HiHello vs Linq (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, HiHello grades higher than Linq: 2.8 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 by ToolGPA
HiHello grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
HiHello
Digital business cards, email signatures and lead capture for teams
Linq
NFC business cards and a pocket CRM with a second phone line
Which one is for you
Pick HiHello if
- Fits if you want a free card with a few paper card scans a month
- Works for teams of 5 to 100 that want signatures pushed to Gmail or Outlook
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a physical NFC card from the same company, as HiHello sells none and you'd write your card to your own tag
- Tight if your team is under five, since Business bills five users at least, $25 a month on yearly billing
- Not for you if you need CRM sync on your own: it needs Business, and SSO, SCIM and the contact webhook need Enterprise
- Pricey if you upgrade inside the iPhone app, at $9 a month or $84 a year against $8 and $72 on the website
- Watch out: Business stops at 100 users, and the lower per-user prices from 26 and 51 users aren't published
Pick Linq if
- Fits if you want a separate work number with call notes in the same app as your card
- Works for teams buying many cards or badges at once, with 15% to 60% off bulk orders
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you just want a card, because every Linq product needs Linq One at $29 a user a month to activate
- Tight if you're staying free: the app shows only your 5 most recent contacts and can't switch on a card
- Not for you if you want a native CRM link, as Linq connects through Zapier or webhooks only
- Watch out: Linq's main site now sells an iMessage API and says it's no longer a digital business card company
- Watch out: the App Store still sells older Linq Pro plans the help pages no longer describe, and the trial length isn't stated
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAHiHelloGood | 2.0GPALinqFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CProfessional is $6 a month on yearly billing for one person, and Business $5 a user with five users at least, which is this category's middle. Bought in the iOS app, Professional is $9 a month or $84 a year, against $8 and $72 on the website. | DLinq One is $29 a user a month, or $249 a year (about $20.75 a month), in this category's dearest tenth, where the middle is $5. A card bought on top, $14.99 to $59.99, won't work without it. |
| Free plan and trial | BPersonal is free with no time limit: 2 cards, sharing by QR, widget, SMS, WhatsApp and wallet, a personal email signature and 5 card or badge scans a month. One person can live on that unless they scan a lot. | CThe app is free, but a free account shows only your 5 most recent contacts and can't activate a Linq card or any other NFC product. You hit that cap on day one. |
| Features | CCards, a scanner with enrichment from Professional, signatures deployed to Gmail and Outlook, lead forms, CRM sync and a company directory. The listing's gap: HiHello sells no NFC cards, so a tap means writing your card to a tag you already own. | CContact pages, NFC cards and badges, lead forms, a card scanner, enrichment, a second phone number with call transcription and AI summaries, and a team dashboard. The listing's gap: no native CRM, only Zapier or webhooks. |
| Ease of use | AHiHello rates 4.9 on the US App Store from 45,197 ratings, the top of our ease ladder. | CNo store rating on record. Before a card works you buy it, subscribe to Linq One and activate it in the app, and the trial length isn't stated. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics 365, Google Contacts, Gmail, Outlook, Zoom and Entra ID. No desktop app, so on a computer it's the browser. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Zapier, webhooks, Calendly, Acuity Scheduling and Apple Wallet. No desktop app and no native CRM integration. |
| Best for | cards and email signatures on one brand | an NFC card with a second work phone line |
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: HiHello and Linq. How we grade
Price against what you get
HiHello starts at $5 a month for each person and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Linq starts at $29 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
HiHello scores higher and starts $24 a month lower. Of the other digital business cards on the chart, 1 scores higher than HiHello for less, and 6 score higher than Linq 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
- Linq also covers business phone line.
At a glance
| HiHello | Linq | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per user / month, billed yearly (Business, five-user minimum) | $29 per user / month (Linq One) |
| Free plan | Personal plan: 2 cards, sharing by QR code, widget, email, SMS and WhatsApp, Apple and Google Wallet, a personal email signature, virtual backgrounds and 5 card or badge scans a month. | The app is free and Linq calls Linq One optional, but a free account shows only the 5 most recent contacts and cannot activate a Linq card or other NFC product. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Professional, and of Business for teams of five or more | Free trial on Linq One's monthly plan in the iOS app; the length is not stated |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | HiHello, Inc. | Linq, LLC |
| Price read from | hihello.com | linqapp.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
HiHello
- Business needs at least five users ($25 a month on yearly billing) and stops at 100; larger teams move to Enterprise.
- CRM sync, Gmail and Outlook signature deployment and the admin dashboard need Business; SAML SSO, SCIM and a contact webhook need Enterprise.
- HiHello sells no NFC cards: you write your card to an NFC tag you already own.
- Professional bought in the iOS app costs $9 a month or $84 a year, against $8 and $72 on the website.
Linq
- Every Linq card or NFC product needs an active Linq One subscription ($29 per user a month) to work; buying the product does not include account access.
- Linq's main site now sells an iMessage API and says it is no longer a digital business card company, though the card store and apps are still live.
- CRMs connect through Zapier or webhooks; Linq's help says the app has no native one-click CRM integrations.
- The US App Store still lists older Linq Pro ($4.99 a month or $49.99 a year) and Pro Plus purchases that Linq's help pages no longer describe.
Key features
HiHello
- Cards and sharing
- Two cards free and eight on Professional, shared by QR code, widget, email, SMS, WhatsApp, Apple or Google Wallet, offline, or from an Apple Watch.
- Universal Contact Scanner
- Scans paper cards, event badges and QR codes into contacts: 5 a month free, 20 on Professional and 50 per user on Business, pooled across the team.
- Email Signature Manager
- Everyone gets a personal signature. Business deploys template signatures to Gmail and Outlook, with legal disclaimers and banner campaigns beneath them.
- Lead capture and events
- Business adds lead capture forms with consent, event tracking and analytics, and sends leads straight to Salesforce, HubSpot or Microsoft Dynamics 365.
- Business Contact Manager
- Unlimited contacts that update themselves, with notes and tags. On team plans, contacts stay with the company when someone leaves.
- Directory and partner cards
- Business adds a searchable company directory. Enterprise extends branded cards to affiliates, contractors and franchisees through self-enrollment.
Linq
- Linq pages
- A contact page with links, photos, video, Calendly embeds and a lead form. Linq One allows more than one page, with two pages per seat.
- NFC and QR products
- Cards, mini cards, badges and hubs open your page with a tap or scan; Hyper Linq products show an iPhone App Clip preview that Linq One can customize.
- Contact capture and follow-up
- People who tap your card can send their details back. Linq One adds a paper card scanner, contact enrichment, reminders, follow-up templates and message snippets.
- Linq Phone
- Linq One includes a second phone number with call forwarding, call recording and transcription, AI call summaries, text suggestions and auto-replies.
- Team admin dashboard
- Admins add team members, activate and reassign products, manage phone numbers, bulk-edit pages and publish a team directory.
Plans
HiHello
Personal$0
One user: 2 cards, wallet and messaging sharing, a personal email signature, virtual backgrounds and 5 scans a month.
Professional$6
per month, billed yearly ($8 billed monthly)
One user: 8 cards, your colors, fonts and video, branded QR codes, card analytics and 20 scans a month with contact enrichment.
Business$5
per user / month, billed yearly ($6 billed monthly)
5 to 100 users: templates, signatures pushed to Gmail and Outlook, lead forms, CRM sync, a company directory and 50 scans per user.
EnterpriseCustom
100+ users: unlimited cards, scans and enrichment, SAML SSO and SCIM, a branded subdomain, invoice billing and a dedicated account team.
Linq
Free$0
A Linq page in the app that shows only your 5 most recent contacts. Cards and other NFC products cannot be activated.
Linq One$29
per user / month, billed monthly ($249 per user billed yearly)
2 pages per seat, lead forms, card scanner, enrichment, a second number with call transcription and AI summaries, CRM links and admin tools.
Linq Card$14.99
one-time, per card
NFC and QR card that opens your Linq page; needs Linq One to activate. Custom printed $34.99, metal $39.99, engraved metal $59.99.
Ways to pay less
HiHello
- Annual discount
Save up to 25% with yearly billing
HiHello says yearly billing saves 25% on Professional ($72 a year against $8 a month). Business is $5 per user a month yearly, or $6 monthly.
- Other savings
Lower Business price from 26 and 51 users
HiHello's pricing page says the Business price per user drops when a team reaches 26 users and again at 51; the lower figures are not published.
Linq
- Annual discount
Save 29% with yearly Linq One
Linq One is $29 per user a month, or $249 per user a year, which Linq's page says saves 29%.
- Other savings
15% to 60% off products ordered in bulk
Orders of 10 to 24 products get 15% off, rising by tiers to 30% at 100, 50% at 1,000 and 60% at 10,000 or more, applied automatically at checkout.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, HiHello or Linq?
As of Oct 23, 2026, HiHello is cheaper to start with: $5 a month for each person, against $29 a month for each person for Linq. HiHello starts at $5 per user / month, billed yearly (Business, five-user minimum), and Linq starts at $29 per user / month (Linq One).
Which has a free plan, HiHello or Linq?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both HiHello and Linq 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.