Beacons vs Stan Store
Beacons and Stan Store are both built for creators who want to sell straight from their link in bio. The real difference is how you pay: Beacons is free to start but adds fees on its free store, while Stan Store charges a flat monthly subscription with no cut on sales. Here's how they stack up.
Quick answer
Choose Beacons if you want a free, feature-packed link in bio and can accept transaction fees on the free store; choose Stan Store if you'd rather pay a flat monthly fee for a clean, conversion-focused storefront that takes no cut of your sales. Both send money to your own Stripe. If you want the best of both — free to start and 0% platform cut — OneSol is an all-in-one alternative that lets you keep 100% of every sale.
Beacons vs Stan Store at a glance
| Feature | Beacons | Stan Store |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Trial only |
| Sell digital products | Yes | Yes |
| Platform cut on sales | Fee on free tier | No platform cut |
| Payments to your own account | Own Stripe | Own Stripe |
| Bookings & calls | Yes | Yes |
| Email capture | Yes | Yes |
| Ease of use | Easy | Very simple |
| Pricing model | Free + paid | Paid only |
Competitor features and pricing can change — check their current plans before deciding.
1. Who Beacons is best for
Beacons suits creators who want to launch without paying upfront and value a wide toolset — link in bio, media kit, email marketing and AI helpers all in one place. The trade-off is a transaction fee on its free store tier, which you accept in exchange for starting free. It's a mobile-first, do-everything option for creators still finding their footing.
2. Who Stan Store is best for
Stan Store fits creators who are ready to pay a predictable flat monthly fee for a clean, high-converting storefront. It's especially strong for selling courses, coaching calls and digital products, and it takes no cut of your sales beyond Stripe's processing. If simplicity and no per-sale cut matter more than a free tier, Stan is the pick.
3. The cost that's easy to miss
Beacons' free-tier transaction fee is small per sale but compounds as your revenue grows, so 'free' quietly costs more the more you sell. Stan Store's subscription, by contrast, bills every month whether you make one sale or none. Match each model against your realistic monthly volume before committing.
The verdict
Beacons and Stan Store are both strong, but each has a catch — a fee on free sales or a monthly bill. OneSol brings it together: sell products, take bookings and capture emails from one free link, with payments straight to your own Stripe and no platform cut, so you keep 100% of every sale.
FAQ
Is Beacons or Stan Store free?
Beacons has a genuine free plan (with a transaction fee on its free store), while Stan Store is subscription-only with a free trial. Neither is truly free forever without a trade-off.
Which one takes a cut of my sales?
Beacons adds a transaction fee on its free store tier that shrinks on paid plans; Stan Store takes no platform cut, so you only pay Stripe's standard processing fee.
Do I get paid directly?
Yes — both connect to your own Stripe account so customer payments land in your bank, not held by the platform.
Is there a free option that keeps 100% of my sales?
Yes. OneSol is a free all-in-one link in bio where payments go straight to your own Stripe and the platform takes no cut, so you keep 100% of every sale minus only Stripe's fee.