The Best Link in Bio Tools in 2026, Compared Honestly (Prices and Fees)
Updated September 29, 2026 · 8 min read
The best link in bio tools in 2026 compared: Linktree, Beacons, Stan, Milkshake, Carrd, Later, Komi, hoo.be and lit.bio, with free plans, prices and sales fees.
Quick answer: There is no single best link in bio tool in 2026; the right one depends on whether you just need links, want to sell, or want your own domain. Linktree is the familiar default with unlimited free links but a 12% fee on free-plan sales. Beacons and hoo.be have the most capable free plans for selling, Stan.store (from $29 a month, 0% platform fee) suits creators who sell every month, and Carrd (from $9 a year) is cheapest for a custom-designed page. Milkshake, Later Linkin.bio and Komi fit narrower needs, and lit.bio, our own tool, offers a free, ad-free page with up to 10 links and a $49 one-time Pro plan. Prices were checked on each tool's pricing page in September 2026.
The best link in bio tools in 2026 at a glance
| Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Fees on sales | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linktree | Yes, unlimited basic links | $8/mo ($6/mo yearly) | 12% free, 9% Starter and Pro, 0% Premium ($35/mo) | A familiar, simple link list |
| Beacons | Yes, unlimited links, store included | $10/mo ($100/yr) | 9% free and Creator, 0% Creator Plus ($30/mo) | An all-in-one creator store on a free plan |
| Stan.store | No, 14-day trial | $29/mo ($300/yr) | 0% platform fee, payment processing only | Creators selling courses, coaching and products monthly |
| Milkshake | Yes, unlimited links and cards | $2.99/mo (Lite) | 12% free and Lite, 9% Pro, 7% Pro+ | A swipeable mini website built on your phone |
| Carrd | Yes, up to 3 sites with Carrd branding | $9/yr (custom domain from $19/yr) | No Carrd fee; Stripe/PayPal buttons from $19/yr | A custom-designed one-page site on your own domain |
| Later Linkin.bio | No (14-day trial) | $18.75/mo billed yearly | None, no built-in checkout | Brands already scheduling posts in Later |
| Komi | Yes (Starter) | $16/mo yearly or $20 monthly | 0% on Pro; selling is Pro only | Creators working brand deals |
| hoo.be | Yes, unlimited links and tip jar | $9.99/mo | 9% free, 5% Pro, 0% Premium ($29.99/mo) | Taking tips and selling from day one |
| lit.bio (our tool) | Yes, up to 10 links, no ads | $9/mo or $49 once | 10% on tips and locked content, 0% on subscription tiers, none on links to your own shop | A free, clean page with a lifetime upgrade |
Card processing (Stripe's US rate is about 2.9% plus $0.30) applies on top of every platform fee above.
What actually matters when choosing a link in bio tool?
- Fees on sales. A percentage fee costs nothing until you sell; a flat subscription costs money before your first sale. Compare both at the sales you actually expect.
- Free plan limits. Check the link cap, whether the tool's branding stays on your page, and whether selling or tips work without paying.
- Speed. Most taps come from phones inside Instagram or TikTok's in-app browser. Video backgrounds and heavy embeds load slower, so test any page on mobile data.
- Analytics. You want clicks per link, not just page views. Look at how many days of history the free plan keeps. See how to track link in bio clicks.
- Selling. Decide whether you need checkout on the page at all. Linking to your own Shopify, Gumroad or Etsy store works with any tool.
Linktree
Best for: anyone who wants the most recognized name and a simple list. Free plan: unlimited basic links, with Linktree branding. Paid: Starter $8 a month, Pro $15, Premium $35 (about $6, $12 and $30 billed yearly), with branding removed on Pro. Fees: 12% on digital product and course sales on the free plan, 9% on Starter and Pro, 0% only on Premium. Drawback: selling cheaply means paying for the top tier. More detail in Is Linktree free?
Beacons
Best for: creators who want a store, media kit and email tools in one place without paying up front. Free plan: unlimited links, unlimited digital products, 50 email sends a month and real-time analytics. Paid: Creator $10 a month ($100 a year) adds a free custom domain, Creator Plus $30 a month ($300 a year), Creator Max $100 a month. Fees: 9% on the free and Creator plans, 0% from Creator Plus. Drawback: with this many features the editor is busier than a plain list. Compared head to head in Linktree vs Beacons.
Stan.store
Best for: creators with a real catalogue of courses, coaching calls or digital products. Free plan: none, only a 14-day trial. Paid: Creator $29 a month or $300 a year, Creator Pro $99 a month or $948 a year. Fees: Stan takes no transaction fee; Stripe or PayPal processing still applies. Drawback: you pay $29 a month before your first sale, which only makes sense once you sell steadily. The math is in our Stan.store alternative breakdown.
Milkshake
Best for: Instagram creators and small businesses who want a mini website of swipeable cards, built entirely on a phone. Free plan: unlimited links and cards, 30 days of insights, Milkshake branding. Paid: Lite $2.99 a month removes branding, Pro $6.99 a month or $59.99 a year, Pro+ $99.99 a year adds a custom domain. Fees: 12% on Free and Lite, 9% on Pro, 7% on Pro+, plus Stripe. Drawback: swipeable cards are less scannable than a list, and a subscription covers one website, not the whole account. See our Milkshake alternative guide.
Carrd
Best for: people who want full design control and their own domain for very little money. Free plan: up to three sites with "Made with Carrd" branding. Paid: billed yearly only, Pro Lite $9 a year (no custom domain), Pro Standard $19 a year with custom domains, forms and embeds, Pro Plus $49 a year. Fees: no Carrd fee found; from $19 a year you can add Stripe, PayPal or Gumroad payment buttons and pay only their processing. Drawback: as a website builder it takes longer to edit, with no built-in per-link click stats. More in Carrd vs a link in bio page.
Later Linkin.bio
Best for: brands and social media managers who already schedule Instagram and TikTok posts in Later. Free plan: none as of October 2026; Later's pricing page offers a 14-day trial, and Linkin.bio comes bundled with its social scheduling plans. Paid: Starter from $18.75 a month billed yearly, which removes the Later banner and adds scheduling and analytics. Fees: no Later sales fee, since products link out to your own store. Drawback: the paid price buys a scheduling suite, which is poor value if you only want a link page.
Komi
Best for: creators and talent who use their page as a media kit for brand partnerships. Free plan: Starter includes a mini-site, unlimited content and affiliate links, brand deals and fan contact capture. Paid: Pro at $16 a month billed yearly or $20 monthly, with a custom domain and branding removal. Fees: 0% on digital product sales, but selling products is a Pro feature. Drawback: Komi's help pages and pricing page have disagreed about the free plan, so confirm the terms when you sign up. See our Komi alternative comparison.
hoo.be
Best for: creators who want tips and sales working on a free plan and accept a fee in return. Free plan: one profile, unlimited links, two draft pages, basic analytics, a tip jar, hoo.be branding. Paid: Pro $9.99 a month, Premium $29.99 a month with custom domains and up to five profiles. Fees: 9% platform seller fee on Free, 5% on Pro, 0% on Premium. Drawback: a custom domain and fee-free selling both require the $29.99 tier.
lit.bio (our tool)
This is our product, so weigh this section accordingly. Best for: creators who want a clean, free page and would rather pay once than monthly. Free plan: up to 10 links, 50+ social icons, every theme, font and button style, a QR code, 7-day analytics and no ads. Paid: Pro is $9 a month or $49 once (lifetime), adding unlimited links, 90-day analytics, branding removal, email capture, a contact form, a booking calendar, tips, subscription tiers and locked content. Fees: a flat 10% on tips and locked content (plus Stripe processing), no platform fee on paid subscription tiers, and no fee on links to your own shop or products. Drawbacks: 10 links is a real cap on the free plan, custom domains are not available yet (pages live at lit.bio/yourname), our 10% tip fee is higher than hoo.be Pro or Stan, and lit.bio is a newer, smaller product than Linktree or Beacons. A one-click Linktree importer brings over your links, socials, bio and photo.
Which link in bio tools shut down?
Bento.me closed on February 13, 2026, and its links now redirect to Linktree, which had acquired it. Former users can see our Bento.me alternative guide.
How to choose the right link in bio tool
- List what the page must do today: links only, tips, digital products, bookings, or a media kit for brands.
- If links are all you need, pick a free plan whose cap and branding you can live with: Linktree, Beacons, hoo.be, Milkshake or lit.bio.
- If you sell, estimate monthly sales. Under a few hundred dollars a month, a percentage fee usually costs less than a flat plan. Above roughly $500 a month, Stan or a 0% top tier on Linktree, Beacons or hoo.be usually wins.
- If your own domain is essential, choose Carrd, Beacons Creator, Milkshake Pro+, Komi Pro or hoo.be Premium.
- Build a test page, open it from inside Instagram on your phone, and check speed and click stats before switching.
Hidden costs to check before you switch
- Processing on top of platform fees. Card fees apply everywhere. Add them to any percentage in the table.
- Branding removal. It often sits one tier above the entry plan. Price the plan you would actually use.
- Per-site pricing. Milkshake and Carrd count websites, so two pages can cost more.
Why one link-in-bio URL is still worth getting right
Your bio link is the one tap every platform gives you, so the tool behind it should match how you earn. Start on the free plan that fits today and upgrade only when fees or limits cost more than the upgrade. If a free, ad-free page with up to 10 links, every theme and click analytics sounds right, lit.bio takes a couple of minutes to set up, with Pro at $9 a month or $49 once. Start free