Carrd vs Linktree pricing for affiliate creators, and what neither one tells you

For an affiliate creator, Carrd is the cheaper tool and Linktree is the simpler one. Carrd Pro Standard costs $19 a year and gives you a custom domain, forms, embeds and analytics on a one page site you design yourself. Linktree's paid plans run from $72 to $360 a year and give you a link list with built-in click analytics. Neither tells you which affiliate link earned money, because commission is paid and recorded by the merchant, not by the page.

We read Carrd's Pro page on 31 October 2026 and Linktree's pricing page on 7 October 2026, both in US dollars. Plans change, so check the live pages before you pay.

How much does Carrd cost compared with Linktree?

The honest summary is that Carrd costs between a fifth and a tenth of what Linktree costs for a comparable paid tier. If you only want a clean page with a custom domain, that gap is real money over a few years.

Which is better for affiliate links, Carrd or Linktree?

Linktree is faster to set up as a list of buttons, and every plan treats an affiliate link as an ordinary link. Carrd gives you more control over layout, so you can write a few sentences above each recommendation, group products into sections and build something that reads like a review page rather than a menu.

That matters more than it sounds. A bare button with the product name converts worse than a link with one line of context, and Carrd lets you write that line anywhere on the page. Linktree can do it too, but its structure pushes you toward a stack of buttons.

Does a link page take a cut of affiliate commission?

No. Amazon Associates, Impact, Awin and direct software programs pay you from their own systems. The sale happens on the merchant's site, so the page you sent the buyer from never sees the money. A page builder only takes fees on things it processes itself, such as a product sold through its checkout. If you only place affiliate links, the plan price is the whole cost.

What do Carrd and Linktree analytics actually show?

Visits and clicks. Carrd's analytics count visits to your site, and Linktree's count clicks on each link. Both stop at the moment the visitor leaves for the merchant. Neither can say that a buyer who clicked on Tuesday bought on Friday and earned you $38.

For a creator with five links this is fine. For a creator with forty recommendations across several programs, it is the missing half of the picture. The click count tells you what is popular. The commission report tells you what pays. They often disagree, and the links that get tapped most are not always the ones that earn.

When does a paid affiliate storefront make sense?

When knowing which link earned would change what you promote. A rough test: open your last three payout reports and count the links that paid at least once. If that number is small compared with the links on your page, you are giving prime space to recommendations that never convert.

The arithmetic is simple. Favly Pro is $288 a year, so the difference from Carrd Pro Standard at $19 is $269. If knowing your five best earners lets you shift enough traffic to add $270 in commission over a year, the storefront pays for itself. If your affiliate income is a few dollars a month, stay on the cheap page and spend nothing more.

If you are weighing the page builders against each other first, our Carrd alternative page sets Carrd's plans next to Favly Pro and says where Carrd wins, and Linktree alternatives does the same for the biggest name in the field.

Can I use Carrd and Linktree together?

Yes, and plenty of creators do. A common setup is a Carrd site for the portfolio or about page and a single link in the social bio that points to the storefront. The cost of running both is the cost of the cheaper plan plus whatever you pay for the storefront.

Before you build, ask your audience what they actually want recommended. A short poll with an online survey tool where people answer by text, voice or video tells you which tools your followers use, and those are the links worth putting first.

Frequently asked questions about Carrd and Linktree pricing

Is Carrd cheaper than Linktree?

Yes. Carrd Pro Standard is $19 a year with a custom domain, while Linktree's paid plans start at $72 a year. Carrd also has a free account. Linktree has a free plan with unlimited basic links, so the price gap only matters once you want paid features.

Does Carrd take a percentage of affiliate sales?

No. Affiliate commission is paid to you by the merchant or network, not through Carrd. A page builder has no way to take a share of money that never passes through it.

Can I use a custom domain with Carrd?

Yes, from Pro Standard at $19 a year. Pro Lite at $9 a year does not include a custom domain, per carrd.co/pro on 31 October 2026.

Which is better for Amazon affiliate links?

Either works, since an Amazon affiliate link is a normal URL with your tag on it. Carrd gives you more room for context around each product. Linktree is quicker to set up and shows click counts per link out of the box.

How do I track which affiliate links earn money?

Add a sub ID or tracking tag to each link, then match it against the commission report from each program. Doing it by hand in a spreadsheet works for a small list. A storefront that imports the reports does the matching for you.