Free link in bio: what each free plan holds, and where the free ends
Olivia Bennett23 min read
A free link in bio is a page behind the one address in your profile that costs nothing to create and nothing to keep. Seven tools print the word, and it covers very different pages: some hold links only, some hold photos and video, four take payments at $0, and one prints "free" on its feature page and a 14-day trial on its pricing page. This comparison reads the seven from their own pages on the same day: Onlink, Linktree, Beacons, Lnk.Bio, Canva, Bio Sites and Later.
The short version: six of the seven have a free plan with no end date, and Later's is a trial. Of the six, Onlink, Linktree, Beacons and Bio Sites print selling on the free plan: Onlink at 10% a sale, Linktree at 12% per its fees article, Beacons at 9%, and Bio Sites with no fee printed. Onlink's free page holds photo, video, Spotify and Instagram cards next to the paid ones, and carries no Onlink branding badge. Every line is in the tables, with the page it came from.
How did we compare the seven?
We read each tool's pricing page or home page, and the feature or help pages linked where each fact appears, in a browser on 5 September 2026, then again on 6 September 2026 together with the help articles linked where a fee or a payout appears, and put the six questions below to all seven. Every competitor line is that page's own words or numbers, and every Onlink number is computed from the plan table the product charges on, which the Onlink pricing page prints.
- The free plan: whether there is one with no end date, and what the first paid tier costs.
- What it holds: the free plan's own list.
- Selling at $0: what the free plan sells, the fee on a sale, and where the money goes.
- Where free ends: what the paid tiers add, and at what price.
- Design: what the page is, and what you can change on the free plan.
- The badge: whether the tool's branding is on the free page, and what removing it costs.
Which link in bio tools are actually free?
Onlink, Linktree, Beacons and Lnk.Bio each print a free plan, Canva and Bio Sites print their pages as free, none with an end date printed, and Onlink's page adds no card; Later prints "Get your free link in bio" on its feature page and a 14-day trial with paid plans from $25 a month, or $18.75 billed annually, on its pricing page. The difference between a free plan and a trial is the line that matters: one stays free while you never pay, the other ends.
| Tool | Free plan | First paid tier |
|---|---|---|
| Onlink | $0, no card, no time limit | Pro $12.50 a month, or $10 billed annually |
| Linktree | Free, "Free with restrictions", "Unlimited basic links", no end date printed | Starter $8 a month, or $6 billed annually, in the dollars its page printed to a reader in the United States |
| Beacons | "Free forever", $0 a month | Creator $10 a month, or $8.33 billed annually |
| Lnk.Bio | "FREE", $0; "free and unlimited" in its FAQ | Mini, printed as $0.99 a month in the plan table and $9.99 one-time in the about section |
| Canva | "Canva Websites are free for any Canva user", published on a my.canva.site address | Canva Pro, for your own domain and Website Insights; price not printed |
| Bio Sites | "100% free to create and launch", no Squarespace subscription needed | Not printed |
| Later | No free plan; "Start 14-day free trial" | Starter $25 a month, or $18.75 billed annually, with Link in Bio listed on it |
Sources: Onlink pricing; Linktree pricing, read in dollars from the United States on 6 September 2026, with Linktree's fees article, selling guide and ads article, each 6 September 2026; Beacons pricing; Lnk.Bio's home page and its shop page, the shop page 6 September 2026; Canva's link in bio page; Bio Sites' home page; Later's link in bio page with Later's pricing. The pages first read on 5 September 2026 were read again on 6 September 2026 and had not changed. Linktree's pricing page shows prices in the visitor's local currency; the figures here are the dollar ones it printed to a reader in the United States on 6 September 2026, and its fees come from its fees article of the same day.
What does each free plan hold?
Links, on all six free plans, and then it differs: photos and video on the page itself on Onlink, photos on Canva and Bio Sites, music and video embeds on Lnk.Bio, "Unlimited basic links" and a line about selling on Linktree, and a "Customizable link in bio" with digital products, affiliate links, 50 email sends a month and analytics on Beacons. The table is each page's own list, not ours.
| Tool | What the free plan includes |
|---|---|
| Onlink | Unlimited links, photos and videos, Spotify and YouTube cards, an Instagram card that shows your posts or reels, notes and a map; selling digital products, courses, paid calls (bookings), donations and tips; a lead magnet; the affiliate programme; analytics with revenue; 10 GB of media; the auto-updating YouTube channel card is on Pro and Premium |
| Linktree | "Unlimited basic links"; "Sell products, courses, and make money on brand offers"; in a pilot, "Some Free Linktrees may show a short ad to visitors after they click an external link", per its ads article |
| Beacons | "Customizable link in bio", "Daily-updating media kit", "Sell unlimited digital products", "Create affiliate links", "50 email sends per month", "Smart Reply IG auto-DM", "Real-time analytics", 30 daily AI credits |
| Lnk.Bio | "Unlimited Lnks", "Embed Music & Videos", "Add a Map", "Basic statistics", 147 embed services, 19 integrations, 577 templates, QR code, 3 pages |
| Canva | A website built in Canva's editor with photos, logos and social icons, up to five live sites on the free domain |
| Bio Sites | "add as many links as you want, with no limits"; templates and a drag-and-drop editor; products, bookings, affiliate links and a tip jar; email and phone capture; analytics "free and built-in"; up to 10 Bio Sites per account |
| Later | Not a free plan; the 14-day trial is offered on each paid plan, and Starter, at $18.75 a month billed annually, lists unlimited buttons and Link in Bio analytics; "Single links can be added to all TikTok, Instagram, and Snap posts" and "Growth and Advanced plans can add up to 5 links per Instagram post", per its feature page |
Per the pages linked under the table of free plans and first paid tiers. Two things the lists do not say. On Onlink the page is a bento grid of cards you place yourself, and the photos and videos are cards on it, not links out to them; the free plan keeps 10 GB of media for that. Linktree's free card prints links and a selling line; Lnk.Bio's prints embeds and a map, with images and banners on Unique. Lnk.Bio alone against Onlink, plan by plan, is in Onlink vs Lnk.Bio.
We built the free plan that way on purpose. The part of the product a creator needs to get paid should not sit behind a subscription, so on Onlink the page, every card type and every kind of selling are on Free, and a creator who sells nothing pays nothing. The subscription is for a lower fee and more tools, not for permission to use the page.
Which free link in bio lets you sell?
Onlink, Linktree, Beacons and Bio Sites print selling on the free plan: Onlink at 10% a sale, Linktree at 12% per its fees article, Beacons at 9%, and Bio Sites with no fee printed on the page we read. Lnk.Bio opens its shop on the Unique plan at $24.99 one-time with a 5% fee per its shop page, and Canva and Later send the visitor to a shop elsewhere.
| Tool | What you can sell at $0 | Fee on a sale | Where the money goes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onlink | Digital products, courses, paid calls (bookings), donations and tips | 10% on Free, 7% on Pro, 0% on Premium | Your own Stripe account, through Stripe Connect; Onlink never holds it |
| Linktree | "Sell products, courses, and make money on brand offers" | 12% on Free, 9% on Starter and Pro, 0% on Premium, per its fees article, plus Stripe's processing fee | "your sales earnings will be sent directly to your Stripe account", per its selling guide |
| Beacons | "Sell unlimited digital products", "Create affiliate links" | "9% seller fees" on Free and Creator; 0% on Creator Plus and Max | "cash out right away directly to your Stripe or PayPal accounts" |
| Lnk.Bio | Nothing on Free; "Open your Shop" on Unique, $24.99 one-time | 5%, "Excludes Stripe/PayPal fees", per its shop page | "Collect payments via PayPal or Stripe"; "Lnk.Bio doesn't hold your funds" |
| Canva | Nothing on the page itself; "highlight your shop and feature products" as links | Not applicable | Your own shop |
| Bio Sites | "digital downloads", "1:1 appointments", affiliate links, "Product Links", merch, services, "a tip jar", crowdfunding | Not printed | "connect to Stripe or PayPal for fast, easy and secure payments" |
| Later | Nothing on the page itself; "custom affiliate links to track every sale" | Not applicable | Your own shop |
Per the pages linked under the table of free plans and first paid tiers, with Linktree's fee from its fees article and its payout line from its selling guide, and Lnk.Bio's from its shop page, each read on 6 September 2026. Where the money lands is printed by all five that sell: on Onlink the buyer pays your own Stripe account and Stripe pays your bank on its schedule for your country, with no balance held on Onlink; Linktree's guide sends earnings to your Stripe account; Beacons prints a cash-out to Stripe or PayPal, Lnk.Bio "doesn't hold your funds", and Bio Sites prints a connection to Stripe or PayPal.
What a sale costs on Beacons against Onlink, plan by plan, is in Onlink vs Beacons, on Linktree in Onlink vs Linktree, and on six selling platforms, Gumroad and Payhip included, in our comparison of platforms to sell digital products.
Where does the free plan end?
It ends at the badge, the look, the fee or the domain, depending on the tool; on Onlink there is no branding badge on any plan, so what Pro and Premium buy is a lower fee and tools. The table is what each page prints against its paid tiers, and the badge has its own section below.
| Tool | What the paid tiers add | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Onlink | A 7% fee instead of 10%; analytics breakdown, audience CRM, the auto-updating YouTube channel card, a photo or video as the page background, 20 GB of media; 0%, 50 GB of media and a verified profile badge on Premium | Pro $12.50 a month, or $10 billed annually; Premium $37.50, or $30 billed annually |
| Linktree | "Personalized Linktree", "Basic analytics", "Sell digital products (9% fees)" on Starter; "Remove Linktree branding" and "Custom themes, fonts, & layouts" on Pro; "Sell digital products (0% fees)" on Premium; "Ads never appear on paid Linktree plans", per its ads article | Starter $8 a month, or $6 billed annually; Pro $15, or $12 billed annually; Premium $35, or $30 billed annually |
| Beacons | 300 daily AI credits, "Free custom domain", 500 email sends a month, "Advanced SEO and marketing features"; 0% seller fees on Creator Plus | Creator $10 a month, or $8.33 billed annually; Plus $30, or $25 billed annually |
| Lnk.Bio | Scheduled links, password-protected links, "Advanced analytics", "Instagram & TikTok Sync", 38 layouts, 5 pages on Mini; the shop, no logo, custom colours and fonts on Unique | Mini $0.99 a month or $9.99 one-time; Unique $24.99 one-time; custom domain $39.99 a year as an add-on |
| Canva | Your own domain and Website Insights on Canva Pro | Not printed |
| Bio Sites | Not printed; the page lists no paid tier | Not printed |
| Later | The Link in Bio page itself, inside the scheduling subscription, after the 14-day trial | Starter $25, Growth $50, Scale $110 a month, or $18.75, $37.50 and $82.50 billed annually |
Sources: Onlink pricing; Linktree pricing, read in dollars from the United States on 6 September 2026, with Linktree's fees article, selling guide and ads article, each 6 September 2026; Beacons pricing; Lnk.Bio's home page and its shop page, the shop page 6 September 2026; Canva's link in bio page; Bio Sites' home page; Later's link in bio page with Later's pricing. The pages first read on 5 September 2026 were read again on 6 September 2026 and had not changed.
What can you change on the free plan?
On Onlink the free plan has card sizes and positions by dragging, a layout kept for desktop and again for the phone, and a background as a colour, gradient or pattern; a photo or video behind the whole page is on Pro and Premium, because it is served to every visitor on every visit. The other six print a theme or a template layer: Linktree "Custom themes, fonts, & layouts" on Pro, Beacons "colors, fonts, styles, and layouts", Lnk.Bio 577 free templates with custom colours, fonts and wallpaper on Unique, Canva and Bio Sites a template and a drag-and-drop editor, and Later "custom buttons, backgrounds, text colors, and themes".
| Tool | What the page is | What you can change |
|---|---|---|
| Onlink | A bento grid of cards: links, photos and video, notes, a map, Spotify and YouTube cards, an Instagram card of your posts or reels, and the paid cards | Card sizes and positions by dragging, for desktop and again for the phone; background as a colour, gradient or pattern on every plan, a photo or video on Pro and Premium; avatar placement; no Onlink branding badge on any plan |
| Linktree | Links with themes | "Custom themes, fonts, & layouts" on Pro ($15 a month, or $12 billed annually); "From video backgrounds to removing the Linktree logo" on its paid plans, per its pricing page |
| Beacons | Links, plus a website builder | "colors, fonts, styles, and layouts", per its pricing page; "Remove Beacons branding" is a row in its plan grid, plan not named in our capture; its plans article puts logo removal on Creator Plus |
| Lnk.Bio | Links and embeds | 577 templates on Free; custom colours, fonts and wallpaper on Unique, per its home page |
| Canva | A website built in Canva's editor, published at a my.canva.site address on Free | "Start with a ready-made template, then customize it to your brand colors and font styles"; a "drag-and-drop editor to add your photos, logos, and graphic elements"; a preview "on desktop, tablet, or mobile devices" |
| Bio Sites | A Bio Site from a template | "Choose a beautiful template, then use the drag-and-drop editor to personalize with layouts, font styles and brand colors" |
| Later | A page built from the posts you attach a link to | "custom buttons, backgrounds, text colors, and themes", per its feature page; "Customization" of "background, buttons, and more" on every plan, per its pricing table |
Sources: Onlink pricing; Linktree pricing, read in dollars from the United States on 6 September 2026, with Linktree's fees article, selling guide and ads article, each 6 September 2026; Beacons pricing; Lnk.Bio's home page and its shop page, the shop page 6 September 2026; Canva's link in bio page; Bio Sites' home page; Later's link in bio page with Later's pricing. The pages first read on 5 September 2026 were read again on 6 September 2026 and had not changed. The difference a creator feels is where the design lives: on the other six it is a theme or a template you pick and then tune, with the fuller controls on a paid tier on Linktree and Lnk.Bio; on Onlink there is no theme layer, the page is the grid itself, and the free plan already has the card sizes, positions and both layouts.
Which free link in bio has no branding?
Onlink: there is no Onlink branding badge on the page on any plan, Free included. On the other six, the pages print the removal as a paid line or say nothing, tool by tool in the table.
| Tool | The badge, per its page |
|---|---|
| Onlink | No Onlink branding badge on any plan, per the product; the address is on.link/yourname |
| Linktree | "Remove Linktree branding" is listed on Pro, at $15 a month or $12 billed annually |
| Beacons | "Remove Beacons branding" is a row in its plan grid, plan not named in our capture; its plans article puts "logo removal" on Creator Plus, $30 a month or $25 billed annually |
| Lnk.Bio | "No Lnk.Bio Logo in profile" is on Unique, $24.99 one-time |
| Canva | Published under a my.canva.site address on Free; nothing printed about a badge |
| Bio Sites | Published at bio.site/yourname; nothing printed about a badge |
| Later | "No Later Branding" is marked on Starter, Growth and Scale in its pricing table, all paid |
Per the pages linked under the first table, and, for the Beacons tier, its plans article read on 6 September 2026.
Is a free link in bio enough for Instagram and TikTok?
Yes, on every tool here, because the page has one address and it goes into the profile: on Instagram under Edit profile and Links, and on TikTok under Edit profile and Links once the account has at least 1,000 followers or is a Verified Business Account, per each platform's help page read on 6 September 2026. Pasting the address needs no access to your account on any of the seven, and none of the free plans limits which platform it is pasted into; building the page can: Lnk.Bio's page says "Log in via Instagram", and Later's page builds from the posts you attach a link to.
What differs is what the visitor sees after the tap. Later's page is built from the posts you attach a link to and looks like your feed; its FAQ says links "need to be attached to an Instagram or TikTok post" to appear, and that the page "may not mirror your exact feed if you don't tag every single post with a link". On Onlink the page does not depend on the feed: a photo card stays up whether or not it was ever posted, and a paid card sits beside it.
Where each profile field is, and what it accepts, is in our guide to putting a link in an Instagram bio and the TikTok guide.
Is there a free Linktree alternative?
Five, on their own pages: Onlink, Beacons and Lnk.Bio each print a free plan, and Canva and Bio Sites print their pages as free, none with an end date printed. What each one gives at $0 that Linktree's free plan does not list is in the table of what each free plan includes; the shortest reading is that Onlink adds photos, video and the selling of digital products, courses, bookings and donations at a printed fee, Beacons adds affiliate links and a printed 9% fee, Lnk.Bio adds embeds and a map, Canva adds a website builder, and Bio Sites adds selling with a Stripe or PayPal connection.
The wider comparison, Stan Store and Bio Link included, is in our Linktree alternatives that let you sell; the six tools compared on price, design and analytics are in the best link in bio tools compared.
What matters more than price?
When the free plan is $0 on six of the seven, what matters more than the price is what it withholds until you pay: selling, your photos and video, or a page without the tool's badge. Of the seven, the lowest risk is the free plan that already sells, holds your media and carries no badge, because the day you need one of those the others charge a tier for it.
On Onlink the three are on Free: selling at 10% a sale into your own Stripe account, 10 GB of media, and no branding badge on any plan. On Linktree the badge comes off on Pro at $15 a month ($12 billed annually) and a free-plan sale costs 12%, per its fees article; on Lnk.Bio the shop and the logo removal are on Unique at $24.99 one-time; on Later the page itself is $25 a month, or $18.75 billed annually, after 14 days; Beacons sells on Free at 9% and its plans article puts logo removal on Creator Plus at $30 a month; Canva and Bio Sites print no badge line and no selling fee.
Which free link in bio should you pick?
It depends on what the page has to do at $0, and the table takes it case by case. For photos, video and something to sell on the same page, with no branding badge and the money in your own Stripe account, the answer is Onlink; the cases that send you elsewhere are specific, three of them cost money, and each is in the table.
| If you… | Pick |
|---|---|
| Want photos, video and something to sell on the same page at $0 | Onlink Free: photo, video, Spotify and Instagram cards next to the paid cards, 10% a sale, into your own Stripe account |
| Want no branding badge without paying | Onlink: none on any plan; Linktree removes its badge on Pro ($15 a month), Lnk.Bio on Unique ($24.99 one-time), Later on its paid plans |
| Want a page built from your Instagram and TikTok posts, each with a link | Later, on a paid plan after its 14-day trial; Onlink's page does not depend on the feed |
| Want to design the page in a website builder and, on a paid plan, own the domain | Canva; Onlink has no custom domain on any plan |
| Already run a Squarespace site and want the bio page to match it | Bio Sites, which its page says can copy your logo, socials and colours from Squarespace |
| Want a one-time payment instead of a subscription | Lnk.Bio, at $9.99 or $24.99 one-time per its about section; Onlink's paid plans are subscriptions |
| Want Instagram auto-DMs on the free plan | Beacons, which prints "Smart Reply IG auto-DM" on Free; Onlink does not offer them |
Per the pages linked under the tables above. The same cases, with the reason behind each pick:
- You want photos, video and something to sell on the same page at $0: Onlink Free, because the cards and the selling are on it at 10% a sale, paid into your own Stripe account.
- You want no branding badge without paying: Onlink, because there is none on any plan; on Linktree, Lnk.Bio and Later the removal is a paid line.
- You want a page built from your Instagram and TikTok posts, each with a link: Later, on a paid plan after its 14-day trial.
- You want to design the page in a website builder and, on a paid plan, own the domain: Canva; Onlink has no custom domain on any plan.
- You already run a Squarespace site and want the bio page to match it: Bio Sites, which its page says can copy your logo, socials and colours from Squarespace.
- You want a one-time payment instead of a subscription: Lnk.Bio, at $9.99 or $24.99 one-time per its about section.
- You want Instagram auto-DMs on the free plan: Beacons prints "Smart Reply IG auto-DM" on Free; Onlink does not offer them.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a completely free link in bio?
Yes: six of the seven tools here print a free plan or a free page, none with an end date printed, and the first table names them. On Onlink the free plan asks for no card, shows no ads, and the only charge Onlink makes on it is 10% of a sale you make, per the Onlink pricing page; Stripe's processing fee is charged separately by Stripe. Linktree's free plan is in a pilot in which "Some Free Linktrees may show a short ad to visitors after they click an external link", per its ads article.
What is the best free link in bio tool?
It depends on what you put behind the link. For links only, all six free plans do it. For photos and video on the page, Onlink; for photos, Canva and Bio Sites too. For selling at $0, Onlink at 10%, Beacons at 9%, Linktree at 12% per its fees article, and Bio Sites with no fee printed for the free tier. For no branding badge at all, Onlink. Each table above is the page's own list.
Does a free link in bio show a badge?
On Onlink, no branding badge on any plan. On Linktree, removing the branding is listed on Pro; on Lnk.Bio, on Unique; on Later, on every paid plan; on Beacons, in a plan-grid row our capture names no plan for, which its plans article puts on Creator Plus. Canva's and Bio Sites' pages print nothing about a badge.
Can I sell from a free link in bio?
On Onlink, Linktree, Beacons and Bio Sites, yes, per their pages. Onlink's free plan sells digital products, courses, paid calls (bookings), donations and tips at 10% a sale into your own Stripe account; Linktree prints "Sell products, courses, and make money on brand offers" at 12% on Free per its fees article; Beacons prints digital products and affiliate links at 9%; Bio Sites prints downloads, appointments, affiliate links and a tip jar with a Stripe or PayPal connection and no fee on the page we read.
Is Later's link in bio free?
Its feature page prints "Get your free link in bio"; its pricing page, read on 5 September 2026, lists Link in Bio inside the Starter plan at $25 a month, or $18.75 billed annually, with a 14-day free trial and no free plan. The two pages say different things, and the pricing page is the one that charges.
Is Bio Sites really free?
Its page says "Bio Sites are 100% free to create and launch" and that "you don't need a Squarespace subscription to set one up", read on 5 September 2026. The same page prints selling through Stripe or PayPal, and prints neither a fee nor a paid tier; what a sale costs there is not on the page we read, so we make no claim about it.
Do I need a website to have a free link in bio?
No. The page stands in for one: on Onlink the handle you pick becomes on.link/yourname the moment you sign up, and Bio Sites' page says the same of its pages. What you need is the address, pasted into the profile.
Olivia writes the Onlink comparisons: each platform's plans, fees and free tier, read from its own pricing page on the day and dated in the text.
