The Beacons Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Beacons in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Beacons
The Insider’s Guide
Link in bio page with a store, email and media kit for creators
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among tools for selling digital products, read from Beacons’s own pages.
Made by Beacons · checked Nov 12, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Beacons’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Beacons’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.2
GPA, above 4 of the 28 other tools for selling digital products we grade
Beacons is a creator platform built around a link in bio page. Alongside the page it offers a store for digital products, courses and memberships, email sends, a media kit, affiliate links, Instagram auto replies and AI writing and image tools metered by daily credits.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Beacons, taken from its own pages and our grades.
No store rating on record, and the page, store and email all need building.
- 1
Best for a link-in-bio page with a small shop
Beacons is a link-in-bio page with a store for digital products, a media kit, email sends and AI credits, free to start.
- 2
Paid plans start at $8.33 a month when paid by the year
As its pricing page puts it: $100 per year (Creator), or $10 per month billed monthly.
- 3
There is a 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.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Link in bio page
A customizable page that collects your links in one place, with real-time analytics on every plan.
- 6
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.
- 7
Email sends
Sends email to subscribers, capped at 50 a month on Free and 500 on Creator, and unlimited on Creator Plus and above.
- 8
A 2.2 GPA, above 4 of 28
That is against the other tools for selling digital products we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Beacons you would be making checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Beacons at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $100 per year (Creator), or $10 per month billed monthly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Beacons
- Category
- Selling Digital Products
- Our grade
- 2.2 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for a link-in-bio page with a small shop
Beacons is a link-in-bio page with a store for digital products, a media kit, email sends and AI credits, free to start. The free plan takes a 9% seller fee, and 0% fees, courses and memberships start at Creator Plus, $300 a year.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Creator 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. |
| Free plan and trial | B | A 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. |
| Features | C | Link 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. |
| Ease of use | C | No store rating on record, and the page, store and email all need building. |
| Platforms and integrations | C | Web only, with no mobile apps or integrations listed. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Beacons is for
- 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
Who it is not for
- 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
Good to know
Good for
- Creators who want a link page and a store from one account
- Selling digital products with no monthly fee while the seller fee is 9%
- Creators who want email and Instagram replies bundled with the page
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$8.33
A month to start, paid by the year. There is a free plan too
Beacons has a free plan. Paid plans start at $100 per year (Creator), or $10 per month billed monthly.
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.
The 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.
Read from beacons.ai on Nov 12, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on beacons.ai
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Link in bio page with a store, email and media kit for creators. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: AI features, email campaigns, online courses, online store, digital downloads.
Link in bio, a store, email, a media kit and AI credits.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
Its own pages name no integrations.
Beacons is made by Beacons.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
4/28
Other tools for selling digital products it is graded above
Beacons's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 4 of the 28 other tools for selling digital products we grade, and level with 4.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 12 of 28) and worst on features (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $8.33 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $16.76 for the category: 3 of the 14 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 8 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 29 tools for selling digital products we grade, cut by the letter each got. Beacons’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 3 of 28
- BFree plan and trialAbove 12 of 28
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 28
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 28
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 28
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 20 tools for selling digital products. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Beacons is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Beacons you would be making checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 20 of the 28 other tools for selling digital products grade higher. It costs $100 a year.
What you could make
- Digital downloads and online courses: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you.
- Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
What this rests on. Beacons’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Linktree, Stan, Ko-fi, Gumroad and Payhip
The 5 tools Beacons is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
Linktree
Free plan · from $7/mo
Link in bio pages with a store, email sign-ups and scheduling.
- Only Linktree lists iOS and Android apps.
- Beacons also covers email campaigns.
- 2.4GPA
Stan
Free trial · from $29/mo
Link-in-bio store for creators selling downloads, courses and calls.
- Beacons has a free plan. Stan does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Stan lists an iOS app.
- Beacons also covers online store.
- 2.6GPA
Ko-fi
Free plan
Creator page for tips, memberships, a shop and paid commissions.
- Beacons also covers email campaigns and online courses.
- 2.6GPA
Gumroad
Free
Sell downloads, memberships and courses for a cut of each sale.
- Only Gumroad lists iOS and Android apps.
- Beacons also covers online courses and online store.
- Gumroad also covers affiliate tracking and merchant of record.
- 2.6GPA
Payhip
Free plan · from $29/mo
Store for downloads, courses and memberships, with a free plan.
- Beacons also covers email campaigns.
- Payhip also covers affiliate tracking.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
12
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Beacons free?
Beacons has a 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.
How much does Beacons cost?
Beacons lists 4 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does Beacons work on?
Beacons is available on Web.
Does Beacons offer any discounts?
Beacons publicly lists the following: Two months free on annual billing.
Does Beacons have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Beacons is listed for Web.
Does Beacons have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Beacons is listed for Web.
Is Beacons open source?
Beacons is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Who makes Beacons?
Beacons is made by a company of the same name.
What are the alternatives to Beacons?
The closest alternatives to Beacons in our directory are Linktree, Stan, Ko-fi, Gumroad and Payhip.
How does Beacons compare with other tools for selling digital products?
Beacons's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 4 of the 28 other tools for selling digital products we grade, and level with 4.
Is Beacons good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Beacons C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $8.33 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $16.76 for the category: 3 of the 14 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Beacons?
To replace Beacons you would be making checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Beacons’s own pages on Nov 12, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 12, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Beacons's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Beacons. Prices change, so check beacons.ai before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
5,038
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
5,038
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Beacons, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/beacons
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Beacons: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 12, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/beacons
Know someone choosing between tools for selling digital products?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/beacons/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded tools for selling digital products after Beacons, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Selling Digital Products Insider's GuideEvery one of the 29 tools for selling digital products we grade, compared
- Whop Insider's GuideStorefront, checkout and payouts for paid communities and products3.4 GPA
- itch.io Insider's GuideOpen marketplace for indie games, assets and tools, pay what you want3.2 GPA
- Patreon Insider's GuidePaid memberships, a shop and community for creators and their fans3.0 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Beacons’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Beacons is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Beacons. Prices and plans change: check beacons.ai before you buy.