Beacons vs Stan Store (2026): fees, pricing and who each is for
Beacons is free but takes 9% of sales until you pay $30 a month; Stan Store has no free plan but takes 0%. The break-even point, features and a free 0% option.
By Max · Founder of mssg.me and Stick
· 5 min read
The short answer
Beacons is free to start but takes 9% of every sale on its Free and $10 Creator plans; paying $30 a month for Creator Plus brings that to 0%. Stan Store has no free plan: it costs $29 a month after a 14-day trial and takes 0% of sales. If you sell less than about $320 a month, Beacons Free costs less; above that, Stan or Beacons Creator Plus does. If you'd rather pay nothing and keep 0%, Stick, made by our team, is free with no fee on sales.
Beacons and Stan Store both let creators sell from a link in bio, but they're built around different ideas. Beacons is a broad toolkit with a free plan; Stan is a focused storefront you pay for from day one. Prices below were checked on October 9, 2026.
Beacons vs Stan Store at a glance
| Beacons | Stan Store | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | No, 14-day free trial |
| Paid plans (billed monthly) | Creator $10, Creator Plus $30, Creator Max $100 | Creator $29, Creator Pro $99 |
| Billed yearly | $100, $300 or $900 a year | $300 or $948 a year |
| Fee on your sales | 9% on Free and Creator, 0% from Creator Plus | 0% on every plan |
| What you can sell | Digital products, courses, memberships | Digital products, courses, coaching calls and bookings |
| Beyond the store | Email marketing, media kit, websites, Instagram DM automation, AI tools | Built around the storefront and checkout |
| Best for | Creators who want one tool for everything, starting free | Creators selling courses or coaching who want a focused checkout |
Stripe or PayPal processing fees apply on top of both.
The fee math
The choice mostly comes down to how much you sell. Here's the monthly cost at different sales levels, before payment processing:
| Monthly sales | Beacons Free (9%) | Beacons Creator Plus ($30) | Stan Store Creator ($29) | Stick (free, 0%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $100 | $9 | $30 | $29 | $0 |
| $300 | $27 | $30 | $29 | $0 |
| $500 | $45 | $30 | $29 | $0 |
| $2,000 | $180 | $30 | $29 | $0 |
Beacons Free is cheaper until roughly $322 a month in sales ($29 divided by 9%). Above that, a flat subscription wins, and Stan Creator and Beacons Creator Plus cost almost the same. Avoid Beacons Creator ($10 a month) if selling is your main goal: it still takes 9%.
What each is better at
Stan Store is built to sell. Its storefront puts products, courses, coaching calls and bookings on one page with checkout right there, and its paid plans exist to support that: there's no free tier to grow out of. If you already know you'll sell a course or coaching every month, Stan's single price is easy to plan around.
Beacons does more around the store: email marketing (50 sends a month free, 500 on Creator, unlimited on Creator Plus), a media kit for brand deals, websites, Instagram DM automation and AI credits for writing and images. That's useful if brand deals are a big part of your income, and more than you need if you only sell one product.
Which should you pick?
- Choose Beacons Free if you're just starting to sell and your sales are small; you'll pay only when you earn.
- Choose Beacons Creator Plus if you sell steadily and also want built-in email and a media kit.
- Choose Stan Store if you sell courses, coaching or bookings and want a focused storefront with one predictable bill.
A free option with 0% fees: Stick
Stick is our team's link in bio builder. It's free, with every block and theme included, and its Digital Product block sells files or links through Stripe with no Stick fee: the money goes straight to your Stripe account, and the buyer gets the file by email. Views and clicks per link are free as well.
What Stick doesn't do yet: courses, coaching bookings, memberships, your own domain or removing the Stick badge, and the editor is English-only. If you need those today, Stan or Beacons Creator Plus fits better; if you sell digital files and want to keep every dollar above Stripe's fees, Stick does that for free.
Related: Stan Store alternatives, Linktree vs Beacons.
Sources
Checked on October 9, 2026: Beacons pricing and Stan Store pricing. Prices change and can vary by country.
Questions people ask
Is Beacons cheaper than Stan Store?
If you sell less than about $320 a month, yes: Beacons' free plan takes 9% of sales, which comes to less than Stan's $29 subscription at that level. Above that, Stan Store or Beacons Creator Plus ($30 a month, 0% fees) costs less.
Does Stan Store have a free plan?
No. Stan Store offers a 14-day free trial, then costs $29 a month for Creator or $99 a month for Creator Pro, with 0% transaction fees.
What does Beacons charge on sales?
9% on the Free and Creator plans and 0% on Creator Plus ($30 a month) and Creator Max, plus payment processing fees.
mssg.me and Stick are made by the same team. We point you to whichever one fits the job, and we say so when we do.
About the author
Founder of mssg.me and Stick
Max is the founder of mssg.me, the mobile website builder people have used to create more than 100,000 websites and a Google for Startups Ukraine Support Fund recipient, and of Stick, a link in bio builder for creators. He writes about link in bio pages, messenger links and selling on social media.