Beacons vs Gumroad (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Gumroad grades higher than Beacons: 2.6 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Beacons grades higher on value for money. Gumroad grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Beacons
Link in bio page with a store, email and media kit for creators
Which one is for you
Pick Beacons if
- Fits if you want a link-in-bio page, a media kit and a small shop in one place
- Works for a creator selling a few downloads
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you sell much, because the free plan takes 9% a sale and 0% needs $300 a year
- Skip it if you want courses or memberships on a cheaper plan, as they start at Creator Plus
- Tight if you email: 50 sends a month on Free and 500 on Creator
- Watch out: web only, as the pricing page lists no mobile apps
Pick Gumroad if
- Fits if you're testing a first digital product and don't want a monthly bill
- Works for sellers who want sales tax and VAT handled, at 10% + 50¢ a sale
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you sell steadily: 10% + 50¢ of each sale is $100 on $1,000, before card fees of 2.9% + $0.30
- Skip it if you sell physical goods, which Gumroad doesn't allow
- Not for you if you count on marketplace sales, since Discover takes a flat 30%
- Watch out: the iPhone and Android apps only track sales and open purchases; products are set up on the web
How we grade them
| 2.2GPABeaconsFair | 2.6GPAGumroadGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CCreator is $100 a year ($10 monthly), but 0% seller fees and courses start at Creator Plus, $300 a year ($30 monthly), above the category's $22 middle. | DNo monthly fee, but Gumroad keeps 10% + 50¢ of each direct sale: $100 on $1,000, plus 50¢ an order. Card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 comes on top and isn't counted. That's in this category's dearest tenth, though it does handle sales tax for you. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free plan with the link in bio, media kit, unlimited digital products at a 9% seller fee, 50 email sends a month and 30 daily AI credits. | ANothing to pay until you sell, with every feature, unlimited products and no cap a normal person would reach. The fee comes out of each sale instead, and the value grade counts that. |
| Features | CLink in bio, a store, email, a media kit and AI credits. The listing's gap: courses with video hosting and memberships are Creator Plus features. | BDownloads, memberships, courses, license keys, pay-what-you-want, email broadcasts and workflows, affiliates and a Discover marketplace. Physical goods aren't allowed, but that's outside this job, so nothing's missing from the core. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and the page, store and email all need building. | CNo App Store rating on record. You build a profile store with a page editor and set up products on the web; the iPhone and Android apps only track sales and open purchases. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no mobile apps or integrations listed. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Stripe, PayPal, Zapier, Discord and Circle, plus a checkout you can embed on your own site. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | a link-in-bio page with a small shop | a first digital product with no monthly bill |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Beacons and Gumroad. How we grade
Price against what you get
Beacons starts at $8.33 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Gumroad has no paid plan and scores 2.7.
Gumroad scores higher and starts $8.33 a month lower. Of the other tools for selling digital products on the chart, 8 score higher than Beacons for less, and none scores higher than Gumroad for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Beacons also covers online courses and online store.
- Gumroad also covers affiliate tracking and merchant of record.
At a glance
| Beacons | Gumroad | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $100 per year (Creator), or $10 per month billed monthly | Free |
| Free plan | Link in bio, media kit, unlimited digital products at a 9% seller fee, 50 email sends a month and 30 daily AI credits. | No monthly fee. Gumroad keeps 10% + $0.50 of each direct sale plus card processing (2.9% + $0.30), or a flat 30% on sales made through its Discover marketplace. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Beacons | Gumroad, Inc. |
| Price read from | beacons.ai | gumroad.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Beacons
- The Free plan takes a 9% seller fee; 0% fees start at Creator Plus, $300 per year.
- Courses with video hosting and memberships are Creator Plus features, not Creator.
- Plan prices are shown per year; the monthly figures are $10, $30 and $100.
- The pricing page lists no mobile apps, so the platform is recorded as web only.
Gumroad
- Gumroad keeps 10% + $0.50 of every direct sale plus 2.9% + $0.30 card processing; Discover marketplace sales cost a flat 30%.
- Physical goods are not allowed: Gumroad is for digital products, memberships and services only.
- Payouts go out by direct deposit or PayPal depending on the seller's country.
- The mobile apps track sales and open purchases, but accounts and products are set up on the web.
Key features
Beacons
- Link in bio page
- A customizable page that collects your links in one place, with real-time analytics on every plan.
- Store for digital products
- Sells unlimited digital products on the Free plan at a 9% seller fee; courses with video hosting and memberships need Creator Plus.
- Email sends
- Sends email to subscribers, capped at 50 a month on Free and 500 on Creator, and unlimited on Creator Plus and above.
- Instagram auto replies
- A Smart Reply feature answers Instagram direct messages automatically; it is listed on the Free plan.
- AI tools on daily credits
- Text, image, page-design and chat features draw on a daily credit allowance of 30, 300 or unlimited depending on the plan.
- Media kit and affiliate links
- A media kit that updates daily and tools to create affiliate links; Creator Plus lets you keep 100% of affiliate link commissions.
Gumroad
- Profile store or embedded checkout
- Build a storefront with Gumroad's page editor on a custom domain, or embed its checkout and follow button on a site you already have.
- Memberships and subscriptions
- Charge monthly, quarterly, twice a year or yearly, or a fixed number of payments, with members keeping access to a content library while subscribed.
- Merchant of record
- Gumroad collects and remits sales tax, VAT and GST on sales where it has an obligation, so sellers have no tax settings to manage.
- Software and file options
- License keys for software, several versions of one product (PDF, ePub or lossless audio), pay-what-you-want pricing and light DRM.
- Audience tools
- Import an email list, post updates, send email broadcasts and automated workflows, run an affiliate program and read sales analytics.
- Mobile apps
- iOS and Android apps show daily, monthly and all-time sales with push notifications, and let buyers open or download their purchases.
Plans
Beacons
Free$0
Link in bio, daily-updating media kit, unlimited digital products at a 9% seller fee, 50 email sends a month, 30 daily AI credits.
Creator$100
per year ($10 per month billed monthly)
Adds a free custom domain, 500 email sends a month, 300 daily AI credits and advanced SEO and marketing features.
Creator Plus$300
per year ($30 per month billed monthly)
0% seller fees, unlimited courses and memberships, unlimited emails and AI credits, Buy Now Pay Later at checkout.
Creator Max$1,000
per year ($100 per month billed monthly)
Adds a Google Workspace account, white glove onboarding, prioritized support and a physical NFC card linked to your page.
Gumroad
Direct sales$0
No subscription. The seller pays 10% + $0.50 of each sale through a profile or direct link, plus card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 or PayPal fees.
Discover marketplace$0
Sales to new customers who find you through Gumroad's Discover marketplace carry a flat 30% fee, which includes processing.
Ways to pay less
Beacons
- Annual discount
Two months free on annual billing
The pricing page labels the annual toggle as two months free; Creator is $100 a year against $10 a month, and the other paid plans follow the same pattern.
Gumroad
- Other savings
Lower fee above $20,000 in monthly sales
Once paid sales in a calendar month reach $20,000, new direct sales that month cost 5% + $0.50 instead of 10% + $0.50; it resets each month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Beacons or Gumroad?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Gumroad is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $8.33 a month when paid by the year for Beacons. Beacons starts at $100 per year (Creator), or $10 per month billed monthly, and Gumroad is free.
Which has a free plan, Beacons or Gumroad?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Beacons and Gumroad have a free plan.
Which platforms do Beacons and Gumroad run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Gumroad lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.