Linktree vs Beacons: honest breakdown for 2026
Two of the biggest link-in-bio tools, compared feature by feature. We also cover what both of them miss and why creators are switching to something else entirely.
Feature comparison
How Linktree, Beacons, and Links compare side by side.
| Feature | Links | Linktree | Beacons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analytics on the free plan | Full click tracking | None, analytics start at Starter | Real-time analytics included |
| Cheapest paid tier | No paid tier | Starter, $6/mo billed annually | Creator, $8.33/mo billed annually |
| Custom domain | Coming soon | Premium, $30/mo billed annually | Creator, $8.33/mo billed annually |
| Seller fees on digital products | None, you link to your own checkout | 9%, 0% only on Premium | 9%, 0% on Creator Plus |
| Branding on the free page | None | Linktree branding until Pro | Beacons branding |
| Smart deep links | Yes, opens real browser from Instagram | No | No |
| Shield protection | Yes, blocks risky crawlers | No | No |
| Built-in store | No, link to your own store | Limited | Yes |
Both are good. Neither solves the real problem.
Linktree is simple and widely used. Beacons has more features. But neither one fixes the biggest issue Instagram creators face: the broken webview. When a fan taps your bio link, Instagram opens it in a mini browser that breaks checkouts, slows load times, and kills conversions. Links is the only tool that bypasses this with smart deep links. It's also free, loads faster than both, and protects your account from risky crawlers. If clicks and conversions matter to you, try Links before picking between Linktree and Beacons.
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Common questions
It depends on what you need. Linktree is simpler and faster to set up. Beacons has more built-in tools like a store, email capture, and media kit. But both share the same weakness: they don't fix the Instagram webview problem. Your fans still get a slow, broken experience when they tap from Instagram.
Linktree has a free plan with unlimited links, but it's limited. You get Linktree branding on your page, no analytics line at all, and no custom domains. Their paid plans run $6/month for Starter, $12 for Pro and $30 for Premium, billed annually. Figures read from linktr.ee/s/pricing on 7 August 2026.
Beacons has a free plan, but it includes Beacons branding on your page and limited features. Their Creator Pro plan is $10/month and removes branding while adding more tools. If you want to sell products through the Beacons store on the free plan, they also take a percentage of your sales as a transaction fee. Links is completely free with no branding, no feature limits, and no transaction fees because you link to your own store instead of selling through the platform.
Links is a free link-in-bio tool built specifically for Instagram creators. We included it because it solves a problem neither Linktree nor Beacons addresses: the Instagram webview. Links uses smart deep links to open the real browser, which means faster loads and higher conversions. It also has shield protection to keep your account safe from crawlers.
Yes. It takes about 2 minutes to switch. Create a free Links account, add the same URLs you currently have on Linktree or Beacons, and update your Instagram bio with your new Links URL. You can keep your Linktree or Beacons page active while you test Links and compare the analytics. This way you can see the speed difference and how smart deep links improve your click-through rate before making the final switch.
Linktree tiers read from linktr.ee/s/pricing on 7 August 2026, layout re-checked 25 September 2026. Beacons tiers read from beacons.ai/i/pricing on 25 September 2026, a page it publishes itself and dates 17 September 2026. Both figures are the annual rate; month to month costs more on each. The rows that carried unsourced setup times and a customization verdict were dropped rather than restated: a comparison is only worth reading where the claim can be checked.