Beacons alternatives: five options, from simple lists to stores
Five alternatives to Beacons, from quick link lists to designed one-pagers and illustrated casas, plus the cases where Beacons remains the better fit.
Beacons packs a lot into one link: a link-in-bio page, a store, email sending, a media kit, Instagram auto-replies and a website builder. For a creator running a small business from their profile, that is a lot of convenience in one login.
For others it is more than they need. Maybe you only sell occasionally, or you already have a shop elsewhere, or you want a page that looks less like a storefront. This page lists five alternatives, names the trade-offs of each in plain words, and ends with the cases where staying put is the better choice. We make Mini Casa, so read our part knowing that. Every fact about another product links to its own page and shows when we checked it.
Why people look for a Beacons alternative
The reasons creators look around tend to fall into a few groups. Some want simplicity: fewer tabs, fewer settings, a page that takes ten minutes. Some want a different feel, because a commerce-first page can look like a catalogue when they want it to look like them. Some already sell through a dedicated shop, a marketplace or a booking service and only need a signpost to it.
Others are thinking about cost. Seller fees and plan levels matter more as sales grow, so it is worth checking what each plan unlocks against what you actually use. And some simply want to separate jobs: one tool for selling, one for email, one for the page people see first.
If you sell every day, many tools in one place can save real time. If you sell twice a year, a simpler page and a link to your shop may serve you just as well.
It can help to list the tools you actually opened last month. Picture an illustrator who sells a print run each spring, sends a short letter every few weeks and otherwise shares new drawings. Her list might be a shop, a mailing service and a page that introduces her. Seeing that list on paper usually makes the right shape obvious: one tool that does everything, or a calm page that points to a few tools that each do one thing.
There is no prize for using fewer services. What matters is that the page people tap first is easy to keep current and says something true about you.
How we chose
Every option here can be set up by one person without code, and each gives you a page to put in your bio. For each, we read the provider's own pricing page and noted whether you can start without paying, what the first paid plan costs, whether their branding can be removed, whether you can collect email addresses, what visitor stats are offered, whether you can sell on the page, and what you start from design-wise.
We left out anything a provider does not state on its own site. Prices are shown as each provider publishes them in US dollars; they change and can vary by region, so use the source links to confirm before you switch.
We also kept an eye on what happens to your audience. Email addresses you collect belong to the relationship between you and your readers, so we note where a tool lets you collect them and where it expects you to connect your own mailing service.
The options at a glance
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Linktree
Best for: Creators who want a familiar, simple link list with occasional selling
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Carrd
Best for: Creators who want a designed one-page site and like arranging it
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Mini Casa
Best for: Creators who sell elsewhere and want a personal, illustrated first impression
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About.me
Best for: Creators whose bio link exists to get them booked or contacted
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A dedicated shop plus a simple page
Best for: Creators whose store has outgrown an all-in-one page
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Staying with Beacons
Best for: Creators who use its store, email and media kit together
1. Linktree
The familiar link list, with selling and email signups available too.
Linktree is the link page many visitors already recognise, which makes it a calm, predictable choice. It keeps the focus on links, and it also supports selling digital products, collecting email and phone signups, and themes you can restyle.
Free plan: Yes, a free plan with basic links1. First paid plan: USD 7 per month billed yearly, or USD 9 month to month (Starter), as of October 25, 20261. Selling on the page: Sell digital products and courses; Pro adds selling with 0% fees1.
If you want a lighter page that still lets you sell now and then, it is worth a look.
Maybe not for: People who want their page to look unlike a standard link list
At a glance
2. Carrd
A one-page site you arrange yourself, with forms and embeds on paid plans.
Carrd gives you a blank-ish canvas for one page. You place sections, images and buttons where you like, and on paid plans you can add signup forms and embed payment buttons from services you already use. Creators who want a page that looks designed, not templated, often land here.
Free plan: Yes, up to three sites per account2. Paid plans are yearly, starting at USD 9 per year (Pro Lite); custom domains start with Pro Standard, as of October 25, 20263. Email signups: Signup forms linked to an email service, on Pro Standard and above3.
You will do the arranging yourself, so give it an evening. In return the page will look exactly how you planned.
Maybe not for: Anyone who wants selling and email sending built in
At a glance
3. Mini Casa
A link page set inside a small illustrated casa, made for personality over commerce.
Mini Casa is the opposite of a storefront. Your links live inside a small illustrated scene with a resident and a few hidden details, such as the music hall in Encore Room or the printing works in Edition One. The page introduces you first and sends people onward second.
It suits creators who sell elsewhere, on a shop, a marketplace or a booking site, and want the first click to feel personal. You can add posts and portfolio pieces as your page grows.
To be clear about what it does not do: there is no store, checkout, media kit or campaign email. A newsletter signup form exists, but it is in preview, and there is no way to write or send emails to your subscribers from your casa. If those tools are the reason you use Beacons, keep using them.
Maybe not for: Creators who need a store, media kit or email sending on the page
4. About.me
A clean profile page for an introduction and a way to get in touch.
Some creators use their bio link mostly to be booked: for commissions, workshops, voice work or brand deals. If that is you, a focused profile page can do the job without the rest. About.me gives you one page with a photo, headline and bio, plus a contact route.
Free plan: Yes, a free page at an about.me address4. First paid plan: USD 5 per month, billed as USD 60 a year (Standard), as of October 25, 20264.
There is no store and little room for many links, so it fits people who want to be contacted rather than browsed.
Maybe not for: Creators who need many links or a store
At a glance
5. A dedicated shop plus a simple page
Keep selling in a shop built for it, and point your bio link at a lighter page.
If your store is growing, a dedicated shop platform may handle stock, shipping, taxes and discounts better than any link page. Many creators run the shop there and keep their bio link deliberately simple: a short hello, the shop, the newest release and a mailing list.
It means two tools instead of one, and one more login. In return each tool does its own job well, and changing one does not disturb the other.
6. Staying with Beacons
If you use its store, email and media kit together, one tool is hard to beat for convenience.
Beacons is at its best when you use several of its tools at once. A creator who sells digital products, sends emails to buyers and pitches brands with an always-current media kit gets a lot from a single login. Its store is available on every plan: A store on every plan; 9% seller fee on Free and Creator, 0% from Creator Plus5.
If that describes your week, switching would mean stitching several services together, and that is rarely worth it. Stay, and revisit this page if your needs change.
At a glance
Side by side
| What you get | Mini Casa | BeaconsChecked October 25, 2026 | LinktreeChecked October 25, 2026 | CarrdChecked October 25, 2026 | About.meChecked October 25, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes: a free address and every free casa | Yes, a free plan5 | Yes, a free plan with basic links1 | Yes, up to three sites per account2 | Yes, a free page at an about.me address4 |
| Lowest paid plan | See the pricing page | USD 8.33 per month billed yearly, or USD 10 month to month (Creator)5 | USD 7 per month billed yearly, or USD 9 month to month (Starter)1 | USD 9 per year (Pro Lite); custom domains start with Pro Standard3 | USD 5 per month, billed as USD 60 a year (Standard)4 |
| Selling on the page | No store; link to the shop you use | A store on every plan; 9% seller fee on Free and Creator, 0% from Creator Plus5 | Sell digital products and courses; Pro adds selling with 0% fees1 | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Email signups | A signup form with confirmation, in preview | Email and phone collection on every plan; 50 email sends a month on Free5 | Email and phone sign-ups on every plan; mailing list integrations from Pro1 | Signup forms linked to an email service, on Pro Standard and above3 | Not applicable |
| Removing their branding | Every casa shows a small Made with Mini Casa link | On the Creator Plus plan and above5 | On the Pro plan and above1 | On every Pro plan3 | On the Pro plan4 |
| Visitor stats | Visits and link activity, in preview | Real-time analytics on every plan5 | Basic analytics from Starter; all-time analytics on Premium1 | Through Google Analytics, Plausible and others, on Pro Standard and above3 | Page stats through Google Analytics, on the Pro plan4 |
| Templates | Illustrated casas with a resident | A website template library on every plan5 | Custom designs on Pro and above1 | Premium starting-point templates on every Pro plan, including Pro Lite3 | Not applicable |
Start from what your page has to do this month. If it sells every day, keep the tools that sell. If it mostly introduces you, a lighter page is easier to keep current, and your shop can live next door. If you would like that lighter page to feel like a little place of its own, see how link pages work in Mini Casa, or open Matcha Moment to see a casa in full.
Thinking about email? Our guide to launching a newsletter waitlist explains what to promise people before they sign up.
Questions people ask
Can I keep selling if I move my bio link?
Yes. Your shop can stay wherever it is today. Point your new link page at the shop, test the purchase path on your phone, then update your bio. Only move the store itself if the shop tool is the problem.
What happens to my email subscribers if I switch?
Export them from your current tool first, then import them into the mailing service you will use next. Keep the promise you made when they signed up, and tell them if anything about the emails changes.
Can I email my subscribers from Mini Casa?
No. Mini Casa has a signup form with a confirmation step, which is in preview, but no tool for writing or sending emails. You can export confirmed subscribers to the mailing service you use.
Sources
- Linktree: Linktree pricing, checked October 25, 2026
- Carrd: Carrd home page, checked October 25, 2026
- Carrd: Carrd Pro plans, checked October 25, 2026
- About.me: about.me pricing, checked October 25, 2026
- Beacons: Beacons pricing, checked October 25, 2026
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