Links vs Stan Store: free bio link vs paid storefront
Stan Store is a paid all-in-one store with courses and checkout built in. Links is a free bio link that sends fans straight to the store you already use, keeping 100% of your revenue. Here is the honest comparison.
Feature comparison
An honest look at how Links and Stan Store stack up.
Monthly price
Transaction fees
Smart deep links
Shield protection
Analytics
Email subscribers
Tracked story links
Built-in store & courses
| Feature | Links | Stan Store |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | Free | $29/month (Creator plan) |
| Transaction fees | None (link to your own checkout) | 5% on the Creator plan |
| Smart deep links | Yes, bypasses the Instagram webview | No |
| Shield protection | Yes, blocks risky crawlers | No |
| Analytics | Full click tracking, free | Basic, included |
| Email subscribers | Built-in capture, free — own your audience | Yes, with email marketing |
| Tracked story links | Yes, short links with per-story click tracking | No |
| Built-in store & courses | No (link to Gumroad, Shopify, etc.) | Yes, native checkout + courses |
Links for a free bio link; Stan Store for a hosted storefront
Stan Store earns its place if you want your checkout, courses, and email all hosted in one product and you're fine paying $29/month plus a 5% cut for that convenience. Links takes nothing and does one thing exceptionally: a fast bio link with deep links that send fans to the store you already run, so you keep every dollar. If you already sell on Gumroad, Shopify, or Stripe, Links is the cheaper, faster front door.
No credit card required
Common questions
It depends on how you sell. If you mainly use Stan Store as a bio link with a simple store, Links plus a free Gumroad account does the same for $0 instead of $29/month. If you rely on Stan Store's hosted courses and email, you may want to keep it and use Links as your bio link for better click-through.
No. Links never touches your payments. You link to your own checkout (Gumroad, Shopify, Stripe, Etsy), so you keep 100% of revenue. Stan Store's Creator plan takes 5% on top of the $29/month fee.
When fans tap a link from Instagram, it normally opens in the in-app webview where checkout forms break. Links' smart deep links open the real browser, so your Gumroad or Shopify checkout works and more people finish the purchase.
“I was paying $29/month for Stan Store and losing 5% on every sale. Moved my products to Gumroad and used Links as my bio link. Same revenue, zero monthly fees, and my checkout actually works from Instagram.”
Tasha W.
Digital product creator, 33K followers
“Free, no transaction fees, my Etsy links work. Saved $348 a year.”
Bri N.
Template designer