Linktree vs Beacons vs MyLinks.page (2026)

TL;DR: Linktree vs Beacons vs MyLinks.page (2026): compare price, custom domains, fees, and analytics, then use our decision tree to pick the best link in bio tool.

You picked a link-in-bio tool two years ago, slapped your handle on it, and never thought about it again. Then the price went up. Then you noticed the analytics were locked behind a paywall. Then someone asked why your bio page didn't show up when they Googled your name. The linktree vs beacons debate usually starts here, with a creator realizing the free tool they grabbed in a hurry is now costing money, leaking data, and invisible to search engines.

Most "best link in bio tool" roundups are affiliate-stuffed lists that bury the real differences. This one won't. Linktree, Beacons, and MyLinks.page each win at one specific thing, and picking wrong means either overpaying, losing a cut of every sale, or surrendering your search traffic. By the end you'll know which of the three fits your situation, backed by a side-by-side table and a decision tree you can follow in under a minute.

Key Takeaways

Linktree wins on name recognition and simplicity, but its top tier runs around $24/mo and it offers no custom domain at any price.
Beacons is built for selling, with a free tier and a store, but it charges transaction fees on the free and lower plans, which eat into thin margins.
MyLinks.page is $9/mo with the option to connect your own custom domain, free analytics, and video backgrounds, undercutting Linktree by roughly half.
Want to sell digital products? Beacons or MyLinks.page. Want SEO and a custom domain? MyLinks.page. Want the most familiar name? Linktree.
All three import your existing links in minutes, so switching costs almost nothing.

What linktree vs beacons actually comes down to

The linktree vs beacons choice is really a choice between simplicity and selling. Linktree is the default everyone recognizes and the fastest to set up, but it treats analytics and advanced features as paid add-ons. Beacons is a creator store with a link page attached, free to start but it takes transaction fees on its lower tiers. Neither is wrong. They just optimize for different goals.

Here's the part the comparison posts skip. A link-in-bio page is the single most-clicked URL most creators own. It sits in your Instagram bio, your TikTok profile, your YouTube about section, your email signature. Every follower who wants to find your stuff passes through it. So the question isn't just "which is cheapest." It's which one keeps your traffic, your data, and your money under your own control.

Three things separate these tools in practice: what you pay, whether you can sell directly, and whether the page helps or hurts your search visibility. Linktree is strong on familiarity. Beacons is strong on monetization. MyLinks.page is strong on ownership: your own domain, your own analytics, no cut of your sales. The rest of this guide breaks down each one, then puts them head to head. If you're new to the category, start with what is link in bio for the basics, then come back.

According to DataReportal's 2024 Digital report, there were 5.04 billion social media user identities at the start of 2024, up 266 million year over year. Every one of those profiles allows a bio link, which is why the link-in-bio category keeps growing and why the tool you choose matters more than it did three years ago.

Linktree: the familiar default

Linktree is the category leader, and that's its biggest strength. People recognize the format on sight. Setup takes minutes, the editor is clean, and the free tier covers the basics: unlimited links, a handful of themes, and a public page at linktr.ee/yourname. For a creator who just needs a tidy list of links and nothing more, it works.

The trouble starts when you want more. Analytics, the data showing which links people actually click, sits behind the paid plans, which start around $5/mo and climb. The full feature set lands on the top tier, which rose in 2025 to roughly $24/mo. For that price you'd expect a custom domain. Linktree doesn't offer one at any tier. Your page lives on linktr.ee permanently, which means every visit, every bit of SEO value, and every backlink credits Linktree's domain, not yours.

Where Linktree fits

Linktree makes sense if you value the recognized name over everything else, you don't sell digital products, and you don't care whether your page ranks in search. It's the safe, conventional pick. It is also the most expensive of the three at the top tier while giving you the least ownership. If search visibility matters to you at all, read linktree seo problems before committing, because the subdomain issue is real and it compounds over time.

Beacons: built for selling

Beacons takes a different angle. It's a creator monetization platform first and a link page second. You can sell digital products, run an email list, build a media kit, and set up a small store, all from the same dashboard. There's a free tier, which is genuinely useful, and the product is clearly designed for creators who want to make money directly from their audience rather than just route traffic elsewhere.

The catch is the fees. Beacons charges transaction fees on the free and lower tiers, so a slice of every sale goes to the platform until you upgrade to a higher plan. On a $12 digital download with thin margins, that cut adds up fast across a few hundred sales. The math can still work if the built-in store saves you from paying for a separate checkout tool. But you should run the numbers on your actual sales volume before assuming the free tier is free. For high-volume sellers, the percentage often costs more than a flat monthly subscription elsewhere.

Where Beacons fits

Beacons is the right call if selling digital products is your main goal, you're early enough that a free tier matters, and you'd rather have monetization baked in than bolted on. It's a real store, not just a link list. Just go in knowing the free and lower tiers take transaction fees, and that those fees scale with your success. The more you sell, the more you pay. For a deeper look at how it stacks up against the category leader, best linktree alternatives 2026 covers the monetization angle in detail.

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MyLinks.page: ownership at half the price

MyLinks.page is built around a simple bet: the creator should own their page, their data, and their revenue. Pro is $9/mo, roughly half of Linktree's top tier, and a custom domain comes with every Pro plan. That last point is rare. Neither Linktree nor most rivals offer a custom domain at any tier, which means MyLinks.page is one of the few tools where your bio page can live on yourname.com and build SEO value for you instead of for the platform.

Analytics are free, even on the free plan. You get click-through rate per block, traffic broken down by source, and geographic plus device data, the exact reporting Linktree charges around $15/mo to unlock. On top of that, MyLinks.page does a few things the others don't. Video backgrounds let you loop any MP4 behind your links, and the file gets auto-compressed so it doesn't tank your load time. Verified proof blocks pull live numbers onto your public page: real Stripe revenue, YouTube subscriber count, TikTok follower count, displayed as social proof that updates itself.

There are also designer templates tuned to how different creators actually present themselves. You pick the one that fits and the page is structured for your use case out of the box. Importing from Linktree takes about 5 seconds. And the billing is honest: price-lock so your rate doesn't jump, one-click cancel, no dark patterns burying the exit. If you write for an audience, link in bio for creators walks through how the designer templates change your conversion rate.

Head to head: the comparison table

Here's the side by side. Prices reflect current public pricing at the time of writing; competitor tiers move, so check current pricing before you commit. The rows that decide most people's choice are custom domain, free analytics, and transaction fees.

|---|---|---|---|

| Video background | No | No | Yes (loop any MP4, auto-compressed) |

Read the table by your priority, not row by row. If your priority is selling, look at the monetization and fees rows together: Beacons has the stronger store but takes a cut on lower tiers, while MyLinks.page takes no cut but has a lighter store. If your priority is search and ownership, the custom domain and free analytics rows are decisive, and only MyLinks.page checks both. If your priority is name recognition, Linktree wins that row alone, and you decide whether it's worth the premium.

One row deserves a flag. The "custom domain" line is the single biggest long-term difference. A custom domain means your bio page builds domain authority and backlinks for a site you own. On a platform subdomain, all that SEO value accrues to the platform. Google's own Search Essentials documentation is clear that crawlable, well-structured pages on your own domain are what earn ranking signals, which a shared subdomain can't pass to you.

Which one is right for you

Match the tool to the job. If you sell digital products and want monetization built in, your shortlist is Beacons and MyLinks.page. Beacons gives you the fuller store and email tooling; MyLinks.page gives you a tip jar and verified revenue proof blocks with no transaction fees, which wins once your volume is high enough that the fees outweigh a flat $9. Run your numbers.

If you care about search visibility, owning your traffic, and seeing your analytics without paying extra, MyLinks.page is the clear pick. It's the only one of the three with the option to connect your own custom domain plus free analytics, at half Linktree's top-tier price. That combination is the whole reason the tool exists.

If what you want most is the name everyone already knows, and you don't sell or care about SEO, Linktree is defensible. You'll pay more and own less, but you'll get the most recognized format with zero learning curve. For a wider field of options beyond these three, best linktree alternatives 2026 compares the full set.

The switching cost is near zero in all directions. The Pew Research Center documents how central social platforms have become to news and information, which means your bio link is doing real work, not decoration. Test a second tool for a week before you commit. Importing takes minutes, and you can compare your real click data side by side.

Frequently asked questions

Is Beacons better than Linktree?

For selling, yes. Beacons has a native store, email tools, and a media kit, all on a free tier. Linktree leads on name recognition and simplicity but locks analytics behind paid plans and offers no custom domain. If you monetize directly, Beacons wins. If you just need a recognized link list, Linktree is simpler.

Which link in bio tool is best for selling digital products?

Beacons and MyLinks.page. Beacons offers a fuller built-in store and email list but charges transaction fees on its free and lower tiers. MyLinks.page takes no transaction fees and adds verified revenue proof blocks, so it's cheaper once your sales volume is high. Pick based on volume and fee tolerance.

Does MyLinks.page offer a custom domain like the others?

Yes, and it's the main difference. MyLinks.page lets you connect your own custom domain on Pro ($9/mo). Linktree offers no custom domain at any tier, and Beacons restricts it to higher tiers. A custom domain means your page builds SEO value for a site you own instead of the platform's subdomain.

How hard is it to switch between these tools?

Not hard. MyLinks.page imports your existing links in about 5 seconds, and most tools export or let you paste a profile URL. Test a new tool for a week alongside your current one, compare the click data, then move your bio link once you're sure. The migration itself takes minutes, not hours.

Why is MyLinks.page cheaper than Linktree?

MyLinks.page Pro is $9/mo versus Linktree's top tier around $24/mo, and it includes features Linktree charges extra for, like full analytics. The pricing reflects a different model: flat, price-locked, no paywalled data, and one-click cancel. You get the custom domain and analytics in the base Pro plan rather than as upsells.

The bottom line

Three tools, three jobs. Linktree is the recognized default you'll pay a premium for, with no custom domain at any tier. Beacons is the creator store with a free entry point, as long as you accept transaction fees on the lower plans. MyLinks.page is the ownership play: the option to connect your own custom domain, free analytics, video backgrounds, and no cut of your sales, all at $9/mo.

Pick by what you're optimizing for. Selling, with a full store: Beacons. SEO, a custom domain, and free data: MyLinks.page. Pure name recognition: Linktree. If owning your traffic and seeing your analytics without an upsell sounds right, claim your handle free at MyLinks.page, import your existing links in seconds, and watch your real click data before you decide.