creator's guide

Your Store Is Your
Link in Bio

You don't need a link-in-bio tool AND a store. Linktree, Stan Store, Beacons — they all solve a problem that shouldn't exist. Your store should be the link. One URL. Done.

Updated March 2026. Pricing verified against each platform's public pages.

the problem

One Link to Rule Them All

Instagram gives you one clickable URL. TikTok, same. Twitter lets you have one website link. YouTube gives you one banner link. Every social platform funnels your entire audience through a single URL.

So an industry emerged to solve this. Linktree launched in 2016 and now has 50M+ users. The pitch: put all your links on one page. Simple. Useful. And it worked — for a while.

But here's what happened next: creators realized they don't just need links. They need to sell things. So the link-in-bio tools bolted on commerce. Tip jars. Digital downloads. Merch shelves. Payment integrations. Each one awkward, limited, and charging you extra for the privilege.

Meanwhile, creators also set up stores. Shopify, Gumroad, Etsy, Big Cartel. Now they're paying for two tools that each do half the job. The link page sends traffic to the store. The store has no link page. Your customer clicks your bio link, lands on a list of buttons, clicks again to reach your store, then clicks again to find a product, then clicks again to buy. Four clicks between "I'm interested" and "take my money."

50M+

Linktree users

Most are free tier. Converting a fraction to paid is the business model.

4

Clicks to buy

Bio link, link page, store, product, checkout. Each click loses people.

2

Subscriptions

Link page + store. Two monthly bills for what should be one tool.

The core tension: Link-in-bio tools optimize for distributing attention across many destinations. But as a creator who sells, you want to capture attention in one place. These are opposite goals.

the players

Link-in-Bio Tools Compared

Six platforms that want to own your one link. Most were built to solve a link problem, then bolted on commerce as an afterthought. A few started with selling in mind. Here's what you actually get.

Pricing as of March 2026. Verified against each platform's public pricing page.

Lt

Linktree

$9/mo Pro, $24/mo Premium
Free tier: Yes (limited)
Transaction fees: 0% (commerce via PayPal/Square)
Selling: Basic — PayPal/Square integration, tip jar, merch shelf via Spring
Customization: Themes only on paid. No custom fonts, limited layout.
No physical No digital

Great at links. Poor at commerce. You still need a separate store.

St

Stan Store

$29/mo Creator, $99/mo Business
Free tier: No
Transaction fees: 5% on Creator plan, 0% on Business
Selling: Digital products, courses, coaching calls, memberships
Customization: Template-based. Clean but limited. No custom CSS.
No physical Digital products

Strong for digital creators. $29/mo floor before your first sale.

Bc

Beacons

$10/mo Pro, $25/mo Business
Free tier: Yes (with branding)
Transaction fees: 9% free, 0% on paid plans
Selling: Digital products, media kit, invoicing, tip jar
Customization: Drag-and-drop blocks. More flexible than Linktree.
No physical Digital products

Tries to do everything. Master of none. 9% on free tier is steep.

Kj

Koji

Free (transaction fees only)
Free tier: Yes
Transaction fees: 15% on paid features
Selling: App-based: tip jar, gated content, shoutouts, custom mini-apps
Customization: App marketplace. Unique but fragmented UX.
No physical Digital products

Creative concept. 15% fee on everything makes the math brutal.

Sh

Shorby

$12/mo Rocket, $24/mo Pro
Free tier: No
Transaction fees: N/A (no commerce)
Selling: None — links only. Messenger redirects, link scheduling.
Customization: Dynamic links, feed imports. Marketing-focused.
No physical No digital

Marketing tool, not a store. Zero commerce capability.

La

Later (Linkin.bio)

$25/mo Growth, $40/mo Advanced
Free tier: Yes (limited)
Transaction fees: N/A (no native commerce)
Selling: Shoppable Instagram feed. Links to external stores only.
Customization: Instagram-centric. Grid-based layout mirrors your feed.
No physical No digital

Best if Instagram IS your business. Not a standalone store.

Pattern: Every platform charges monthly before you sell anything. Stan Store: $348/year minimum. Linktree Pro: $108/year. Beacons Pro: $120/year. These are taxes on your ambition, not your revenue. You're paying for the privilege of having a page — regardless of whether anyone buys.

the math

The Hidden Cost of Stacking Tools

Most creators don't realize how much they're spending because the costs are spread across multiple subscriptions. Link page here, store there, payment processor on top. Add it up over a year and the number gets uncomfortable.

Assuming $10,000 annual revenue for comparison. Stripe processing at 2.9% + 30c per transaction, avg $35 order.

Linktree Pro + Shopify

Monthly: $9 + $39
Annual: $576
On $10K: $576 + $320 = $896

You need Shopify because Linktree can't sell products natively.

Stan Store (Creator)

Monthly: $29
Annual: $348
On $10K: $348 + $500 + $320 = $1,168

Digital only. No physical products. 5% tx fee on the Creator plan.

Beacons (Pro)

Monthly: $10
Annual: $120
On $10K: $120 + $320 = $440

Cheapest paid tier. But limited compared to real storefronts.

souldust

Monthly: $0
Annual: $0
On $10K: $500 + $320 = $820

No monthly fee. Pay only when you earn. Store + link page in one.

The subscription trap

  • x $29/mo before your first sale
  • x Monthly fee + transaction fee double-dipping
  • x Link tool + store = two subscriptions
  • x Upgrading to remove platform branding

What $0/mo means

  • + Zero risk to start — no commitment
  • + Costs scale with revenue, not time
  • + No pressure to "make back" the subscription
  • + Kill the tool stack — one URL does both jobs

The real question: Why are you paying monthly for a page of links and monthly for a store and per-transaction fees on top? That's three layers of cost for something that should be one thing: a place where people find you and buy from you.

reality check

What Creators Actually Need

Not 47 link buttons. Not a tip jar. Not another subscription. Here's what actually matters when someone taps your bio link.

A page that looks like you

Your colors, your vibe, your brand. Not a generic template with someone else's logo at the bottom. When a fan lands on your page, it should feel like an extension of your content — not a departure from it.

Products front and center

If you sell things, those things should be visible the moment someone arrives. Not buried behind a "shop" button that links to another site. The product IS the content of your link page.

One-step checkout

Visitor sees product, taps buy, enters payment, done. Every redirect to an external store costs you 20-30% of potential buyers. Friction is the enemy of impulse purchases.

No monthly fee before revenue

Paying $29/mo for a storefront when you haven't sold anything yet is backwards. Your tools should cost you money only after they make you money.

The shift

Link-in-bio tools were built in 2016 for influencers who needed to point followers to content. Creators in 2026 need to sell directly. The tools haven't caught up. They're still fundamentally link directories trying to cosplay as stores.

comparison

Feature-by-Feature

Side-by-side. No spin. souldust is designed for selling, not just linking. The others are designed for linking and occasionally selling.

Cost

Monthly fee

souldust Free
Linktree $9-24/mo
Stan Store $29-99/mo
Beacons $0-25/mo

Transaction fee

souldust 5%
Linktree 0%
Stan Store 0-5%
Beacons 0-9%

Stripe processing

souldust 2.9%+30c
Linktree Via PayPal/Square
Stan Store 2.9%+30c
Beacons 2.9%+30c

Selling

Physical products

souldust Yes
Linktree No
Stan Store No
Beacons No

Digital products

souldust Yes
Linktree No
Stan Store Yes
Beacons Yes

Direct checkout

souldust Yes
Linktree No
Stan Store Yes
Beacons Yes

Stripe Connect (your account)

souldust Yes
Linktree No
Stan Store No
Beacons No

Branding

Custom colors & fonts

souldust Full palette
Linktree Paid only
Stan Store Limited
Beacons Paid only

Full-page storefront

souldust Yes
Linktree No
Stan Store Yes
Beacons Partial

Remove platform branding

souldust Always
Linktree Paid only
Stan Store Paid only
Beacons Paid only

Custom domain

souldust Planned
Linktree Paid only
Stan Store Yes ($99)
Beacons Yes (paid)

Creator tools

Order management

souldust Yes
Linktree No
Stan Store Yes
Beacons Basic

Analytics

souldust Yes
Linktree Paid only
Stan Store Yes
Beacons Paid only

Embeddable widgets

souldust Yes
Linktree No
Stan Store No
Beacons No

Social links

souldust Yes
Linktree Yes
Stan Store Yes
Beacons Yes

The column that matters

Look at the "Physical products" row. None of the link-in-bio tools sell physical products. If you make anything tangible — prints, merch, handmade goods, vinyl, stickers — every link-in-bio tool sends your customers somewhere else to buy. That redirect costs you conversions every single time.

get started

Making the Switch

You don't have to burn your Linktree down today. Set up your souldust storefront, test it, and swap the link when you're ready. It takes about 10 minutes.

01

Create your account

Free. Pick your username. That becomes souldust.xyz/yourname — your new bio link.

02

Add your products

Upload images, set prices, write descriptions. Physical or digital. Each product gets its own page with a buy button.

03

Connect Stripe

One-time setup. Payments flow directly to your bank account. No waiting for platform payouts.

04

Choose your palette

Pick a color palette that matches your brand. Add your avatar, social links, bio text. Your storefront is your brand, not ours.

05

Update your bio link

Replace your Linktree URL with souldust.xyz/yourname. Your followers now land on your store, not a link directory.

Keep your other links: Your souldust storefront includes social link icons. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, email — they're all visible on your page. You're not losing the "link directory" functionality. You're just making the primary experience about your products instead of a list of buttons.