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Beacons Review: The Free Plan, the 9 Percent Fee and Plus

Beacons is a link-in-bio and creator store tool for creators who want a page, a media kit and digital product sales, starting on a free forever plan. The catch, as of Oct 2026, is the seller fee: Free carries 9 percent, and the pricing page only lists 0 percent seller fees from Creator Plus, at 30 dollars a month.

Beacons makes it easy to start for nothing, which is exactly why it's worth knowing what you're paying once you sell. I read Beacons' pricing page in both the monthly and annual views, and the fee line sits somewhere a lot of people won't look.

Beacons' four tiers, from Free to Creator Max

PlanPriceWhat's includedThe limit that bites
Free0 dollars, free forever30 daily AI credits, a customisable link in bio, a daily-updating media kit, unlimited digital products, affiliate links, Instagram auto-DM, real-time analytics9 percent seller fees and 50 email sends a month
Creator10 dollars a month, or 100 dollars billed annually (8.33 a month)All features in Free, plus 300 daily AI credits, a free custom domain, advanced SEO and marketing features500 email sends a month, and the card doesn't repeat the fee line
Creator Plus30 dollars a month, or 300 dollars billed annually (25 a month)All features in Creator, plus unlimited daily AI credits, 0 percent seller fees, buy now pay later, keeping 100 percent of affiliate link commissions, unlimited courses with video hosting, unlimited memberships, unlimited email sendsThe first tier with 0 percent seller fees
Creator Max100 dollars a month, or 1,000 dollars billed annually (83.3 a month)All features in Creator Plus, plus Google workspace, white glove onboarding, prioritised online support and an NFC card linked to your link in bioThe highest price on the page

Prices as listed on Beacons' pricing page, as of Oct 2026, check the vendor's page before you buy. The annual toggle says 2 months free, and the page names no currency.

The free plan's 9 percent and where it stops

The free forever plan is a good way to get a page up quickly, and it lets you sell unlimited digital products. But Free lists 9 percent seller fees. The first card on the page to say 0 percent seller fees is Creator Plus, at 30 dollars a month, or 25 a month billed annually.

The 10-dollar Creator card is the one to check. It says 'All features in Free' and then lists what's added, and the fee line isn't repeated there. So before you pay for Creator expecting to keep the whole sale, check whether the 9 percent still applies on that tier. I wouldn't assume it disappears.

If it does still apply on Creator, here's some arithmetic: the 20-dollar monthly step up to Plus equals 9 percent of about 222 dollars of sales a month. That only holds if the 9 percent still applies on Creator, so treat it as a rough line rather than a promise. Above that level of sales, the fee you'd save on Plus would be more than the extra 20 dollars.

What only Creator Plus adds

The seller fee isn't the only thing that starts at Plus. Courses with video hosting, memberships, unlimited email sends, buy now pay later at checkout and keeping 100 percent of your affiliate link commissions are all listed from Creator Plus and not below it. Plus also gives you unlimited daily AI credits.

So if you plan to sell a course or a membership through your link in bio, Plus is your starting point, not an upgrade for later. The same goes if you want to email your whole list regularly, since Free stops at 50 email sends a month and Creator at 500.

What Beacons does on the free plan

On Free you get a customisable link-in-bio page, a media kit that updates daily, the ability to sell unlimited digital products, affiliate links, Smart Reply, Instagram auto-DM, real-time analytics and 30 daily AI credits a day. Creator then adds a free custom domain, so your link in bio and store product pages sit on your own address, plus advanced SEO and marketing features. Creator Max is aimed at people who want white glove onboarding and prioritised support, with a physical NFC card thrown in.

If you're putting together a wider toolkit, I've rounded up content creator tools worth trying, and there's a separate list of free tools for creating content if you'd like to keep the bills down while you grow.

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Who Beacons fits, and who it won't

It fits:

  • Creators who want a link in bio with a media kit, digital product sales and Instagram auto-DM without paying a monthly fee.
  • Anyone happy to start free and only pay for more once sales justify it.
  • Creators selling courses or memberships who are ready to go straight to Creator Plus.

It won't fit:

  • Sellers who want to keep the whole sale on the free plan, because of the 9 percent seller fee, or on Creator without checking the fee first.
  • Anyone who needs courses, memberships or unlimited email before they're ready for the 30-dollar plan.

Beacons verdict: start free, then do the fee check

I'd start on Free to build the page and see whether anything sells, because it costs nothing and covers more than most people need at the start. Once sales come in, do two checks. First, confirm on Beacons' page whether the 9 percent still applies on Creator, because that decides whether the 10-dollar plan is worth it for selling. Second, if you want courses, memberships or unlimited email, skip straight to Creator Plus, as those only start there. Please can you check the pricing page yourself before you upgrade, as plans move.

Make a tool like this? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.

Frequently asked questions

Is Beacons free?

Yes. Beacons' pricing page lists a free forever plan at 0 dollars a month, with 9 percent seller fees and 50 email sends a month.

Which Beacons plan has no seller fees?

Creator Plus is the first tier the page lists with 0 percent seller fees, at 30 dollars a month or 300 dollars billed annually, as of Oct 2026.

Does Beacons Creator remove the 9 percent fee?

The Creator card says 'All features in Free' and doesn't repeat the fee line, so check on Beacons' page before you assume it does.

Can I sell courses on Beacons?

Yes, from Creator Plus. Unlimited courses with video hosting and unlimited memberships are listed from that tier.

Published and maintained by the Lilach Bullock team, covering marketing, AI and business growth.
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