Beacons vs Gumroad
Beacons and Gumroad both help creators sell digital products, but from different angles. Beacons wraps selling inside a full link-in-bio and monetization suite; Gumroad is a focused digital-product store that acts as merchant of record and takes a flat cut on every sale. The right pick depends on how much you value all-in-one versus a simple, proven checkout.
Quick answer
Choose Beacons for an all-in-one link in bio with selling, email and bookings, paid to your own Stripe; choose Gumroad for a simple, trusted checkout and marketplace exposure if you don't mind it being merchant of record and taking a flat cut on every sale. Beacons' fee mostly hits its free tier, while Gumroad's cut applies across the board. For a free all-in-one that keeps 100% of sales, OneSol is an alternative paid straight to your own Stripe.
Beacons vs Gumroad at a glance
| Feature | Beacons | Gumroad |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Sell digital products | Yes | Yes |
| Platform cut on sales | Fee on free tier | Flat cut on all sales |
| Payments to your own account | Own Stripe | Payout (merchant of record) |
| Link in bio | Yes | Limited |
| Bookings & calls | Yes | No |
| Email capture | Yes | Yes |
| Ease of use | Easy | Very simple |
Competitor features and pricing can change — check their current plans before deciding.
1. Who Beacons is best for
Beacons fits creators who want their link in bio to do everything — sell products, book calls, capture emails and grow an audience from one page. Payments run through your own Stripe, and the main cost is a transaction fee on the free store tier. It's the more complete toolkit for building a creator business.
2. Who Gumroad is best for
Gumroad is ideal when you just want the simplest, most trusted checkout and don't want to manage tax — it's merchant of record and handles that for you. It also offers marketplace discovery. The trade-off is a flat cut on every sale and payouts on a schedule rather than money landing directly in your account.
3. The cost that's easy to miss
Gumroad's flat cut applies to every sale forever, on top of payment processing, so at higher volume it can quietly exceed the cost of a subscription. Beacons concentrates its fee on the free tier, which shrinks on paid plans. Model both against your expected revenue rather than the sticker.
The verdict
Whether you lean toward Beacons' toolset or Gumroad's simple checkout, both charge you somewhere. OneSol combines native selling, bookings and email in one free link, paid directly to your own Stripe with no platform cut — so you keep 100% of every sale.
FAQ
Does Gumroad take a cut of every sale?
Yes — Gumroad charges a flat platform fee on each sale in addition to payment processing, on both free and paid setups. Check current pricing for exact rates.
Do I get paid directly with Beacons or Gumroad?
Beacons pays into your own Stripe. Gumroad is the merchant of record and pays you out on a schedule, so it sits between you and the customer's money.
Which is better for a link in bio?
Beacons is built as a link in bio with many blocks and monetization tools; Gumroad is primarily a checkout and store, so its link-in-bio abilities are limited.
Is there a free option with no cut on sales?
Yes — OneSol is a free all-in-one link in bio where sales go straight to your own Stripe with no platform cut, so you keep 100% of every sale.