Free Link in Bio Tools Compared: Linktree vs Beacons vs Carrd vs Link in Bio Maker (2026)
The Link in Bio Maker Team ·
By The Link in Bio Maker Team, Link-in-bio pages for creators and small businesses · October 2026
The best free link-in-bio tool depends on what you need beyond a basic link list. Linktree's free plan gives unlimited links with light branding; Beacons adds free monetization blocks; Carrd gives a real one-page website for free on its subdomain; Link in Bio Maker gives a clean page, click analytics, and a tappable post grid at no cost. Each free tier has real limits — here is exactly what you get.
What does a free link-in-bio tool actually give you?
Every tool on this list lets you publish a page at a shared URL (their domain, not yours) for free. The differences show up in three places: how much you can customize the design, how much data you can see, and whether you can collect emails or sell anything without paying. Free plans are genuinely useful for getting started — but each tool draws the line in a different spot.
Side-by-side comparison: free plans at a glance
| Tool | Best free for | Free URL format | Links / pages | Design on free | Analytics on free | Email / SMS capture | Sell on free | Custom domain | Paid plans start at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linktree | Creators who want a quick hub with unlimited links | linktr.ee/yourname | Unlimited basic links, 1 page | Limited themes; Linktree badge shown | Basic engagement data | Email/phone form on free | Shop tab (commission-based) on free | Paid only | From $6/month (Starter, per 2026 review; check site for current price) |
| Beacons | Creators who want to sell or collect tips for free | beacons.ai/yourname | Unlimited links, 1 page | Customizable colors and layout | Basic analytics | Available on free | Digital products and tips on free | Paid only | $10/month (Creator, as of October 2026) |
| Carrd | Anyone who wants a real one-page website, not just a link list | yourname.carrd.co | Up to 3 free sites, 1 page each | Full template library, responsive | None on free (Carrd Analytics is a paid add-on) | Forms gated behind Pro | No native selling on free | Pro plans only | $9/year (Pro Lite) |
| Link in Bio Maker | Creators and small businesses who want analytics and a post grid for free | linkinbiomaker.com/yourname | Unlimited links, 1 page | Clean default theme; badge shown | Click analytics per link on free | Email and text sign-ups on free | Link to any external store | Paid only | $5/month or $48/year (Starter) |
Linktree Starter price sourced from a 2026 pricing review; Beacons Creator and Entrepreneur prices sourced from Marvienta's October 2026 verified pricing entry; Carrd Pro Lite price sourced from multiple 2026 reviews. Always confirm current prices on each tool's own pricing page.
Linktree free plan: what you actually get
Linktree's free tier lets you add unlimited basic links and a form to collect email addresses and phone numbers — more generous than many people expect. According to Linktree's own help center, paid plans unlock advanced design, deeper integrations, selling tools, team access, and AI features. On the free plan, Linktree's branding stays on your page and your analytics are limited to basic engagement data. The Linktree Shops feature — a commission-based shopping tab — is available on free, which is useful if you want to earn from affiliate-style product links without upgrading.
Who should use Linktree free: Creators who want to get a link hub live in under five minutes and don't need custom branding or deep analytics yet. It's the most widely recognized name, which can matter if you're sharing your link in a community that will recognize the linktr.ee domain.
When Linktree free isn't enough: If you want to remove the badge, access more than a handful of themes, or see historical analytics beyond a short window, you'll need a paid plan. Exact prices for Pro and Premium are not published in Linktree's official help center materials reviewed here — check their site directly.
Beacons free plan: what you actually get
Beacons stands out on its free tier because it includes monetization blocks — you can sell digital products, collect tips, and add payment flows without paying anything. According to Marvienta's October 2026 pricing verification, Beacons' free plan is $0/month, with paid Creator ($10/month) and Entrepreneur ($20/month) tiers above it. The Beacons help center confirms the core links block lets you add, style, and organize multiple links with custom colors and layout.
Who should use Beacons free: Creators who want to sell a digital download or collect a tip from day one, without any upfront cost. Musicians selling a sample pack, coaches selling a PDF guide, or artists selling prints can all do this on the free plan.
When Beacons free isn't enough: Advanced analytics, deeper customization, and higher-tier selling tools are behind paid plans. If you need more than basic page stats or want to scale a product catalog, the Creator or Entrepreneur plans are the next step.
Carrd free plan: what you actually get
Carrd is different from the others: it's a one-page website builder, not a link-list tool. On the free plan you can build up to three sites using Carrd's full template library, with responsive design that works on phones, tablets, and desktops. According to multiple 2026 reviews, the free tier gives you a carrd.co subdomain, but custom domains, forms for lead capture, and analytics are gated behind Pro plans — starting at just $9/year for Pro Lite, which is one of the lowest price points in this category.
Who should use Carrd free: Freelancers, indie hackers, or anyone who wants a polished single-page portfolio or landing page rather than a link list. If your goal is a real web presence — not just a list of links — Carrd's free tier gives you more design control than any link-in-bio tool.
When Carrd free isn't enough: You can't collect emails, use a custom domain, or see analytics without upgrading. And Carrd is intentionally scoped to single pages — it's not the right tool if you want a tappable post grid, SMS sign-ups, or native selling blocks.
Link in Bio Maker free plan: what you actually get
Link in Bio Maker's free plan gives you a clean page at linkinbiomaker.com/yourname with unlimited links, click analytics per link, and email and text-message sign-ups — all at no cost. That's unusual: most tools gate analytics and email capture behind paid plans. The page loads fast inside Instagram and TikTok's in-app browsers, which is where most of your visitors will land. Every new public page is reviewed against phishing before it goes live.
On the free plan, the Link in Bio Maker badge is shown and you're limited to the default theme. Upgrading to Starter at $5/month (or $48/year) unlocks every theme, custom colors, fonts and buttons, all-time analytics, link scheduling, a 60-post tappable grid, and removes the badge. The Pro plan at $12/month ($120/year) adds up to five pages and your own custom domain. There's an automatic refund within 7 days if it's not right for you.
If you're comparing options and have been using Linktree, the Link in Bio Maker vs Linktree comparison breaks down the differences in more detail.
When each free tool is the better choice
- Pick Linktree free if you want the fastest setup, unlimited links, and a recognized URL — and you're not worried about branding or analytics yet.
- Pick Beacons free if you want to sell digital products or collect tips from followers without spending anything upfront.
- Pick Carrd free if you need a real one-page website with full design control, not a link list — and you can live without a custom domain or analytics for now.
- Pick Link in Bio Maker free if you want click analytics and email/SMS sign-ups on the free plan, and you're a creator or small business (salon, photographer, coach, food truck) who posts on Instagram or TikTok regularly.
What drives the cost when you upgrade any of these tools?
Across all four tools, the factors that push you toward a paid plan are the same: removing the platform's badge from your page, connecting a custom domain, accessing historical or per-link analytics, unlocking more design themes and typography, enabling email or SMS capture, and getting more than one page. If you only need one of those things, compare which tool's entry paid tier covers it most affordably. Carrd's $9/year Pro Lite is the lowest annual price in this group; Link in Bio Maker's $5/month Starter covers analytics, design, and email capture in one step. See the full Link in Bio Maker pricing page for a plan-by-plan breakdown.
How to choose: a quick decision framework
- You post on Instagram or TikTok daily → prioritize a tool that loads fast in-app and shows you which links get tapped.
- You sell something → Beacons (free selling) or Link in Bio Maker (link to any external store) are the clearest paths.
- You want a portfolio page, not a link list → Carrd is built for this; the others are not.
- You want to grow an email or SMS list from your bio → Linktree (email/phone form on free), Beacons, or Link in Bio Maker all support this; Carrd requires a paid plan for forms.
- You want a tappable post grid (like a shoppable Instagram feed) → Link in Bio Maker's post grid is on the themes and features page; none of the other three tools offer this natively.
FAQ
Is Linktree really free?
Yes. Linktree's free plan is $0/month and includes unlimited basic links plus a form to collect email addresses and phone numbers. The free plan shows Linktree's branding on your page and limits analytics and design options. Paid plans unlock more customization, deeper analytics, and advanced selling tools — check Linktree's site for current prices on Pro and Premium tiers.
What is the best free link-in-bio tool for selling digital products?
Beacons is the strongest option if selling is your main goal on a free plan. It lets you add digital product blocks, collect tips, and process payments without upgrading. Linktree's free Shops tab works for commission-based affiliate links. Link in Bio Maker's free plan lets you link to any external store but does not host the checkout itself.
Does Carrd work as a link-in-bio page?
Carrd can absolutely be used as a link-in-bio page — you build a single-page site with buttons linking wherever you want. The difference is that Carrd gives you a full website builder with layout control, while tools like Linktree and Beacons are purpose-built link lists. Carrd's free plan doesn't include forms or analytics, and a custom domain requires a paid plan starting at $9/year.
Which free link-in-bio tool shows click analytics without paying?
Link in Bio Maker includes per-link click analytics on its free plan, which is uncommon. Most tools — including Linktree and Carrd — limit analytics to paid tiers. Beacons offers basic analytics on its free plan. If knowing exactly which links your audience taps is important, factor this into your choice before signing up.
Can I use a custom domain on a free link-in-bio plan?
None of the four tools reviewed here allow a custom domain on a free plan. Carrd requires at minimum Pro Lite ($9/year); Link in Bio Maker requires Pro ($12/month or $120/year); Linktree and Beacons also gate custom domains behind paid tiers. On free plans, your page lives on the tool's own subdomain.
Want one link that leads to everything you do? Make your free Link in Bio Maker page in a few minutes. Upgrade to Starter for $5 a month to unlock every design and full analytics.
Last updated: October 2026