Stan Store vs Linktree in 2026: Fees, Features, and Which to Pick

Stan Store vs Linktree is one of the most common creator-platform comparisons in 2026, and for a lot of people it's really a search for the best Linktree alternatives. (Stan Store is just as often searched as one word, so "stanstore vs linktree" and "stan store vs linktree" mean the same thing, the same platform at the same price.) Both put a single page behind your bio link. Both let you sell things. But they're built around very different ideas of what a creator's storefront should be.

Linktree is a link aggregator that added commerce. Stan Store is a commerce platform that looks like a link-in-bio, and it's the Linktree alternative most creators reach for first. The difference shows up in pricing, in fees, and in what each one is actually good at.

This guide breaks both down side by side, with verified 2026 pricing, real cost math, a shortlist of other Linktree alternatives worth knowing, and honest recommendations for who should pick what.

Quick Answer

Stan Store charges $29/month (Creator) or $99/month (Creator Pro) with 0% platform fees on every sale. Linktree has a free plan with a 12% sales fee, plus paid tiers at $8 (Starter), $15 (Pro, 9% fee), and $35 (Premium, 0% fee).

Stan Store is the right pick for creators who consistently sell digital products and want marketing tools built in. Linktree is the right pick for creators who mostly need a link hub. Neither includes live video calls or full paid scheduling, so creators selling live sessions need a third tool either way.

At-a-Glance Comparison

Neither platform handles live video. That's the gap most creators feel once they try to sell coaching, consulting, or workshops on top of digital products.

Stan Store: What You Get

Stan Store is built for creators whose business model is selling digital products, courses, and bookings. It's mobile-first, social-traffic-focused, and tightly integrated with Instagram.

Creator plan ($29/month)

• Mobile-optimized storefront
• Unlimited digital products, ebooks, templates
• Online courses
• Calendar bookings (no video included)
• Subscription products
• Community features
• AutoDM (auto-replies on Instagram comments with a product link)
• Basic analytics
• Custom branding (colors, fonts)
• 0% platform fee

Creator Pro ($99/month)

Everything in Creator, plus:

• Sales funnels and order bumps
• Email marketing automation
• Discount codes and limited-quantity offers
• Affiliate program management
• Payment plans (Afterpay, Klarna)
• Pixel tracking (Meta, Google, TikTok, Pinterest)
• Advanced analytics with attribution

Stan Store has no free plan, just a 14-day trial. Annual billing brings Creator down to $25/month and Pro to $79/month.

For a deeper look at the platform itself, see our Stan Store pricing and features review.

Linktree: What You Get

Linktree's center of gravity is link aggregation. Selling is a feature they added later. The free plan is genuinely usable for sharing links, which is why 50 million creators use it. Commerce is the place where it gets expensive fast.

Free ($0/month)

• Unlimited links
• Basic themes
• QR codes
• Embedded video
• Social icons
• Basic analytics (views and clicks)
• 12% sales fee on digital products

Starter ($8/month)

• Adds custom themes and link animations
• Still keeps Linktree branding on your page
• 12% sales fee

Pro ($15/month)

• Removes Linktree branding
• Advanced analytics (CTR, location, device, referrers)
• Instagram comment and DM automation
• Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Zapier integrations
• Link scheduling
• Branded short URLs with UTM tracking
• Facebook and TikTok pixel
• 9% sales fee

Premium ($35/month)

• Everything in Pro
• 0% sales fee on digital products
• Higher email collection limits
• Priority support

Linktree's annual billing reduces these to roughly $5 (Starter), $10 (Pro), and $24 (Premium).

For the full plan-by-plan breakdown, see our Linktree free vs Pro features comparison.

The Real Math: Which One Costs Less?

The answer depends on how much you sell.

The crossovers:

• Below ~$240/month in sales, Linktree Free costs less than Stan Store ($29 fixed)
• Above ~$240/month in sales, Stan Store Creator beats Linktree Free
• Linktree Premium ($35/month, 0% fee) beats Stan Store Creator only on margins below $290/month in sales (rare for active sellers)
• Stan Store Creator beats Linktree Premium at any volume above ~$580/month in sales (because Stan Store gets you Stan-specific tools that Linktree doesn't)

Both exclude Stripe processing fees (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction), which apply to every sale on both platforms.

Where Each One Wins

Stan Store wins for:

• Creators selling digital products as primary income. Stan Store is purpose-built for this. The course builder, AutoDM, and 0% fee structure make it cheaper at scale.
• Instagram-first creators. AutoDM is built into both Stan plans. It turns post comments into product DMs without you doing anything.
• Marketing-heavy sellers. If you need funnels, upsells, email automation, and affiliates, Creator Pro ($99/month) packages them in one tool.
• Course sellers. Stan has a built-in course player. Linktree doesn't.

Linktree wins for:

• Creators who mostly share links. Free is genuinely free for non-commerce use. No platform does this better.
• Multi-platform link hubs. If your bio link is the entry point to a podcast, YouTube channel, blog, and merch, Linktree's link-first design makes more sense than Stan's storefront-first design.
• Casual sellers earning under ~$250/month. Below this threshold, Linktree Free's 12% fee costs less than Stan's $29/month.
• Audiences across multiple social platforms. Linktree's integrations and pixel support are broader than Stan's Instagram focus.

Where Both Fall Short: Live Video

This is the gap that comes up over and over for creators who try to scale beyond digital products.

Neither Stan Store nor Linktree has built-in video calls. Neither has full paid scheduling. Neither records sessions. Neither runs workshops.

If you sell:

• 1:1 coaching calls
• Consulting sessions
• Group masterminds
• Live workshops or masterclasses
• AMAs or office hours

...then Stan Store or Linktree alone isn't enough. You'll need to add Zoom ($13/month), Calendly ($10/month), and a recording or AI notes tool on top. That's another $25-50/month and another set of logins.

This is where Talkspresso fits in. It's a creator platform built specifically around live video monetization: HD video calls, scheduling with timezone handling, payments, automatic recording, AI session summaries, and digital product sales. Free to start. 10% platform fee only when you earn.

For a deeper comparison of how live-video creator tools stack up, see our best platforms for paid video calls guide.

Best Linktree Alternatives in 2026

If you landed here searching for Linktree alternatives, Stan Store is the headline option, but it isn't the only one. The right alternative depends on what you actually sell.

• Stan Store — The most popular Linktree alternative for selling digital products and courses. $29/mo with 0% platform fees and Instagram-tight AutoDM.
• Beacons — A free-to-start link-in-bio with a built-in store and media kit. A closer like-for-like swap if you want Linktree's layout without the 12% fee. See our Beacons vs Linktree breakdown.
• Gumroad — Pay-as-you-go (10% flat, no subscription) for one-off digital products. Good for creators selling occasionally.
• Payhip — 5% on the free plan, lower on paid tiers, with courses and memberships built in.
• Talkspresso — The Linktree alternative for creators who sell live time: HD video calls, scheduling, payments, and recording in one platform, free to start, 10% only when you earn. The other tools all make you bolt on Zoom and Calendly.

No single tool wins for everyone. Pick the Linktree alternative that matches your revenue model: Stan Store or Payhip for digital products, Beacons for a cheaper link hub, and Talkspresso for live sessions.

Who Should Pick What

Pick Stan Store if:

• Your main income is digital products, courses, or memberships
• You consistently earn $300+/month in product sales
• You want Instagram AutoDM and an Instagram-tight workflow
• You need funnels, email marketing, and affiliates (Creator Pro)
• You don't sell live video sessions

Pick Linktree if:

• You mostly share links, not products
• Your bio link spans multiple platforms (podcast, YouTube, blog, social)
• You earn under $250/month in product sales (Free) or want zero fees at scale (Premium)
• You want Instagram automation without a full commerce platform (Pro)
• You don't need built-in courses or memberships

Pick something else if:

• You sell live coaching calls, consulting, or workshops
• You want video calls + scheduling + payments in one tool without stacking Zoom and Calendly
• You want to pay only when you earn (no monthly subscription)
• Your business model centers on selling your time, not just digital downloads

In that last scenario, Talkspresso is the better fit. It includes video, scheduling, payments, recording, and digital products in one platform with no monthly fee. You can keep Linktree as your link hub and add your Talkspresso booking link as one of the entries.

Common Pitfalls Creators Hit

A few patterns we see repeatedly when creators end up frustrated with either tool.

Paying for Stan Store before earning. $29/month is real money when you're not yet selling consistently. New creators with no validated offer often burn $200-$300 on Stan subscriptions before learning whether anyone wants to buy. A pay-as-you-earn alternative removes that risk.

Treating Linktree Free as a real storefront. The 12% fee is the most expensive option on the table. At $1,000/month in sales, you're paying $120/month in fees instead of upgrading to Linktree Pro ($15) or Premium ($35) and saving real money. (Yes, Linktree is still free in 2026, but the math gets ugly the moment you start selling.)

Bolting Zoom and Calendly onto either tool. Once you're paying for three subscriptions to take a call, you're spending more than the all-in-one alternatives. The convenience of one workflow usually wins on second thought.

Picking based on brand recognition, not fit. Linktree's name is bigger, but Stan Store's mechanics fit some creator businesses much better. The right tool isn't the one your favorite influencer mentioned. It's the one that matches your revenue model.

The Bottom Line

Stan Store and Linktree are both good at what they're built for. Neither is wrong. They're just optimized for different creator businesses.

If you live and die by digital product sales from social, Stan Store at $29/month with 0% platform fees pays for itself fast. If your bio link is mostly a navigation hub and selling is occasional, Linktree Free is the obvious starting point and Pro ($15/month) is a fair upgrade.

If you sell live sessions, both come up short. That's not Linktree or Stan Store's fault. It's just outside what they were designed for. For that, you want a platform that started with video and built outward from there.

For more context, see our Stan Store alternatives guide, our Linktree complete guide, and our breakdown of creator platforms that pay you the most.

Try Talkspresso free — no monthly fee, video and scheduling built in.