Beacons vs Carrd.co

Which link in bio is right for you?

Quick verdict

Choose Beacons if you scored higher on features and value. Choose Carrd.co for the use cases below where it has an edge.

Use Beacons if:

  • You sell digital products (ebooks, presets, courses) and want a native store
  • You accept brand partnerships and want a built-in media kit
  • You want a tip jar or donation link built into your profile
  • You want email marketing built into your link-in-bio
  • You're comfortable with a steeper learning curve for more monetisation features

Use Carrd.co if:

  • You want full design control — layout, fonts, colors, custom CSS
  • You're a designer or developer comfortable building a custom page
  • You want a mini-site rather than just a link list
  • You want the cheapest custom domain option ($9/year)
  • You don't need native link analytics or scheduling

Comparison Score

General

 
 

1

Multi-Accounts
account

 

25

Multi-Accounts

 

6

signup integrations
integrations

 

1

signup integrations
only via email

 

Custom username

 

Custom username

 

2

URL Domain options
domain options

 

1

URL Domain options
.carrd.co

 

10

letter-long Domain
characters

 

7

letter-long Domain
your brand gets less visibility

 

Payments & Costs

 
 

Accept crypto

 

Accept crypto

 

9% (free plan)

transaction fees
per transaction

 

N/A

transaction fees
Tip/Donation links not offered

 

Free plan

 

Free plan

 

One-time Plans

 

One-time Plans

 

$300

annual cost - Top plan
per year

 

$49

annual cost - Top plan

 

$8.99/mo

most cost-effective Pro plan
Creator Pro

 

$19

most cost-effective Pro plan
annual subscription

 

Built-in Shop

Digital products & store

 

Built-in Shop

can only embed Buy buttons from third-party services

 

Page Customisation

 
 

3

link layouts
layout styles

 

1

link layouts

 

Flexible layout

Block-based layout

 

Flexible layout

 

Mirror Instagram Grid

 

Mirror Instagram Grid

 

Background colors/images

 

Background colors/images

 

6

Social, Music & Contact icons
icon types

 

599

Social, Music & Contact icons

 

Icon colors

 

Icon colors

 

8

fonts
font options

 

255

fonts

 

Link Features

 
 

Unlimited links

 

Unlimited links

 

Organise links under groups

Content blocks

 

Organise links under groups

 

Schedule links

 

Schedule links

 

Vibrate/highlight links

 

Vibrate/highlight links

 

Analytics

 

Analytics

no built-in insights, only via Google Analytics integration

 

Data Export

 

Data Export

 

Page Features

 
 

Add a second page

 

Add a second page

 

Custom Social Causes page

 

Custom Social Causes page

 

Embed music

Spotify, SoundCloud

 

Embed music

 

Embed video

YouTube, TikTok

 

Embed video

 

 External pixels

Facebook Pixel, GA

 

 External pixels

 

Pricing comparison

All prices in USD. Last verified March 2026.

Beacons

Free plan available

PlanPriceBilled
Free Free
Creator Pro $8.99 month
Store Pro $25.00 month

Carrd.co

Free plan available

PlanPriceBilled
Free Free
Pro Lite $9.00 year
Pro Standard $19.00 year
Pro Plus $49.00 year

Pros and cons

Beacons

Pros

  • Best-in-class native ecommerce and digital product sales
  • Built-in media kit for creator brand deals
  • Tip jar and direct monetisation tools
  • Email list building and basic email marketing included
  • Generous free plan with all core features (transaction fee applies)

Cons

  • 9% transaction fee on the free plan — cuts into revenue significantly
  • No link scheduling
  • More complex than a basic link-in-bio — steeper learning curve
  • No QR code generator
  • Interface feels busier than minimalist alternatives

Carrd.co

Pros

  • Cheapest custom domain in the category at $9/year
  • Full design freedom with custom CSS and flexible layout
  • Can build a full mini-website, not just a link list
  • Video and image backgrounds supported
  • Excellent free plan — 3 sites with no forced branding

Cons

  • No native link-click analytics — requires Google Analytics setup
  • No link scheduling
  • No media embeds (Spotify, YouTube) without custom code
  • Not purpose-built for link management — no link dashboard
  • Setup requires more effort than dedicated link-in-bio tools
  • No QR code generator

Switching between them

How to migrate from Beacons to another tool

Estimated time: ~20 minutes. Difficulty: moderate.

  1. Export your links and store items if applicable
  2. Sign up for your alternative service
  3. Recreate your links and profile
  4. Migrate any digital products to the new platform's store or to Gumroad/Lemon Squeezy
  5. Update your bio link

Full migration guide: Beacons → Lnk.Bio

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Beacons has a free plan that includes unlimited links, a digital store, and a media kit. However, the free plan takes a 9% transaction fee on any sales.

Yes, on the Creator Pro plan ($8.99/month) and above.

Yes. Beacons has a native digital product store. The free plan charges 9% per transaction; the Store Pro plan ($25/month) has 0% fees.

Beacons includes a media kit page showing your follower counts, engagement rates, and contact info — designed to help creators pitch brands for sponsorships.

Yes. Creator Pro and above include basic email marketing tools for collecting and emailing your audience.

Yes. Carrd's free plan allows up to 3 sites on a carrd.co subdomain with no branding requirement. Paid plans start at $9/year for Pro Lite, which adds a custom domain.

Yes, many creators use Carrd as a link-in-bio page. However, it lacks native link analytics, link scheduling, and the managed link-list features that dedicated tools provide.

Looking for the top-ranked alternative?

Lnk.Bio is the highest-rated link in bio for value — free plan, one-time $0.99 option, custom domain, and Spotify/YouTube embeds.

Try Lnk.Bio free

Overall Comparison Score

Beacons Logo

Beacons

Carrd.co Logo

Carrd.co

Top 5 link in bio services

by features offered and cost-efficiency

1
Lnk.Bio Lnk.Bio
52 stars
 
2
Tilda Tilda
28 stars
 
3
Linktree Linktree
 
26 stars
 
4
Carrd.co Carrd.co
 
25 stars
 
5
Taplink Taplink
 
23 stars
 

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