In today’s digital landscape, having a central hub where your audience can find all your content is essential. Social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn only allow one clickable link in your profile bio. Hence, creators, entrepreneurs, and businesses need a tool that consolidates multiple destinations into one easy-to-navigate page. Over the years, “link-in-bio” tools have exploded in popularity, and by 2025, two names consistently rise to the top of the conversation: Linktree and Beacons. Both platforms help users turn a single bio link into a mini-website, but they approach the problem differently. Linktree is famous for its simplicity and accessibility, while Beacons appeals to creators who want more features, deeper customization, and built-in monetization. The question is—which is better for you in 2025?
To answer that, it helps to look at setup, customization, monetization, analytics, and pricing, because those areas reveal just how these tools compare in practice.
Let’s start with ease of use. Both Linktree and Beacons are quick to set up. You can sign up, choose a username, and have a functioning page with working links in under ten minutes. The platforms are designed to be intuitive, requiring no technical knowledge or design skills. Where they differ, though, is in how much control they give you right out of the gate. Linktree is ultra-simple, which makes it great for beginners who just want a clean, functional list of links without needing to fiddle with design choices. It’s like setting up a digital business card, straightforward and fast. Beacons, on the other hand, are still intuitive but give you more advanced options, so there’s a slightly steeper learning curve. If you’re a creator who thrives on customization and enjoys making your page stand out, the additional setup effort with Beacons pays off. If you just want something easy and worry-free, Linktree may be the better match.
Once your page is set up, customization becomes the next big differentiator. In 2025, personal branding is more important than ever; your link-in-bio page is often the first impression a potential follower, customer, or collaborator has of you. Linktree provides basic customization on its free tier, letting you adjust colours, fonts, and add simple backgrounds. It works if you only want your page to look polished enough without being overly designed. However, there’s a catch: if you want to remove the Linktree logo, unlock more advanced design features, or create something more unique, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan. That can be limiting for creators who want full creative control but don’t want to commit to a subscription just for basic branding needs. Beacons, by contrast, offers much richer design flexibility even on its free plan. You can add GIFs, embed videos, create animated buttons, and experiment with unique layouts, making your page feel far more dynamic. While branding removal and custom domains still require a paid plan, the free features already allow for a level of personalization that Linktree’s free tier doesn’t come close to matching. This makes Beacons especially appealing for creators who want their bio page to reflect their brand personality right away, without paying upfront.
But customization is only one part of the equation. For many creators, the real deciding factor is monetization. In 2025, audiences expect to support their favourite creators directly, and creators are looking for ways to streamline their income streams. Linktree does allow monetization, but it’s somewhat limited. You can add links to your Shopify store, affiliate campaigns, or other external platforms, and Linktree has built-in features for some of these, but the experience often redirects users off-site. That extra step can create friction and reduce conversions, especially for impulse purchases or micro-transactions like tips. Beacons is built with creator monetization at its core. Even on free plans, you can sell digital products, accept tips and donations, and run affiliate campaigns, all from your Beacons page without forcing users to click away. This seamless experience makes it easier for creators to generate income directly from their audience. On paid plans, Beacons even removes transaction fees, which can make a significant difference for high-volume sellers. Essentially, if monetization is a top priority, Beacons offers a more creator-friendly solution compared to Linktree’s more traditional, redirect-based approach.
Another area where the two platforms diverge is analytics. Having a link hub is only half the battle; understanding how people are interacting with it is what helps you refine and grow. Linktree provides basic analytics for free, like clicks and views, and its Pro plan unlocks enhanced tracking. It also lets you collect email addresses, though automation and deeper integrations are limited. This makes Linktree’s analytics sufficient for those who just want to keep an eye on their numbers without diving too deep. Beacons, however, delivers real-time, detailed analytics as part of its core offering. Even the free plan provides more insights than Linktree’s, and Beacons goes further by including built-in email tools. You can collect addresses, send emails, and even set up basic automations directly from your Beacons dashboard. While the free tier has limits on sends and automations, upgrading expands these features significantly, essentially turning Beacons into a lightweight marketing platform in addition to a link-in-bio tool. This integrated approach appeals to creators who want to manage their entire audience funnel, awareness, engagement, and monetization from one place.
Of course, all these features come at a price, so how do the two compare when it comes to cost? Linktree offers a free tier that’s very usable for most people, with paid plans ranging from about $5.00 to $24.00 per month when billed annually. Its pricing is attractive to beginners, small businesses, or creators who just need the essentials. Beacons also offers a free tier, but with a catch: transactions on free plans carry a 9% fee. Paid plans start around $10.00/month for Creator Pro, scale to $30.00 for Store Pro, and go up to $90.00 for Business Pro when billed annually. While that’s higher than Linktree, the value lies in the built-in monetization and email tools that could easily replace paying for separate services. In other words, if you only need a clean page with links, Linktree’s pricing is hard to beat. But if you want advanced design, integrated monetization, and analytics, Beacons’ higher price may actually save you money compared to stitching together multiple tools.
So, which tool is “better” in 2025? The truth is that it depends on what you need. Linktree remains the best choice for those who want quick, easy, and affordable link hubs. If your main goal is simply to direct followers to your website, shop, or other social platforms, Linktree delivers a no-nonsense solution with minimal setup and cost. It’s especially well-suited for beginners or businesses that just want to cover the basics without getting bogged down in features they won’t use. Beacons, on the other hand, are ideal for creators and brands who want their link-in-bio page to do more. With advanced design options, direct monetization, real-time analytics, and integrated email marketing, it functions as more than just a link hub; it’s closer to a lightweight creator website and marketing platform rolled into one. The slightly steeper learning curve and higher pricing may deter some, but for those who want to grow their audience and income directly from their bio link, Beacons offers far more power.
In the end, the choice between Linktree and Beacons in 2025 boils down to your priorities. If you just need something clean and simple, Linktree has you covered. But if you see your bio link as more than just a digital signpost, if you want it to be a branded, monetized, and data-driven hub for your online presence, Beacons is the tool that will give you more room to grow. Either way, having a link-in-bio strategy is no longer optional. As the creator economy continues to expand, the little link in your profile can be one of the most powerful assets you own. Choosing the right tool ensures that every click counts.
