Looking to sell digital products through your social media bio? 

I've spent months testing both Beacons and Stan Store, and I'm sharing everything you need to know to pick the right platform for your creator business.

Content creators today have more ways than ever to monetize their online presence. 

Two popular "link-in-bio" storefront platforms – Beacons and Stan Store – have emerged as go-to solutions for selling digital products, services, and more directly to fans.

Both launched around 2020 and have attracted large user bases. 

Beacons is used by over 3 million creators as of 2023, while Stan Store reached $14.7M in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2023. 

But which platform is the better fit for your needs?

What is Beacons?

Beacons (often called Beacons.ai) started as a customizable link-in-bio tool and expanded into a full digital storefront with integrated monetization features.

Creators can build a personal landing page that links to all their content and also sell digital products, memberships, and accept appointments directly from that page. 

It's known for its user-friendly interface (no coding required) and versatility – offering everything from an online course builder to email marketing tools.

A major advantage is Beacons' free plan, which makes it easy for beginners to start monetizing with no upfront cost (though a transaction fee applies). 

In short, Beacons is designed for influencers and creators who want a central hub for their online presence with built-in ways to make money.

What is Stan Store?

Stan Store (often just "Stan") is a creator monetization platform focused heavily on e-commerce functionality within a link-in-bio context. 

It gained popularity especially among TikTok and Instagram creators looking to sell digital products and services to their followers.

It allows users to set up a custom online store page where they can list offerings like e-books, online courses, coaching calls, or memberships, and share that store via their social profile link. 

Stan's emphasis is on helping creators make sales quickly and seamlessly – it integrates payment gateways so you can start selling in minutes, without needing a full website.

Unlike Beacons, Stan does not offer a free plan (only a trial); it's a premium tool built for monetization, offering robust sales features (courses, subscriptions, analytics, etc.) in paid tiers. 

In summary, Stan Store is essentially an all-in-one online store in your bio, ideal for creators whose primary goal is to generate revenue from digital products or services.

Features Comparison

Digital Product Sales and Monetization

Both platforms enable creators to sell a variety of digital goods and services directly through their link-in-bio page, including digital downloads, online courses, memberships, and appointments.

Stan Store is built specifically for e-commerce. 

It supports features like paid coaching calls (integrating with Zoom for scheduling) and unlimited course hosting on its higher plan.

Beacons supports product sales through its "Store block," but goes further with unique monetization options such as a Tips/Donations block and a Requests block (where followers can pay for personalized requests). 

This means Beacons provides multiple ways to monetize beyond just product listings.

For courses and memberships, both platforms have solid offerings. 

Stan includes a course builder with progress tracking for students on even its basic plan. 

Beacons offers similar functionality, but note that on Beacons' free plan there may be limits – they offer a "Courses" add-on for $20/month to unlock unlimited courses and video hosting.

Link-in-Bio Page and Customization

Because both are essentially link-in-bio solutions, how your page looks and can be customized is important.

Beacons shines in customization. 

Users can create a fully customized landing page by arranging content "blocks" (links, videos, music players, product listings, etc.). 

You get a variety of design options – choose layouts, backgrounds (even animated backgrounds), fonts, colors – to match your personal brand. 

Beacons even allows connecting a custom domain for your page on Pro plans.

Stan Store provides a link-in-bio style page, but its design is more of a "shop-like" layout focused on your products/services. 

You can list multiple offerings and links, but Stan's templates emphasize simplicity and conversion, rather than flashy customization. 

Compared to Beacons, Stan has fewer design customization options for the landing page itself.

Both Beacons and Stan are optimized for mobile visitors, which is crucial since most social media traffic is mobile.

Analytics and Marketing Tools

Both Stan and Beacons include built-in analytics dashboards. Stan Store provides detailed sales analytics and customer behavior insights, showing how your courses or products are performing and even tracking student progress.

Beacons offers analytics for your link-in-bio page and store as well. Both platforms support adding tracking pixels and codes: Stan's Pro plan allows Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics integration, while Beacons supports Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, TikTok Pixel, etc.

For email marketing, the platforms differ significantly. Stan Store includes an email list builder on its basic plan, but actual email marketing is only unlocked on the $99/month Pro plan. Beacons provides email marketing at a much lower entry point – even the free plan includes some email functionality, letting you send up to 500 marketing emails to your subscribers.

A few other marketing tools worth noting:

• Coupons and Discounts: Both platforms support promotional discount codes, though Stan's are only on the Pro plan.

• Media Kit and Brand Deals: Beacons has a built-in media kit generator and a brand deal pricing calculator to help creators pitch themselves to sponsors. Stan Store does not have this feature.

• AI Tools: Beacons 2.0 introduced AI-powered features that can auto-generate product descriptions, create marketing emails, and help design your media kit. Stan's use of AI is more limited.

Payment Processing and Transaction Fees

Both Beacons and Stan integrate with popular payment processors to handle transactions securely.

Stan Store allows creators to connect Stripe and PayPal accounts to accept payments. Stan even supports region-specific payment methods through Stripe and can handle one-time or recurring payments for subscriptions.

Beacons also supports Stripe-powered payments and uses PayPal for payouts. Creators can link PayPal to get paid out every 7-14 days. Both platforms support buy-now-pay-later options through Affirm, Klarna, or Afterpay for higher-ticket items.

One of the biggest differences is the fee structure:

• Stan Store does not charge any platform transaction fees on sales. Both its $29 and $99 plans boast 0% Stan fees, so creators keep 100% of their revenue (minus standard payment processor fees).

• Beacons has a free plan that charges a 9% transaction fee on every sale. Once you upgrade to a paid plan, Beacons' platform fee is removed (0% fee on paid plans). The entry-level paid plan is just $10/month to eliminate that 9% cut.

Pricing Models

Stan Store Pricing: Stan is a premium paid platform with two plan options:

• Creator Plan – $29/month (or ~$300/year): This includes a mobile-optimized store page, ability to sell courses, appointments, subscriptions, basic analytics, and an email lead capture form. The Creator plan has no transaction fees on sales.

• Creator Pro Plan – $99/month (or ~$948/year): This higher tier includes everything in the basic plan, plus advanced features like email marketing capabilities, discount codes & upsells, payment plan options for customers, and affiliate program management.

Importantly, Stan does not have a free plan – you can only try it for 14 days free and then you must subscribe.

Beacons Pricing: Beacons has a freemium model with multiple paid tiers:

• Free Plan – $0/month: Create your link-in-bio page, use basic customization, sell products and services with a 9% transaction fee, and use limited email and AI tools.

• Creator (Pro) Plan – $10/month: Removes Beacons branding and the 9% fee, meaning you keep 100% of sales. It also unlocks additional customization and monetization features, including memberships. You get to send more emails (500+ per month) and access better analytics.

• Business Plan – $20–$30/month: Includes advanced analytics, priority support, and enhanced customization options. You get everything from the $10 plan plus unlimited usage of certain features.

• VIP/Enterprise – $50+/month: For creators who need the full suite, including personalized support and all add-ons.

In terms of value, Beacons wins on affordability and flexibility, while Stan Store provides a comprehensive toolkit especially at the $99 level – potentially replacing several separate tools.

Ease of Use and User Experience

Both Beacons and Stan Store are designed to be user-friendly with no coding required, but their approaches differ:

Stan Store prides itself on a simple, fast setup – marketed as "the easiest way to make money online" where you can be ready to sell in minutes. The onboarding process is straightforward: add your products, connect payment processing, and your store link is ready to share. Many users appreciate that Stan is streamlined – it does one thing (selling through your bio link) very well.

Beacons, while still easy to use, offers more features to explore. The process of building your Beacons page is intuitive (drag-and-drop blocks), but because you have many customization settings, it might take longer to perfect your page. The difference is that you could spend hours tweaking a Beacons page design, whereas Stan doesn't invite as much tinkering.

One review summarized it well: Stan Store's interface is optimized for selling fast, while Beacons' interface is optimized for customizing your online presence.

Best-Suited Audience and Use Cases

Stan Store is best suited for:

• Creators focused primarily on selling digital products or services. If your main goal is to monetize via things like e-books, online courses, coaching calls, or memberships, Stan is designed specifically for you.

• Entrepreneurs and course creators. Stan is ideal for entrepreneurs, coaches, and educators who want to build a revenue-generating funnel from their social media audience.

• Serious sellers who value conversion optimization. Stan is great for creators who treat their content like a business and want to optimize sales without platform fees.

Beacons is best suited for:

• Creators who want a versatile, customizable link-in-bio hub. If you need to share many things (YouTube videos, Spotify tracks, blog links, etc.) and also sell products, Beacons shines.

• Visual or design-oriented creators. Since Beacons allows more design customization, creators who care about on-brand aesthetics will prefer Beacons.

• Budget-conscious or new creators testing monetization. The free plan makes Beacons very attractive for those just starting out who aren't sure how much they'll sell.

• Creators who need multiple tools in one. Beacons includes a media kit builder, email newsletter, link shortener, QR code generator, and more in one platform.

In essence, Stan Store targets the creator-turned-entrepreneur who is sales-driven, while Beacons targets the creator-as-influencer who wants an all-encompassing digital presence with monetization layered in.

Pros and Cons Summary

Beacons Pros

• Free to start: Lower barrier to entry with a free-forever plan

• Rich feature set: All-in-one toolkit including link-in-bio page, digital store, email marketing, media kit

• High customization: Highly customizable page design with multiple content blocks

• Integrated AI tools: Advanced AI features that can generate content and give recommendations

• Email marketing included: Native email capability even on free/low tiers

• Multiple monetization methods: Products, memberships, paid requests, appointments, tips/donations

• Third-party friendly: Integrates with external tools like Mailchimp, Shopify, Zapier

Beacons Cons

• Transaction fees on free plan: The 9% fee can cut into earnings

• Potentially overwhelming: Many features and customization options

• Less specialized e-commerce features: Lacks some of the deep e-commerce optimizations that Stan has

• Branding on free version: The free plan carries Beacons branding on your page

Stan Store Pros

• Built for monetization: Highly optimized for selling digital products and services

• No platform fees: 0% transaction fees on all plans

• E-commerce powerhouse features: One-click upsells, order bumps, coupon codes, affiliate program

• Courses and memberships included: Built-in course hosting and subscription support

• Easy setup and use: Quick to set up a store with a user-friendly interface

• Professional look and analytics: Polished storefront vibe with detailed sales analytics

• Integration with Stripe/PayPal: Control and immediate access to funds

• Strong for coaching/consulting: Built-in calendar booking and Zoom integration

Stan Store Cons

• No free plan: Requires a paid subscription after the 14-day trial

• Higher price point: Significantly more expensive than Beacons' equivalent plans

• Less versatile as a general link hub: Primarily for selling, not a profile micro-site

• Less customizable design: Fewer options to customize look and layout

• Feature gating: Some useful features locked to the Pro tier ($99 plan)

• Dependence on external email until Pro: Can collect emails but not send newsletters on basic plan

Recent Updates Worth Knowing

• Beacons 2.0 Launch (Late 2023): Major platform expansion heavily integrating AI throughout the product. New AI capabilities help creators automate tasks like generating marketing copy and creating designs.

• AI Features: Beacons continues to roll out AI-driven features in 2024, while Stan has kept a lighter approach to AI with just a basic content assistant.

• Stan Store Changes: In early 2025 Stan sunset its "Funnels" feature for new users, encouraging creators to use one-page checkout with upsells instead. Stan has added a Community feature and improved its appointment integrations.

Making Your Decision

Both platforms can power your digital storefront and help you earn income online, but they have distinct strengths:

Choose Stan Store if you want a straightforward, monetization-focused platform that excels at selling digital products with no transaction fees. 

It's ideal for creators who are ready to invest in a premium tool and prioritize e-commerce features over extensive customization. 

Perfect for creators who are serious about turning content into a business with products and coaching offers.

Choose Beacons if you prefer a versatile platform that serves as a hub for all your content and marketing efforts. 

It's better for creators who want control over their page's look and the ability to mix various content alongside monetization. 

Great for growing creators who want to start free and scale up, especially those juggling multiple platforms or experimenting with different income streams.

For creators just starting to monetize, Beacons' free option offers a no-risk way to begin, whereas established creators with proven products might prefer Stan's $29 plan to avoid fees.

Building a direct monetization channel is a smart move for any creator. 

Both Beacons and Stan Store have empowered many creators to turn followers into customers – now it's your turn!