Beacons vs Payhip (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Payhip: it is second in our ranking of tools for selling digital products, and it grades higher too, 2.6 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Payhip grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and 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
Payhip
Store for downloads, courses and memberships, with a free plan
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 Payhip if
- Fits if you want a free store and only pay when something sells
- Works for sellers of courses, coaching and downloads who want EU, UK and US sales tax handled
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to email your buyers from the same place, as there are no campaigns
- Pricey if you sell a lot, since only Pro at $99 a month removes Payhip's fee
- Watch out: PayPal or Stripe fees come on top of the 5% or 2%, and no yearly price is on record
- Watch out: its help center says sellers with a physical presence in a US state may still have to file a zero-dollar return there
- Not for you if you want a phone or desktop app, as only the web is listed
How we grade them
| 2.2GPABeaconsFair | 2.6GPAPayhipGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CPlus at $29 a month plus its 2% fee ($20 on $1,000) comes to $49, a dollar under the free plan's 5% ($50). Pro at $99 drops the fee but costs more at this size. No yearly price is on record, and PayPal or Stripe fees come on top (not counted). |
| 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. | AFree Forever has every feature, unlimited products and unlimited revenue, with no cap you'd reach. Payhip takes 5% 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. | CDownloads, courses, coaching, memberships, physical products and bundles, plus coupons, affiliates and PDF stamping. The gap the listing names is email: there are no built-in campaigns, so buyers sync to ConvertKit or another service. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and the page, store and email all need building. | CNo App Store rating on record. Every plan has every feature, so there's nothing to unlock, but you still set up the store, your products and a PayPal or Stripe account. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no mobile apps or integrations listed. | BWeb, with Stripe, PayPal, Zapier, Zoom, Calendly and ConvertKit, plus buy buttons for WordPress, Squarespace, Wix and Shopify sites. No phone or desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | a link-in-bio page with a small shop | a free store for downloads, courses and coaching |
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 Payhip. 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. Payhip starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3.
Payhip scores higher, and starts $20.67 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other tools for selling digital products on the chart, 8 score higher than Beacons for less, and 7 score higher than Payhip 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 email campaigns.
- Payhip also covers affiliate tracking.
At a glance
| Beacons | Payhip | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $100 per year (Creator), or $10 per month billed monthly | $29 per month |
| 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. | Free Forever plan with all features, unlimited products and unlimited revenue; Payhip takes 5% of each sale on top of PayPal or Stripe fees. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Beacons | Payhip |
| Price read from | beacons.ai | payhip.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.
Payhip
- The free plan takes 5% of each sale and Plus takes 2%, on top of PayPal or Stripe fees; only Pro at $99 a month removes Payhip's fee.
- Payhip has no built-in email campaigns: a newsletter block collects followers for export, and buyers sync to a separate email service.
- Payments go through the seller's own PayPal, Stripe or regional gateway account, such as Square, Razorpay or Paystack.
- Sellers with a physical presence in a US state may still have to file a zero-dollar sales tax return there, Payhip's help center says.
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.
Payhip
- Many product types
- Digital downloads with variants, online courses, coaching with Calendly or Zoom scheduling, memberships, physical products and bundles.
- Sales tax handled
- Payhip collects and remits EU and UK VAT on digital sales and, from July 1, 2026, US sales tax as a marketplace facilitator, at no extra charge.
- Marketing tools
- Coupons, running sales, cross-selling, upgrade discounts, a referral system, customer reviews and an affiliate program.
- Store or embedded buttons
- A hosted store on a custom domain, or buy buttons added to WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly or Shopify sites.
- File protection
- Download limits, set to 5 by default, and PDF stamping that prints the buyer's email and purchase date on every page.
- Mailing list sync
- Buyers are added to lists in ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, AWeber, Drip, Flodesk, Klaviyo and other email services after a purchase.
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.
Payhip
Free Forever$0
All features, unlimited products and revenue. Payhip takes a 5% transaction fee on each sale; PayPal and Stripe charge their own fees too.
Plus$29
per month
The same features as Free Forever, with Payhip's transaction fee cut from 5% to 2% of each sale.
Pro$99
per month
The same features with no transaction fee from Payhip; only PayPal or Stripe processing fees apply.
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.
Payhip
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Beacons or Payhip?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Beacons is cheaper to start with: $8.33 a month when paid by the year, against $29 a month for Payhip. Beacons starts at $100 per year (Creator), or $10 per month billed monthly, and Payhip starts at $29 per month.
Which has a free plan, Beacons or Payhip?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Beacons and Payhip have a free plan.
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.