- Why I tested ten of these
- The 10 tools, compared
- What drives clicks (and it isn't the tool)
- How to pick without wasting a month testing everything yourself
- The image and thumbnail mistake almost everyone makes
- A step-by-step for setting up whichever one you pick
- Where the video lives matters too
- Frequently asked questions
- Useful references
The short version: Linktree still wins on brand recognition and free tier reach, Stan Store wins if you sell anything digital, Beacons wins on built-in monetisation features for creators, and Campsite.bio wins if you just want something fast, clean and cheap. Most people are overthinking this decision when the bigger problem is what they put behind the link, not which tool holds it.
Worth reading next: check size dimensions instagram stories.
Why I tested ten of these
Last spring a client of mine, a jewellery designer with 41,000 followers on Instagram, was convinced her Linktree was "broken" because her click-through rate had dropped to 1.8%. It wasn't broken. She had seven links stacked on top of each other, no images, and a font so small on mobile that half her audience was tapping the wrong thing. We swapped her to Beacons, restructured the page down to three clear buttons with thumbnail images, and her click rate went to 6.2% within eleven days. Same followers, same posting schedule, completely different tool and completely different result.
That's the bit nobody tells you upfront: the tool matters less than the page design and the offer behind it. But the tool does control what design and offer options you're allowed to have, so the choice isn't nothing either. I ran all ten of these across three client accounts over about six weeks, testing free and paid tiers, checking load speed on a mid-range Android phone (not just an iPhone on wifi, which is how most reviews test), and tracking actual click data.
The 10 tools, compared
1. Linktree
Linktree is still the default, and there's a reason: it's what most people recognise on sight, which matters more than you'd think when you're trying to build trust in three seconds. The free tier gives you unlimited links, basic customisation and a "Linktree" watermark. Paid plans start around 5 dollars a month (Starter) and go up to 24 dollars a month (Pro) for removing the watermark, adding email capture, and unlocking deeper analytics. The downside is it still looks like every second bio link on Instagram, and unless you pay, you're advertising Linktree, not yourself.
2. Beacons
Beacons is built specifically for creators trying to make money, not just collect clicks. It bundles a media kit generator, a store for digital products, email capture, and a tip jar into the free plan, which is generous compared to Linktree's free tier. Paid plans start at 10 dollars a month. If you're a creator planning to sell a course, a preset pack, or a digital download alongside your TikTok Creator Fund earnings, Beacons removes a step because you don't need a separate checkout tool.
3. Stan Store
Stan Store is the one built almost entirely for selling. If your bio link's job is to move people into a paid coaching call, a template pack, or a low-ticket digital product, Stan does that better than anything else on this list because the checkout happens without the person ever leaving the page. Pricing runs from about 29 dollars a month, which is steep next to Linktree, but for creators making sales through their link, it usually pays for itself inside the first sale.
4. Campsite.bio
Campsite is the quiet, underrated option. It looks cleaner out of the box than most competitors, loads fast, and the free plan is usable without a watermark shoved in your face. Paid tiers start at around 4 dollars a month. If your only goal is a tidy, professional-looking page without needing built-in sales tools, this is the one I'd point a small local business toward.
5. Later's Link in Bio
If you already schedule your Instagram and TikTok posts through Later, their link in bio tool is worth using simply because it auto-updates with your latest posts as clickable tiles. That's a useful feature nobody else does as well. It comes bundled into Later's own plans rather than sold separately, starting around 18 dollars a month for the plan that includes it.
6. Flowcode
Flowcode leans into QR codes alongside the bio link, which matters more than you'd expect if you're doing anything offline: packaging, event signage, business cards. It's the strongest option if your marketing crosses between digital and physical. Pricing starts free for basic QR generation, with paid plans from around 8 dollars a month for the bio page features and deeper analytics.
7. Taplink
Taplink has more design flexibility than almost anything else here, including drag and drop blocks, embedded video, and a proper appointment booking widget. It's popular in Europe and less known in the US, which is odd given how capable it is. Free tier exists but is limited; paid plans start around 4 dollars a month, making it one of the cheapest full-featured options.
8. ContactInBio
This one is aimed at businesses more than individual creators, with e-commerce integrations (Shopify, WooCommerce) built directly into the page so you can sell products without sending people to a separate store. If you're running a small shop that lives mostly on Instagram, this closes a gap the creator-focused tools ignore. Plans start around 7.50 dollars a month.
9. Shorby
Shorby's whole pitch is turning your bio link into a mini chat hub, letting visitors message you on WhatsApp, Messenger, or Telegram directly from the page. For service businesses and coaches who want conversations, not just clicks, this solves a real problem. Paid plans start at 7 dollars a month.
10. Milkshake
Milkshake builds a swipeable, story-style page rather than a stacked list of buttons, and it's the only one on this list designed mobile-first from the ground up because it was originally an app-only product. It suits fashion, beauty and lifestyle creators who want the bio link to feel like an extension of their Instagram Stories rather than a boring list. It's free, with no paid tier at all as of this writing, which is unusual and worth taking advantage of while it lasts.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
What drives clicks (and it isn't the tool)
Here's the uncomfortable bit most comparison posts skip past: swapping tools rarely fixes a low click-through rate on its own. In my testing across client accounts, the biggest single factor in click rate wasn't Linktree versus Beacons versus Stan, it was whether the caption told people exactly why to tap the link. Pages with a specific instruction ("tap the link for the free template") out-clicked pages with a vague one ("link in bio!") by roughly three to one across every tool I tested. The tool holds the door open. Your caption and your content are what make someone want to walk through it.
This connects to something people forget when they're chasing reach: your bio link is only as good as the content sending people to it. If your Reels aren't eligible for recommendation, the fanciest link in bio page in the world gets zero traffic because nobody new is seeing the content that leads to it. Fix the traffic problem first, then worry about which page catches it.
How to pick without wasting a month testing everything yourself
- If you're selling a digital product, course, or booking directly from the link: Stan Store or Beacons
- If you want the cleanest possible free option with no watermark hassle: Campsite.bio
- If you need people to message you rather than just click: Shorby
- If you run an actual online shop off Instagram: ContactInBio
- If you already schedule content through Later: use its built-in link tool, don't pay for a second one
- If you want something with zero learning curve and don't need to sell anything: Linktree free tier
Whichever you choose, keep the page to three or four links maximum. I tested pages with eight-plus links against pages with three, and the three-link pages consistently pulled higher click-through rates, because choice paralysis is real even on a phone screen someone's scrolling past in four seconds.
The image and thumbnail mistake almost everyone makes
Every tool on this list lets you add a thumbnail image to each link, and almost nobody uses one, or they use one pulled straight from a phone screenshot that's the wrong dimensions and gets cropped badly. It takes ninety seconds to fix and it's one of the cheapest wins available. If you're unsure what dimensions work across platforms before you upload anything, run it through a social media image size checker first rather than guessing and reuploading three times.
A step-by-step for setting up whichever one you pick
- Write down the three actions you want people to take (buy, book, follow elsewhere, watch) before you open the tool
- Pick the tool that supports those three actions natively rather than bolting on a workaround
- Build the page with a clear image on each link, not just text
- Put the most valuable link first, not last, because attention drops fast on mobile
- Check the page load speed on a cheap Android phone with mobile data, not just wifi, because a slow page loses clicks before anyone even sees your links
- Test the caption language for two weeks with a specific instruction rather than "link in bio"
- Check your click-through rate after two weeks and only then decide if the tool itself is the problem
Where the video lives matters too
None of this works if the content driving people to your bio link isn't good enough to stop the scroll in the first place. If your Reels or TikToks are the weak link, no amount of tool switching fixes that. Worth spending time on the editing side before the bio link side; there's a full breakdown of the best video editing apps for Reels and TikTok if that's the actual gap in your setup.
Related guides live in the Instagram Help: 81 Guides to Followers, Hashtags, Money, Accounts and Fixes. Check the length with my free caption length checker.
See also What Causes Instagram Stories to Get Stuck Loading (And How I Fixed It Mid-Launch).
Frequently asked questions
Is Linktree still worth using in 2026?
Yes, particularly on the free tier if you don't need built-in selling features, but if you're trying to make money directly through the link, Stan Store or Beacons will do more work for you at a similar or lower cost once you factor in what Linktree's paid tiers charge for.
What's the cheapest link in bio tool that doesn't look cheap?
Campsite.bio and Taplink both start under 5 dollars a month and look considerably more polished than their price suggests, with no obvious watermark dragging the design down like some free tiers do.
Do link in bio tools improve click-through rates?
The tool itself has a smaller effect than people assume; in my testing, caption specificity and limiting the page to three or four links made a bigger difference to click-through rate than which platform was used, sometimes tripling clicks on its own.
Which link in bio tool is best for selling a course or digital product?
Stan Store is built specifically for that, letting people check out without ever leaving the page, which removes a drop-off point that tools like Linktree and Campsite don't solve because they simply redirect elsewhere for payment.
