Why 1.1 Million Links Left Linktree
TL;DR: Linktree alternatives are winning: 1.1M+ links left for cheaper pricing, free analytics, and custom domains. See the 5 reasons creators switch in 2026.
Linktree built the category. For years it was the default answer to "what link do I put in my bio," and millions of creators never questioned it. Then the bills got bigger, the limits got tighter, and people started doing the math. That math is why so many creators are now hunting for linktree alternatives that cost less and give them more control. We've watched it happen up close: more than 1.1 million links have been imported to MyLinks.page from Linktree and other tools, each one a small vote against staying put.
This is not a story about one bad feature. It's a slow accumulation of friction. A price increase here, a paywalled report there, a logo you can't remove, a domain you'll never own. None of it is fatal on its own. Together it adds up to creators feeling like renters on their own most important page. You'll learn the five real reasons people are switching from Linktree, what the migration data shows, and how to move your own page in about five seconds.
Key Takeaways
- More than 1.1 million links have been imported to MyLinks.page from Linktree and other tools (our own migration data), with five repeating reasons behind the move.
- Linktree's 2025 price increase pushed its top tier to around $24/mo; MyLinks.page Pro is $9/mo, and check current pricing on both before you decide.
- Linktree offers no custom domain at any tier and paywalls analytics at roughly $15/mo; MyLinks.page includes analytics free and the option to connect your own custom domain.
- Importing your existing Linktree takes about five seconds, so there's almost no cost to testing the switch.
What the 1.1 million number actually tells us
More than 1.1 million links have been imported to MyLinks.page from Linktree and other tools. That's our own migration data, not an industry report, and it's the clearest signal we have about why people leave. When someone imports a Linktree, they're carrying over a page they already built and maintained. They're not curious tire-kickers. They're committed creators voting with their existing setup.
The pattern in those migrations is consistent. People don't leave because Linktree stopped working. They leave because the value stopped matching the price, and because the features they cared about most kept landing behind a paywall or simply never existed. Understanding what is link in bio as your owned internet home base, rather than a rented widget, is the mindset shift that drives almost every one of these moves. The rest of this article breaks down the five reasons that show up again and again.
Reason one: the 2025 price increase
The biggest single trigger for why creators leave Linktree was money. In 2025, Linktree raised prices, pushing its top tier to around $24/mo (check current pricing, since plans change). For a tool that, for many creators, is a single page with a list of links, that number started to feel hard to justify, especially when cheaper options do more.
Run the comparison and the gap is obvious. MyLinks.page Pro is $9/mo. That's roughly half of Linktree's top-tier price, and it includes things Linktree charges extra for or doesn't offer at all. When you're a creator watching every subscription, a $15 monthly difference is real money. Over a year that's $180 you could put toward gear, ads, or literally anything else.
Price alone rarely moves people who love a product. But price plus missing features is a different equation. The creators in our migration data weren't just chasing the lowest number. They were asking a sharper question: what am I actually paying for, and could I get more somewhere else for less? For a deeper side-by-side, the best linktree alternatives 2026 breakdown lays out where each tool's money goes.
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Reason two: you can't own your domain
Here's a limit that surprises people once they notice it: Linktree offers no custom domain at any tier. Even on the most expensive plan, your page lives at their subdomain, with their name in your URL. You can pay for years and never put your own brand in the address bar. For creators trying to build something that's actually theirs, that's a real ceiling.
A custom domain is not a vanity feature. It changes who owns the audience. When your page sits on yourname.com, you control the URL forever. If you ever move tools, your links, business cards, and printed merch still work because the domain is yours. On a competitor's subdomain, you're building equity into someone else's address, and you lose it the day you leave.
MyLinks.page lets you connect your own custom domain on Pro, which rivals don't offer at any tier. That single difference reframes the whole comparison. You're not renting a slot on someone else's platform. You're running your own page on your own address, with a tool that happens to power it. The mylinks.page vs linktree comparison digs into exactly how much that ownership is worth over time.
Why domain ownership compounds
The value of owning your domain grows the longer you create. Every post that links to your page, every mention, every backlink points to an address you control. Google treats your own domain as a real website, which is the foundation of any serious search strategy. According to Google Search Central documentation, a clear, crawlable site on your own domain is far easier to rank than a page buried under a shared subdomain. Own the domain, and that authority accrues to you.
Reason three: your analytics are behind a paywall
Analytics is where the value gap gets hard to ignore. Linktree paywalls its analytics at roughly $15/mo (check current pricing). So the data telling you which links work, where your audience comes from, and what's actually converting is locked away from free users entirely. You're flying blind on the one page that decides whether your whole funnel works.
That's backwards. Analytics is not a luxury add-on. It's how you know what to fix. Which link gets the most clicks? Are people coming from TikTok or your email list? Are mobile users bouncing? Without that, you're guessing, and guessing on your highest-traffic page is expensive. The creators in our migration data consistently named locked analytics as a reason they started shopping for linktree alternatives.
MyLinks.page includes analytics on the free plan: click-through rate per block and traffic by source. No upsell to see how your own page performs; geo and device analytics come with Pro. For context on how creators actually use this data, DataReportal's global digital reports show how much audience behavior varies by region and platform, which is exactly the kind of insight a click map surfaces in seconds.
Reason four: forced branding on the free tier
Free plans always make a trade. The question is what they take. On Linktree, the free tier shows Linktree branding on your page, so every visitor sees the platform's name attached to your work. For a hobby account, fine. For anyone building a brand, that little badge is a constant ad for someone else on your most-visited page.
It reads as unprofessional, and it quietly trains your audience to associate your page with a third party instead of you. When you're trying to look like a real business or a serious creator, a "made with" tag on your bio link undercuts the whole effect. Small thing, real impact.
MyLinks.page has no forced branding on the free tier. Your page looks like yours from day one, even before you pay anything. That's the difference between a free tool that's a long trial for a paid one and a free tool that respects that your page represents you. For creators not ready to spend, it removes the one thing that usually pushes them to a competitor.
Reason five: creators want to own their audience and SEO
The deepest reason behind switching from Linktree is ownership. The first four reasons are symptoms. This is the cause. Creators are tired of building their most important page on rented land, where the platform sets the price, controls the URL, gates the data, and stamps its name on their work. They want a home base they actually own.
Ownership shows up in three places: your domain, your data, and your discoverability. Own your domain and the URL is yours forever. Own your data and you make real decisions instead of guesses. Own your SEO and your page can rank on Google as a real site, pulling in search traffic a locked subdomain never will. The Pew Research Center's work on the creator economy and digital platforms underscores how much creators now depend on owned channels rather than borrowed ones.
This is where features like verified proof blocks matter too. MyLinks.page lets you show live Stripe revenue, YouTube subscribers, or TikTok followers right on your public page, real numbers that build trust instead of static claims. Combined with designer templates, and video backgrounds that loop any MP4 behind your links, the page stops being a list and starts being a brand. That's what people leave Linktree to get.
How to join them: the five-second import
The reason migration feels risky is the work of rebuilding. People assume moving means recreating every link by hand. It doesn't. MyLinks.page imports your existing Linktree in about five seconds. You paste your current URL, and your links, titles, and order come across automatically. No manual rebuild, no copying one link at a time.
That low switching cost is a big part of the 1.1 million links in our migration data. When testing an alternative costs five seconds instead of an afternoon, far more people actually try it. Here's the typical path:
- Grab your current Linktree URL.
- Paste it into the MyLinks.page importer.
- Watch your links populate in seconds.
- Pick a template and, on Pro, connect your custom domain.
- Add free analytics, a video background, or a verified proof block.
You keep what you built and gain what you were missing. And because billing is honest, with a price-lock, one-click cancel, and no dark patterns, trying it doesn't lock you into anything. If it's not better for you, you walk away in one click. Most people don't, which is the whole point.
Frequently asked questions
Why are creators leaving Linktree?
Five reasons repeat in MyLinks.page's own migration data: the 2025 price increase (top tier around $24/mo), no custom domain at any tier, analytics paywalled at roughly $15/mo, forced branding on the free plan, and a broader desire to own their domain, data, and SEO instead of renting them.
Is it hard to switch from Linktree?
No. MyLinks.page imports your existing Linktree in about five seconds. You paste your current URL and your links, titles, and order transfer automatically, so there's no manual rebuild. The low effort is a major reason so many creators complete the switch.
Where do most Linktree users go?
Many move to linktree alternatives that include analytics free and offer a custom domain. More than 1.1 million links have been imported to MyLinks.page from Linktree and other tools (our own data), drawn by $9/mo Pro pricing, free analytics, and domain ownership Linktree doesn't provide.
Will I lose my links if I migrate?
No. The import copies your existing links over, and your old Linktree stays live until you decide otherwise. With a custom domain on MyLinks.page Pro, you also future-proof your URL so links keep working even if you change tools later.
Does MyLinks.page cost less than Linktree?
Yes. MyLinks.page Pro is $9/mo, roughly half of Linktree's top-tier price of around $24/mo after its 2025 increase. The free plan also includes analytics and carries no forced branding. Check current pricing on both before deciding.
The math creators keep doing
Strip away the details and the decision is simple. Linktree costs more after its 2025 increase, won't give you a custom domain at any tier, and locks your analytics behind roughly $15/mo. MyLinks.page is $9/mo, includes analytics free, and puts your page on your own domain. More than 1.1 million links have already made that move, according to our own migration data.
You don't have to take anyone's word for it. The import takes about five seconds, your old page stays live, and one-click cancel means there's no trap. Paste your Linktree URL, see your page rebuilt on a tool you actually own, and compare them side by side. If MyLinks.page isn't the better home for your links, you've lost five seconds. If it is, you've stopped renting your most important page. Claim your handle free at MyLinks.page →