If you’re ready to sell digital products online, choosing the right platform is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. With options like Stan Store vs Beacons rising in popularity, especially among social media creators, the decision isn’t always clear.
Both platforms are designed to help you monetize your content, grow your brand, and sell directly from your link in bio. But while they serve similar purposes, they offer very different features, pricing, and workflows.
In this article, we’ll break down the seven most important differences between Stan Store and Beacons so you can choose the one that fits your goals, tech comfort level, and digital product strategy. Whether you’re a content creator, coach, or marketer, the right choice here can set you up for faster growth and easier sales.
What Are Stan Store and Beacons?
Stan Store and Beacons are two of the most popular “link-in-bio” platforms designed for creators, digital marketers, and side hustlers who want to sell products, offer services, or grow their brand directly through social media.
Unlike traditional websites or storefronts, these tools make it easy to host your digital products and get paid without needing a full e-commerce setup. They’re especially useful for people selling through platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Threads.
Stan Store Overview
Stan Store is built with simplicity in mind. It allows creators to sell digital products, courses, and coaching services directly through a mobile-optimized storefront. Its setup is fast, and it comes with built-in tools for payment processing, email marketing, and affiliate tracking.
It’s particularly popular among TikTok creators, coaches, and influencers who want a no-fuss way to start earning quickly.
Beacons Overview
Beacons offers a more customizable, drag-and-drop link-in-bio experience. While it also supports selling digital products and collecting payments, its real strength lies in content organization, email capture, and integrations with tools like YouTube, Mailchimp, and Zapier.
Beacons is a favorite among creators who want a more branded, flexible bio link or those who prioritize lead generation over direct selling.
If you’re still new to the idea of selling digital products and want to understand how they work, you can start with our beginner’s guide:
👉 Digital Products Explained: 7 Important Facts Every Beginner Should Know
Key Features Compared
Both Stan Store and Beacons allow you to sell digital products and link multiple offers from your social media bio, but they take different approaches. This side-by-side breakdown highlights how their core features compare so you can decide which platform fits your needs best.
Feature Comparison Table
| Feature | Stan Store | Beacons |
|---|---|---|
| Product Hosting | ✅ eBooks, courses, templates, coaching | ✅ eBooks, downloads, services, custom links |
| Payment Processing | ✅ Stripe (native integration) | ✅ Stripe (native integration via Payment Block) |
| Sales Pages | ✅ Clean, mobile-first product pages | ✅ Customizable pages with multi-block layouts |
| Email Marketing | ✅ Built-in autoresponder and opt-in forms | ✅ Built-in email collection with newsletter support |
| Integrations | ⚪ Limited (Zoom, Calendly, Stripe) | ✅ Zapier, Mailchimp, ConvertKit, YouTube, Google Sheets, and more |
| Affiliate Tools | ✅ Built-in affiliate/referral system | ❌ No native affiliate system |
| Customization | ⚪ Minimal layout control, clean templates | ✅ Full drag-and-drop layout builder |
| Upsells / Funnels | ✅ Native upsells and order bumps at checkout | ⚪ No true upsells, but can link to other products manually |
What This Means for You
Stan Store is ideal if you want a streamlined setup that includes everything you need to sell and scale in one place. It’s especially great for creators offering coaching, courses, or digital downloads who want to get started quickly without tech headaches.
Beacons is better suited for creators who want total control over their bio page layout and more flexibility for organizing content, links, and offers. If you plan to focus on list-building, branding, or offering a wide variety of content, Beacons gives you more room to customize.
Payment Integration:
Both platforms offer native Stripe integration, allowing creators to sell products and services directly. Stan Store builds checkout into its product flow, while Beacons requires setup through the Payment Block with Stripe.Affiliate Tools:
Stan Store includes a built-in affiliate system that allows you to invite partners and track referrals. Beacons does not currently offer an affiliate feature, although you can manually create trackable links if needed.Upsells:
Stan Store offers native upsell functionality, allowing you to present additional offers during checkout. Beacons doesn’t offer native upsells, but creators can simulate them by linking to related products or pages within their bio.
Coming up next, we’ll take a closer look at pricing to help you decide which option delivers the best value for your budget.
Pricing Breakdown
When choosing between Stan Store and Beacons, pricing can play a major role, especially if you’re just getting started. Both platforms offer straightforward pricing, but the value they deliver depends on what you actually need from your storefront.
Here’s a quick overview of what each platform costs as of 2025.
Stan Store Pricing
$29/month (Creator Plan)
$99/month (Creator Pro Plan – adds affiliate features, analytics, and more)
Stan Store does not offer a free plan, but it includes everything you need to sell digital products, manage email marketing, and even handle affiliate partnerships in one package.
🔗 Visit Stan Store for the most up-to-date pricing and features.
Beacons Pricing
Free Plan – Includes link-in-bio tools and basic customization
Entrepreneur Plan – $10/month billed annually ($120/year)
Business Plan – $30/month billed annually (includes advanced integrations, analytics, and sales features)
Beacons offers a generous free plan, which makes it an appealing starting point for creators who want to experiment with digital products and build a personal brand without a big commitment.
🔗 Visit Beacons or the most up-to-date pricing and features.
Which Offers More Value?
If you need a full digital product selling suite with email, upsells, and affiliate tools out of the box, Stan Store may justify the higher price tag. Especially for creators who are focused on monetization.
On the other hand, if you’re still in the audience-building or list-growing phase and want full customization with a free option to start, Beacons provides more flexibility at a lower cost.
Next, we’ll help you decide which platform is right for your unique goals.
Which Platform Is Best for You?
Both Stan Store and Beacons offer great tools for creators, but the better platform depends on where you are in your digital business journey and what kind of experience you want to create for your audience.
Here’s a breakdown to help guide your decision:
Choose Stan Store if you want to:
Launch and sell digital products quickly
Offer coaching, courses, or templates with simple delivery
Include upsells or order bumps at checkout
Build an affiliate program to increase reach
Avoid dealing with third-party integrations
Stan Store is ideal for creators who prioritize speed, simplicity, and conversion. If you want an all-in-one tool that handles sales, email, and checkout with minimal setup, Stan Store is hard to beat.
🔗 Try Stan Store and start selling in minutes.
Choose Beacons if you want to:
Create a highly customizable link-in-bio page
Organize multiple content types (YouTube, blog posts, downloads)
Focus on lead generation and email list building
Integrate with tools like Zapier, Mailchimp, or ConvertKit
Start for free and upgrade later
Beacons is best for creators who value flexibility, branding, and long-term growth. If you want to build a layered content experience and grow your audience before going all-in on product sales, this platform offers more control.
🔗 Explore Beacons and set up your storefront for free.
Stan Store vs Beacons: Which Platform Is Right for You?
| Choose This Platform If You Want To… | Stan Store | Beacons |
|---|---|---|
| Sell digital products quickly with minimal setup | ✅ | ⚪ |
| Offer coaching sessions or online courses | ✅ | ⚪ |
| Add upsells or order bumps at checkout | ✅ | ⚪ (limited workaround via custom links) |
| Build an affiliate program | ✅ | ❌ |
| Use built-in email marketing tools | ✅ | ✅ |
| Start selling for free | ❌ | ✅ (free plan available) |
| Customize your link-in-bio layout with drag-and-drop controls | ⚪ (limited customization) | ✅ |
| Integrate with Zapier, Mailchimp, or ConvertKit | ⚪ | ✅ |
| Focus on lead generation and audience growth | ⚪ | ✅ |
In the next section, we’ll discuss whether you can (or should) use both platforms together and when that makes sense strategically.
Can You Use Both?
Yes, you absolutely can use both Stan Store and Beacons if it fits your content strategy. In fact, some creators find that combining the two offers the best of both worlds.
Here’s how that might work:
Use Beacons for Your Content Hub
Beacons is a great tool for organizing your social links, lead magnets, YouTube videos, blog content, and free resources all in one place. It allows you to build a dynamic link-in-bio page with strong branding, email capture, and custom layout options.
Use Stan Store for Sales
While Beacons can host products, Stan Store shines when it comes to selling. You can link directly to your Stan Store checkout pages from your Beacons layout. This gives you a clean purchase experience with built-in upsells, affiliate support, and email automation.
When Using Both Makes Sense:
You want a free, customizable landing page (Beacons)
You’re building an email list and content hub before launching products
You need the robust sales features that Stan Store offers
You want to test product ideas without switching platforms completely
By combining the tools, you don’t have to sacrifice customization or conversion. Just make sure your flow is clear and that visitors know exactly where to go when they’re ready to buy.
Coming up next: our final recommendation and which platform is best based on your goals.
Final Recommendation
Both Stan Store and Beacons are powerful tools, but the best choice depends on your goals, your audience, and how you plan to sell digital products.
If you’re looking for an all-in-one platform that handles product delivery, checkout, email marketing, and even affiliate tracking, Stan Store is the better fit. It’s ideal for digital creators who want to launch quickly and keep their setup simple. The learning curve is low, and everything you need is built in.
If you want full control over your branding, plan to focus heavily on list building, or need a free place to start while you grow your audience, Beacons gives you more flexibility. It’s especially well-suited for creators who publish content across multiple channels and want a professional link-in-bio hub.
Not sure which one to choose? Start with what feels easiest for you to take action on today. You can always switch or use both platforms as your business grows.
👉 If you haven’t yet decided what to sell, check out our guide to 10 beginner-friendly digital product ideas for inspiration.
Or, if you’re still learning the basics, start with our introduction to how digital products work and why they’re so effective.
The platform you choose is important, but what really matters is that you start. With the right tools and a simple offer, you can turn your knowledge into income faster than ever.
