Verdict. Pick Beacons if your income mixes brand deals with a few digital products and you want one link to hold both. The free plan gets you selling in minutes, and the media kit is a real bonus. The catch is the 9% fee on Free and Creator. Move to Creator Plus at $30 once you sell about $333 a month, because that is where 0% becomes cheaper.
- Founded
- 2019 (The founders were in Y Combinator's Summer 2019 batch and pivoted into Beacons. Some sources date the company to 2020.)
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, US
- Best for
- Social creators who mix product sales with brand deals
- Plans from
- Free
- You keep from $1,000
- $911 on Creator Plus
Who can join. Free for anyone to sign up. Selling needs a Stripe or PayPal account in your country. Beacons notes extra restrictions in countries such as Mexico, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand and Brazil, where a paid plan may be required.
Beacons pricing and fees
Beacons takes 9% of sales on the Free and $10 Creator plans and 0% on the $30 Creator Plus and $100 Creator Max plans, plus Stripe or PayPal processing.
| Plan | Price | Fee on sales | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | 9% of sales | Link in bio, store, media kit, 50 email sends a month, one course without video hosting. |
| Creator | $10/mo | 9% of sales | $100 a year billed annually. Adds a free custom domain and 500 email sends a month. |
| Creator Plus | $30/mo | 0% of sales | $300 a year billed annually. Unlimited email sends, memberships, courses with video hosting, buy now pay later. |
| Creator Max | $100/mo | 0% of sales | $1,000 a year billed annually. Adds Google Workspace, white glove onboarding, an NFC card and priority support. |
On $1,000 of monthly sales at $10 each, the cheapest option is the Creator Plus plan. You'd pay about $89 in platform and card fees, 8.9% of revenue, and keep $911. Compare that with every other platform.
Payment processing. Your own Stripe or PayPal account, paid on top. Beacons lists Stripe at 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction and PayPal at 3.49% plus a fixed fee that depends on currency.
Payouts. Money from direct sales goes straight into your connected Stripe or PayPal account at checkout, so Beacons holds nothing. You withdraw to your bank on Stripe's or PayPal's schedule. Affiliate commissions pay out through PayPal only, within 5 to 7 business days.
What you get with Beacons
- Link-in-bio page and mini websites
- Digital product store
- Courses with video hosting on Creator Plus
- Memberships on Creator Plus
- Auto-updating media kit
- Email marketing and automations
- Smart Reply Instagram auto-DM
- Brand affiliate links
- Invoices
- Audience CSV export
Beacons pros and cons
What we like
- The free plan lets you sell right away, paying only the 9% fee.
- Creator Plus at $30 drops seller fees to 0% and removes the email send cap.
- Sale money lands in your own Stripe or PayPal account when the buyer pays.
- Media kit and brand deal tools sit next to your store.
- You can export your audience to CSV.
What gets in the way
- 9% on Free and Creator is steep, $90 on every $1,000 of sales.
- Pricing page shows Creator Max at $100 while the help center still says $90.
- Memberships and video-hosted courses need the $30 Creator Plus plan.
- Free plan caps email at 50 sends a month.
- AI features run on daily credits that are tight on lower plans.
Who should skip Beacons
Skip Beacons if you only sell products and never pitch brands, because Payhip gives you the same store tools for 5% on its free plan.
Beacons alternatives
| Platform | Score | Keep from $1,000 | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payhip | 7.6 | $892 | Sellers who want a full store and low fees |
| Whop | 7.3 | $943 | Paid communities, trading groups and software sellers |
| Stan | 6.7 | $912 | Instagram and TikTok creators selling coaching and courses |
| Gumroad | 5.3 | $791 | New sellers who want to start without a subscription |
Head to head: Stan vs Beacons.
See all 5 digital product and link-in-bio stores ranked.
Beacons questions
How much does Beacons take from sales?
Beacons takes 9% of sales on the Free plan and the $10 a month Creator plan. Creator Plus at $30 a month and Creator Max at $100 a month charge 0%. Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ or PayPal's 3.49% plus a fixed fee apply on every plan, paid to the processor.
Is Beacons free?
Yes. The Free plan costs nothing and lets you sell unlimited digital products, but Beacons keeps 9% of each sale and you get 50 email sends a month. Creator Plus at $30 a month removes the fee, which pays off once you sell about $333 a month.
When do I get paid on Beacons?
Direct sales go straight into your connected Stripe or PayPal account when the customer pays, so Beacons does not hold your money. You then withdraw to your bank on Stripe's or PayPal's schedule. Affiliate commissions work differently and go out through PayPal within 5 to 7 business days.
Can I use a custom domain on Beacons?
Yes, starting on the $10 a month Creator plan, which includes a free custom domain for your link in bio and store product URLs. Beacons' help center says the domain is free for the first year. Removing Beacons branding needs Creator Plus at $30 a month.
Sources
We checked these pages on October 20, 2026. Platforms change fees often, so confirm on the official page before you commit.
- Beacons pricing
- Beacons homepage
- Beacons pricing plans, help center
- Beacons products transaction fees
- When will I receive my payout from product/store sales?
- Understanding instant payouts and affiliate commissions
- Stripe or PayPal isn't working for my country
- How to export your audience
- Beacons company profile, CB Insights
- Beacons, Not Boring memo