
Yearly billing moves the thresholds down. Stan Creator at $300 a year and Beacons Creator Plus at $300 a year both work out to $25 a month, which beats a 9% fee above about $278 in monthly sales. Linktree Premium at $30 a month on yearly billing beats its own 12% free plan above $250.
Linktree: pricing, fees and limits
Linktree is the link page most people already know, and its free plan is enough if you are not selling. Free includes unlimited links, email and phone sign-ups, 28 days of analytics and 1,000 Instagram auto-reply sends a month (checked October 2026). Paid plans add design control, longer analytics and marketing integrations.
- Starter, $8 a month ($6 on yearly billing): link scheduling, redirects, unlimited featured links, 90 days of analytics.
- Pro, $15 a month ($12 yearly): removes the Linktree footer, adds advanced themes, audience insights, email integrations, Google Analytics and 365 days of history. Seven-day free trial.
- Premium, $35 a month ($30 yearly): 0% fee on courses and digital products, all-time analytics, data export and unlimited auto-reply sends.
Selling is where Linktree gets expensive. Its help center says the fee on digital products and courses is a percentage of the sale price that depends on your plan, with Stripe processing, typically 2.9% plus $0.30, on top. Paid products are available in 35 listed countries, priced between $1 and $10,000, and you are the seller of record.
On the table's numbers, the middle plans make little sense for sellers. Starter is only the cheapest Linktree option between about $267 and $300 in monthly sales, and Pro at 9% is never the cheapest: below $222 the free plan costs less, above it Premium does.
Beacons: pricing, fees and limits
Beacons gives away the most at $0. The free plan includes a customizable link in bio, a media kit, a store for unlimited digital products, affiliate links, 50 email sends a month and Smart Reply auto-DM, with a 9% seller fee on sales (checked October 2026).
- Creator, $10 a month ($100 a year): a free custom domain, 500 email sends a month and advanced SEO features. The help center says the 9% fee still applies, so this plan is not a selling upgrade.
- Creator Plus, $30 a month ($300 a year): 0% seller fees, buy now pay later, unlimited courses with video hosting, unlimited memberships and unlimited email sends.
- Creator Max, $100 a month ($900 a year): adds Google Workspace, white glove onboarding and prioritized support. The help center still quotes $90 a month for this plan.
The jump that matters is Free to Creator Plus, and it pays for itself at about $333 a month in sales. Beacons also bundles email, which the other two treat as an integration or a higher plan. Our Beacons store review goes through the store features, payouts and what the free plan leaves out.
Stan Store: pricing, fees and limits
Stan Store is a storefront with a link page attached, and it has no free plan. Both plans start with a 14-day free trial and charge a 0% transaction fee; Stan says it earns only the flat subscription (checked October 2026).
- Creator, $29 a month ($300 a year): storefront, calendar and booking tools, an unlimited course builder, recurring subscriptions, lead magnets with email collection, community features and Stan AutoDM for Instagram replies.
- Creator Pro, $99 a month ($948 a year): adds discount codes, upsells and order bumps, payment plans through Afterpay and Klarna, funnels, affiliate management, email broadcasts and flows, and ad pixel tracking.
The catch is the first month you sell nothing: Stan still costs $29. Read the processor section of its fees article too. It lists a Stripe payout fee of 0.25% plus $0.25 per payout with a $1 minimum, 6% plus $0.30 on Afterpay orders, and reminds you that Stripe keeps its fee when you refund a customer.
Linktree vs Beacons: which free plan is better
Beacons, if you intend to sell anything. Linktree, if the page is only a menu of links and you like its templates. The two free plans differ in what they give away and what they charge.
- Unlimited links, one featured link
- 12% fee on courses and digital products
- Email and phone sign-up collection
- 1,000 Instagram auto-reply sends a month
- 28 days of analytics history
- Support replies within 48 hours
- Customizable link in bio and a media kit
- 9% seller fee on store sales
- 50 email sends a month, built in
- Smart Reply Instagram auto-DM
- Real-time analytics
- Store for unlimited digital products
The three-point fee gap is small in dollars at low volume: on $200 of sales it is $6. The bigger difference is the upgrade path. Beacons reaches 0% at $30 a month, Linktree at $35, and Beacons includes email sending where Linktree hands you to Mailchimp or Kit.
Stan Store vs Linktree: is Stan worth paying for
Yes once you have a product that sells, no before. Stan costs $29 in a month with zero sales, where Linktree Free costs nothing. Past about $242 a month, Linktree's 12% is the bigger bill, and Stan includes courses, bookings and subscriptions at that price.
You do not have to choose one. A free Linktree page can carry your links with the first link pointing at a Stan or Beacons store. The sale happens on the store, so Linktree's fee never applies. The trade is one extra tap, and every extra tap loses some buyers, so move to a single store link once the product is your main offer. What goes behind that link at each stage, and how the bio above it should read, is covered in the profile lesson of our Instagram Ignited program.
Which one to pick
If you are still deciding what to sell, the tool is not the constraint. Our guide to selling digital products without a website covers the product and the first buyers, and these bio templates cover the line that sends people to the link.
Costs the fee tables leave out
- Processing: Stripe at about 2.9% plus 30 cents a sale applies on all three, more for international cards
- Payout fees: Stan lists a Stripe payout fee of 0.25% plus 25 cents per payout; Linktree lists 25 cents per payout on partner earnings
- Refunds: the processor keeps its fee, so a refunded $50 sale still costs you about $1.75 at US rates
- Country support: Linktree sells paid products in 35 listed countries only
- Yearly billing: cheaper per month, but you pay for 12 months before you know the product sells
- Email: built in on Beacons, an integration on Linktree Pro and up, broadcasts on Stan Creator Pro
- Custom domain: included from Beacons Creator; check the other two before you print a URL on anything
None of these change the ranking much, but together they explain why your payout is lower than price times sales. Build the real number once, with your own price and volume, before you announce a launch.
Alternatives worth a look
- Instagram's own profile link. You can add a website to your profile without any tool. With one destination, that is all you need.
- A marketplace checkout. Gumroad, Payhip and similar platforms host the product and the checkout. Our Gumroad fees breakdown has the rates, and the free platform break-even calculator runs the same crossover math for Gumroad, Etsy, Payhip and others.
- Your own page. A simple site with a Stripe payment link has no platform fee at all, at the cost of building and maintaining it.
Linktree vs Beacons vs Stan Store: FAQ
Is Stan Store or Linktree better?
They do different jobs. Linktree is a link page first, with selling added on: its pricing table lists a 12% fee on digital products on the free plan and 0% only on Premium at $35 a month. Stan Store is a storefront first: $29 a month, 0% platform fee, with courses, bookings and subscriptions included. If selling is the point, Stan costs less than Linktree Free above about $242 a month in sales. Checked October 2026.
Which is cheapest: Linktree, Beacons or Stan Store?
At low volume, Beacons Free: $0 a month and a 9% fee, against 12% on Linktree Free and $29 a month on Stan. Once you sell more than about $322 a month, Stan Creator at $29 is cheaper than paying Beacons 9%, and Beacons Creator Plus at $30 is a dollar behind. Stripe or PayPal processing applies on all three. Checked October 2026.
Does Linktree take a percentage of sales?
Yes, on most plans. The comparison table on Linktree's pricing page lists a fee on courses and digital products of 12% on Free, 9% on Starter and Pro, and 0% on Premium. Stripe processing, typically 2.9% plus 30 cents, comes on top. The Pro plan card on the same page says "Sell and earn with 0% fees", so confirm the rate in your dashboard. Checked October 2026.
Linktree vs Beacons: which free plan is better?
For links alone, either works: both have unlimited links at $0. For selling, Beacons Free takes 9% where Linktree Free takes 12%, and it includes 50 email sends a month and a media kit. Linktree Free counters with email and phone sign-ups and 1,000 Instagram auto-reply sends a month. Pick Beacons if you plan to sell, Linktree if you only need the page.
At what monthly sales does Stan Store pay for itself?
Against Beacons Free, at about $322 a month: 9% of $322 is $29, the price of Stan Creator. Against Linktree Free, at about $242 a month, because 12% of $242 is $29. Below those figures a free plan with a percentage fee costs less. On Stan's $300 yearly plan the monthly cost is $25, which lowers both thresholds. Checked October 2026.
Can I use Linktree and Stan Store together?
Yes. Nothing stops you keeping a free Linktree page as your bio link and making one of its links your Stan or Beacons store. You pay Linktree nothing, because the sale happens on the other platform. The cost is one extra tap between your profile and the checkout, so put the store link first and keep the page short.
Do these platforms charge payment processing on top?
Yes. All three use Stripe, and each help center quotes the standard US rate of 2.9% plus 30 cents per sale. Beacons and Stan also accept PayPal at 3.49% plus a fixed fee. Stan's fee article lists a Stripe payout fee of 0.25% plus 25 cents per payout as well. Processing is the same order of cost everywhere, so the platform fee decides the comparison.
The link is the last step. Build the offer and the audience that click it.
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