Beacons alternative for selling products

By the Crato team · Prices checked Oct 5, 2026 · 4 min read

The short answer

Beacons is a strong all-in-one link-in-bio tool, but its store takes 9% of every sale on the free plan and on the $10 Creator plan. To get 0%, you need the $30 a month Store Pro plan.

If selling products is the main reason you use Beacons, a store with a lower fee keeps more of each sale. On Crato's free plan the fee is 5%, and on Crato Pro it's 0% for $19 a month.

If you use Beacons mainly for its media kit, brand deal tools or email, those are good reasons to stay, and you can add a Crato store as one link inside it.

What Beacons charges to sell

Card processing (about 2.9% + 30¢ through Stripe) is on top for every plan.

Worth noticing: the $10 Creator plan still takes 9% per sale. It adds other features, but it doesn't lower the store fee.

What Crato charges

Card processing is charged by Stripe on top. Payments go straight into your own Stripe account.

What you keep in a month

*After platform fees and US card fees (2.9% + 30¢). Rounded to the nearest dollar.*

Two things stand out. On free plans, Crato's 5% keeps you more than Beacons' 9% at every sales level. On paid 0% plans, Crato Pro is $11 a month cheaper than Beacons Store Pro.

When does Beacons Store Pro beat Beacons Free? Above about $330 a month in sales. When does it beat Crato Free? Above about $600 a month. Crato Pro beats Crato Free above about $380.

Side by side

Where Beacons is better

• It does more than sell. Media kits, brand deal tools, email marketing and AI tools all live in one app. If you work with brands, that's useful and Crato doesn't do it.
• It's established, with a big creator user base and lots of templates.
• The Business plan has more for teams and agencies.

If your link in bio is mostly about brand work and selling is a side thing, Beacons' free plan is fine, and 9% on a few sales a month is a small number.

Where Crato is different

Lower fees at both levels. 5% instead of 9% on the free plan. 0% for $19 instead of $30.

Built only for selling. Crato doesn't try to be your media kit. It's a store, designed for a phone screen, with checkout in a couple of taps.

Merch in the same store. Tees, hoodies, mugs and totes with your designs, printed and shipped for you, next to your guides and courses.

Your own Stripe account. Payments land in a Stripe account in your name, paid out to your bank. Crato never holds your money.

A listing from one sentence. Describe the product and Crato drafts the title, description and a starting price.

Who should switch, and who shouldn't

Crato is probably a better fit if you:

• use Beacons mainly to sell, and the 9% bothers you
• sell enough to want 0% but not enough to justify $30 a month
• want to add merch without managing stock

Beacons is probably a better fit if you:

• rely on its media kit and brand deal tools
• want email marketing in the same app
• sell rarely, so the 9% is a few dollars

Or use both. Keep Beacons as your link in bio and add your Crato store as one of the links. Your products sell at Crato's fee, and nothing about your Beacons page has to change.

FAQ

How much does Beacons take per sale? 9% on the Free and Creator ($10) plans, and 0% on Store Pro ($30) and Business ($90). Card processing is on top.

Is there a Beacons alternative with lower fees? Crato's free plan takes 5% per sale, and Crato Pro is 0% for $19 a month.

Is Beacons Store Pro worth it? If you sell more than about $330 a month, Store Pro costs less than the 9% on the free plan. Crato Pro does the same job for $19.

Can I keep my Beacons page and sell through Crato? Yes. Add your Crato store link to your Beacons page.

Sources

1. Beacons pricing: beacons.ai/pricing (checked Oct 5, 2026)
2. Beacons help center, store fees: help.beacons.ai (checked Oct 5, 2026)
3. Stripe US pricing: stripe.com/pricing
4. Crato pricing: crato.store/pricing

Changelog: Oct 5, 2026: First published.