Best Free Link in Bio Tools (2026): What Free Actually Costs

The best genuinely free link-in-bio tools are Lnk.Bio, Beacons, Linktree, Milkshake and Carrd. All five let you publish a real page without paying, but most of them are funded by a cut of your sales rather than a subscription: Linktree and Milkshake take 12% on their free plans, Beacons takes 9%. Here is what each free tier includes and where the bill actually arrives.

Tool	Free tier	What free costs you
Lnk.Bio	Unlimited links, basic analytics, 577 templates	Lnk.Bio branding on your page. No platform sales fee is published
Beacons	Link page, media kit, unlimited digital products	9% of every sale, 50 email sends/month, 30 daily AI credits
Linktree	Unlimited links, basic analytics, selling enabled	12% of every sale, branding you cannot remove
Milkshake	Unlimited links and cards, 30-day analytics	12% of every sale, phone app only, Milkshake branding
Carrd	3 one-page sites, all core features	No custom domain, no forms, no analytics, "Made with Carrd" footer
Stan Store	No free plan	14-day trial only

Every percentage above is the platform's own cut. Card processing (roughly 2.9% + $0.30 through Stripe) is charged on top of it, on every plan, everywhere.

Disclosure before we go further: we make Linkero, a paid link-in-bio tool. It is not on the list above and it is not in the ranking below, because it has no permanently free published tier, so it does not belong in a roundup of free options. It shows up once at the end, in the section about the point where free stops being the cheaper choice.

What does a free link in bio actually include?

Almost always the same four things: a hosted page on the tool's subdomain, unlimited links, basic click analytics, and the tool's branding somewhere on it. That combination is genuinely enough to route traffic from Instagram or TikTok to your other profiles.

What free leaves out is more consistent. You rarely get a custom domain, branding removal is almost always the first paid upgrade, and the moment money changes hands the platform takes a percentage. Check three limits before committing: the sales fee, whether branding can ever be removed, and whether analytics say anything beyond a total.

The best free link in bio tools, ranked

Ranked by how much you can do without paying, catch stated up front.

1. Beacons: the most capable free tier

The most feature-complete free plan here: a link page, a daily-updating media kit, unlimited digital products, affiliate links, 30 daily AI credits and 50 email sends a month. The catch is a 9% cut of everything you sell, and that email allowance is a demo rather than a mailing list. Best if you want the most product for $0 and are not yet selling. Full tiers in our Beacons pricing guide.

2. Lnk.Bio: the one that is free the longest

Unlimited links, basic analytics, 577 templates, 38 layouts and 147 embeddable services, with no time limit and no card required. The catch is Lnk.Bio branding, removable only via the Unique plan at $24.99 once rather than monthly. It also runs a built-in shop for digital products, physical goods and bookings, and unlike its rivals publishes no platform sales fee at all. We found none documented, which is not the same as a confirmed 0%, so treat it as unstated rather than zero. Best if you want a page that stays free indefinitely and dislike subscriptions.

3. Linktree: the biggest, and the most expensive to sell on

Unlimited links, core appearance options and basic analytics, and free accounts can sell products and courses. The catch is the highest fee here, 12%, plus branding that only comes off at Pro. It is the most recognised page format with the deepest integration list, which counts if your audience already expects it.

4. Milkshake: the best-looking free page

Free, fully functional and card-based, with unlimited links, 30-day analytics and free hosting. The catch is 12% on sales, and the entire product is a phone app with no desktop editor. Best if you build on your phone and want something that looks designed without doing design work.

5. Carrd: free with no cut, because there is nothing to cut

Three complete one-page sites with all core features. Carrd charges no sales fee at all, for the honest reason that it has no checkout to take one from. The catch is no custom domain, no forms and no analytics on free, and Carrd is a one-page site builder rather than a link hub, so you start from a blank canvas. Removing the footer is $9 a year; the first tier with a custom domain is $19 a year, per our Carrd pricing breakdown.

Stan Store is the notable absence: it has no free plan at all, only a 14-day trial, so it cannot be ranked here. It does charge 0% platform fees on its paid plans, which our Stan Store pricing guide explains.

Is Linktree 100% free?

Yes, permanently, with real limits. The free plan gives you unlimited links and basic analytics forever, but Linktree branding stays on the page and Linktree takes 12% of anything you sell through it. If you want that one tool examined properly rather than compared, we have a dedicated breakdown of whether Linktree's free plan is enough.

What's the best free Linktree alternative?

Beacons, if you want more features for nothing and can live with a 9% sales fee. Lnk.Bio, if the thing you actually want is a page that never asks for a subscription, and a one-time $24.99 to remove branding is easier to accept than a monthly bill. Milkshake, if you are building from your phone.

Pick by which limit bites you first, not by feature count. If you sell, the fee is the only number that matters. If you never sell, branding removal is the real decision, and Lnk.Bio's one-time pricing is the cheapest exit here. Our best link-in-bio tools roundup covers the paid field, and we compared the options under $5 a month separately.

Is a free link in bio good enough?

For most people, yes. If your page exists to send followers to your other profiles, your shop elsewhere, or your latest video, a free tier does that job completely and the branding costs you nothing but polish.

Free stops being enough at three points: when you need a custom domain because the page represents a business, when you need forms or an email list, and when you start selling. The first two are feature limits. The third is a bill that scales, which is the one people miss. Still deciding what shape of page you need? Our explainer on what a link in bio page is covers the category, and the link-in-bio checklist audits what your current page is missing.

When does free stop being cheaper?

The moment your sales fee exceeds what a paid plan would have cost. That crossover arrives earlier than most creators expect.

At a 9% fee, a $10-a-month plan costs you less as soon as you sell about $110 a month. At 12%, it wins at roughly $83 a month. That is one $80 workshop seat, or a handful of $15 presets. Past that point every extra sale on the free plan costs more than the subscription you were avoiding.

Two things follow. If you sell nothing, free is unbeatable and you should ignore every upgrade prompt. If you sell anything at all, do the division first, because "free" is a pricing model rather than a price.

This is where a paid, zero-fee tool becomes the cheaper option, and where ours competes. Linkero is a paid link-in-bio builder with a custom domain, analytics and no platform sales fee on any plan. It publishes on paid plans only, so it is not a free option and we have not pretended otherwise here. If your page is not making money, one of the five tools above is the better answer today. If it is, compare our pricing against 9% of last month's sales and let the arithmetic decide.

FAQ

What's the best free Linktree alternative? Beacons for the most capable free tier, at the cost of a 9% sales fee. Lnk.Bio if you want the page free permanently and prefer a one-time $24.99 to remove branding over a subscription. Milkshake if you build from your phone.

Is Linktree 100% free? Yes, permanently, with unlimited links and basic analytics. The limits are non-removable branding and a 12% platform fee on anything you sell through the page, plus card processing on top.

Is Lnk.Bio better than Linktree? For staying free, yes. Lnk.Bio publishes no platform sales fee and sells branding removal as a one-time $24.99, where Linktree charges 12% on free-plan sales and only removes branding at Pro. Linktree wins on recognition and integrations.

What are some good links to put in my bio? Lead with whatever you want acted on this week: the newest video or post, the thing you are selling now, and an email signup. Then your other profiles, ordered by which you actually maintain. Four to six links converts better than fifteen.

What does "free link in bio" actually mean? Usually free to publish and host, with the tool's branding on the page and a percentage taken from any sales. It rarely means free of a custom domain, forms, or a sales fee. Check those three before treating a free tier as free.