EarnThread vs Beacons
Beacons is a link-in-bio suite with a free plan, but it keeps 9% of every sale until you pay $30 a month.
On price: EarnThread costs less than Beacons until you sell about $1,150 a month. Above that, Beacons costs less.
Fee calculator
About 13 sales a month. You'd keep $6 more a month on EarnThread.
PlatformCheapest plan for youMonthly costYou keep
EarnThreadGrowth$42.40$457.60
BeaconsCreator Plus$48.40$451.60
Start on the free plan and move up only when it pays for itself.
Start free →Monthly cost at a glance
Each platform on its cheapest plan for that level of sales, at an average price of $39, card processing included.
| Monthly sales | EarnThread | Beacons | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| $200 | $17Launch (free) | $25Free | EarnThread $8 less |
| $500 | $42Growth | $48Creator Plus | EarnThread $6 less |
| $1,000 | $66Growth | $67Creator Plus | EarnThread $1 less |
| $3,000 | $159Growth | $140Creator Plus | Beacons $19 less |
| $10,000 | $416Scale | $397Creator Plus | Beacons $19 less |
Where Beacons is better
- A wider creator toolkit: media kit, email, AI tools and brand outreach.
- Creator Plus at $30 a month takes no cut, which is cheaper than EarnThread for creators with higher sales (see the price verdict above).
Where EarnThread is better
- A 5% fee on the free plan instead of 9%, and $19 a month with a 1% fee instead of $10 a month with 9%.
- See which post, link or campaign led to each lead and sale, and share a revenue receipt for any campaign.
- A storefront built around selling, rather than one block among many on a link page.
Features
| Feature | EarnThread | Beacons |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan5% vs 9% per sale | ✓ | ✓ |
| Digital downloads, coaching and courses | ✓ | ✓ |
| Memberships | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email newsletters | — | ✓ |
| Media kit and brand outreach | — | ✓ |
| Post-to-sale attribution | ✓ | ◐ |
✓ yes · ◐ partly or on higher plans only · — no.
How we compared
- Prices are published monthly prices in US dollars, checked on 3 October 2026. Annual billing is cheaper on most platforms. Features were checked in August 2026 (course features in October).
- Where a platform's fee doesn't include card processing, we add standard US card processing (2.9% + 30¢ per sale), the same for EarnThread.
- Taxes, currency conversion, international cards, refunds and add-ons aren't included.
Sources
Spotted something out of date? Prices change, so tell us and we'll correct it.