When people compare link-in-bio tools, they usually compare the monthly price. "This one's $8, that one's $29, this one's free." Pick the cheapest, done.
But if you sell anything — digital products, courses, coaching, memberships — the monthly price is often the smaller part of what you pay. The bigger part is hidden in a line most people skim past: the transaction fee.
A 9% or 12% cut of every sale doesn't feel like much when you sell your first $20 ebook. It feels very different when you're making $2,000 a month and quietly handing $180–$240 of it to your link-in-bio tool, every month, forever.
So we did the math. Below you'll find what each of the four most common creator platforms actually costs at different sales levels, with every number shown so you can check it yourself.
Yes, Lynq is one of them, and yes, we make Lynq. We've tried to be fair: we'll tell you where competitors are the better choice, too.
The numbers we used
Prices below are the publicly listed 2026 prices on monthly billing, in US dollars. Plans and fees change often, so always double-check the official pricing pages before you decide. (We'll keep this article updated.)
Linktree
- Free: $0/month, 12% seller fee
- Starter: $8/month, 9% seller fee
- Pro: $15/month, 9% seller fee
- Premium: $35/month, 0% seller fee
Beacons
- Free: $0/month, 9% fee
- Creator Pro: $10/month, 9% fee
- Store Pro: $30/month, 0% fee
- Business Pro: $90/month, 0% fee
Stan Store
- Creator: $29/month, 0% fee
- Creator Pro: $99/month, 0% fee
- No free plan (there's a free trial)
Lynq
- Free: $0/month, 7% fee
- Pro: $15/month, 0% fee
One thing applies to all of them equally: payment processing. Stripe (or PayPal) charges roughly 2.9% + 30¢ per card transaction in the US, and similar amounts elsewhere. That fee exists on every platform, so we've left it out of the comparison. It doesn't change which one is cheapest.
What you actually pay per month
Here's the total monthly cost — subscription plus transaction fees — at five different sales levels. For each platform, we show the free plan (if there is one) and the cheapest plan for that sales level, because the best plan changes as you sell more.
At $200/month in sales
| Platform | Free plan | Cheapest option |
|---|---|---|
| Linktree | $24 | $24 (Free) |
| Beacons | $18 | $18 (Free) |
| Stan Store | — | $29 (Creator) |
| Lynq | $14 | $14 (Free) |
At low sales volumes, free plans with a percentage fee are usually cheapest. You're only paying when you earn, which is exactly what you want when you're starting out.
At $500/month
| Platform | Free plan | Cheapest option |
|---|---|---|
| Linktree | $60 | $35 (Premium) |
| Beacons | $45 | $30 (Store Pro) |
| Stan Store | — | $29 (Creator) |
| Lynq | $35 | $15 (Pro) |
This is where things flip. Percentage fees start costing more than a flat subscription. If you're still on a free plan at this level, you're likely overpaying.
At $1,000/month
| Platform | Free plan | Cheapest option |
|---|---|---|
| Linktree | $120 | $35 (Premium) |
| Beacons | $90 | $30 (Store Pro) |
| Stan Store | — | $29 (Creator) |
| Lynq | $70 | $15 (Pro) |
At $2,000/month
| Platform | Free plan | Cheapest option |
|---|---|---|
| Linktree | $240 | $35 (Premium) |
| Beacons | $180 | $30 (Store Pro) |
| Stan Store | — | $29 (Creator) |
| Lynq | $140 | $15 (Pro) |
At $5,000/month
| Platform | Free plan | Cheapest option |
|---|---|---|
| Linktree | $600 | $35 (Premium) |
| Beacons | $450 | $30 (Store Pro) |
| Stan Store | — | $29 (Creator) |
| Lynq | $350 | $15 (Pro) |
Look at the free-plan column at $5,000/month. On Linktree's free plan, that's $7,200 a year in fees. On the cheapest 0% plan, it's a few hundred dollars a year. Same sales, same customers, wildly different take-home.
Over a year
Most platforms offer a discount for paying annually. Here's what the cheapest 0%-fee plan costs per year with annual billing:
- Linktree Premium: about $360/year ($30/month)
- Beacons Store Pro: discounted with annual billing (check beacons.ai for the current rate in your region)
- Stan Store Creator: about $300/year (about $25/month)
- Lynq Pro: $147/year (about $12.25/month)
When should you switch from a free plan?
There's a simple break-even point for every platform: the sales level where the percentage fee on the free plan equals the price of the 0% plan.
- Lynq: $15 ÷ 7% ≈ $215/month in sales
- Beacons: $30 ÷ 9% ≈ $335/month
- Linktree: $35 ÷ 12% ≈ $290/month
Below that number, stay on the free plan. Above it, upgrade, because every extra sale on the free plan is costing you more than the subscription would.
A useful habit: check your sales every few months and ask, "Am I above the break-even?" Many creators upgrade far too late and leave hundreds of dollars on the table.
It's not only about fees
Price matters, but it isn't everything. Here's an honest look at what you get on each platform.
Linktree is the best-known name in link-in-bio, with a huge range of integrations and a very polished link page. Selling is a newer part of the product, and you need the top plan to avoid seller fees. If you mainly need links and rarely sell, Linktree's lower plans are fine.
Stan Store was built for selling from day one. It's focused, well-designed and popular with coaches and course creators. There's no free plan, so you pay from the start, and some features (like advanced funnels and email marketing) sit in the $99 Creator Pro plan. If you want Stan's specific features and you're already selling well, it's a solid choice.
Beacons packs in a lot: link pages, a store, email marketing, AI tools and more. That breadth is great if you want one tool for everything, but you need Store Pro or higher to stop paying seller fees.
Lynq is built around selling from your bio with 0% platform fees on a $15 plan. It includes digital products (with file hosting), courses, memberships, paid bookings, discount codes, order bumps, email capture, waitlists, a media kit, analytics and custom domains. Payments go directly to your own Stripe account, so you're the merchant of record and own the customer relationship. It's newer and smaller than the others, and if you need native email broadcasts, you'd connect your existing email tool rather than sending from Lynq.
What to look at besides the price
Before you choose any platform, check these five things:
- The transaction fee on the plan you'll actually be on. Not the top plan — yours.
- Who's the merchant of record? If payments go into your own Stripe account, you own the customer and control refunds. If the platform collects for you, they're in the middle.
- Do you get your buyers' emails? Your customer list is the most valuable thing you build. Make sure you can export it.
- How fast are payouts? Some platforms hold funds for a while. Direct Stripe payouts follow Stripe's normal schedule.
- What does it cost if you leave? Can you export your products, customers and subscribers easily?
The bottom line
- If you don't sell anything yet, any free plan works. Pick the one you like using.
- If you sell occasionally (under ~$200/month), a free plan with a low percentage fee is probably cheapest.
- If you sell regularly, move to a 0%-fee plan. The percentage fees on free plans get expensive fast.
- When comparing 0%-fee plans, look at what's included for the price, not just the number.
The most expensive option is almost never the monthly subscription. It's staying on a free plan for too long while a percentage of every sale quietly goes to your link-in-bio tool.
Want to keep more of what you sell? Start with Lynq free and move to Pro when your sales pass the break-even. You'll keep 100% of every sale (minus Stripe's processing fee). For side-by-side feature comparisons, see Lynq vs Linktree, Lynq vs Stan Store and Lynq vs Beacons.