Linktree vs Stan Store: pricing, transaction fees, and what each is built to sell
These two get compared constantly, and the comparison is slightly unfair to both, because they are built for different jobs. Linktree wants to be the cleanest, most recognizable place to put your links. Stan Store wants to sell your courses, coaching calls, and digital products from a page that looks like a store. The pricing only makes sense once you know which job you are hiring for. Prices verified July 2026; both platforms change terms, so confirm before you commit.
The short answer
Linktree is a link page that can sell a little; Stan Store is a storefront that happens to hold your links. Linktree runs $0 to $35 a month and takes a commerce fee of 12% on Free, 9% on paid tiers, and 0% only on the $35 Premium plan. Stan Store has no free plan, costs $29 a month for Creator or $99 for Creator Pro, and charges no platform transaction fee at all, though Stripe's roughly 2.9% plus $0.30 still applies. Neither is an affiliate network, so neither pays you commission on the tools you recommend.
No follower gate · No commission fee · Last updated July 2026
Curated by · affiliate links clearly labeled
Estimated monthly
from monetized favorites
$
Estimated and illustrative, not a guarantee. Real earnings depend on your audience and what fans buy.
■ at a glance
Linktree, Stan Store and Favly, side by side.
Where a number is official we say so, and where it comes from creator reports we label it rather than inventing a clean figure. Both Linktree and Stan Store keep their genuine strengths.
| Capability | Linktree | Stan Store | Favly |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Minimal link-in-bio page | Storefront for your own products | Affiliate storefront for tools |
| Free plan | Yes | None, free trial only | Start free, no follower gate |
| Paid plans | $8, $15, $35 per month | $29 Creator, $99 Creator Pro | Creator-friendly |
| Platform fee on sales | 12% Free, 9% paid, 0% on Premium | 0%, no platform cut | No fee on affiliate commissions |
| Payment processing | Stripe, about 2.9% + $0.30 | Stripe, about 2.9% + $0.30 | Paid by the affiliate program |
| Sells courses and coaching | Not really | Yes, this is the core | Not the focus |
| Bookings and calendar | No | Yes, built in | No |
| Email marketing | Limited | On Creator Pro | Not the focus |
| Brand recognition | Highest in the category | Strong among coaches | Built for tech audiences |
| Affiliate network | No | No | Yes, with brand deals |
| Recurring commission on recommendations | No | No | Yes, on subscriptions |
| Best for | Organized links, minimal selling | Selling your own digital products | AI, SaaS and tech creators |
■ the differences that matter
Where Linktree and Stan Store actually diverge.
The real cost depends entirely on how much you sell
Compare the sticker prices and Linktree looks obviously cheaper: Free, $8 Starter, $15 Pro, $35 Premium, against Stan Store's $29 and $99 with no free tier at all. Then add the fee. Linktree takes 12% of your sales on Free and 9% on Starter and Pro, dropping to 0% only at $35 Premium. Stan Store takes nothing beyond payment processing. So at $2,000 a month in sales, Linktree Pro costs $15 plus roughly $180 in fees, while Stan Creator costs $29 flat. The more you sell, the more decisively Stan wins on cost, and the less you sell, the more Linktree's free tier makes sense.
Linktree vs Stan Store: which is better for selling?
Stan Store, clearly, and it is not really a fair fight. Stan is built end to end for digital products: courses with a real course builder, coaching bookings tied to a calendar, subscriptions, payment plans, and a checkout designed to convert on mobile. Creator Pro adds email marketing, upsells, funnels, discount codes, and affiliate management for your own products. Linktree added commerce to a link page; the selling experience is lighter and the fee structure treats it as a secondary feature. If your income comes from products you make, Stan is the tool.
Where Linktree still wins
Simplicity and recognition, and both matter more than creators admit. Linktree is the name your audience already knows, the page loads fast, setup takes minutes, and the free tier costs nothing forever. If you are pointing people at a YouTube channel, a newsletter, a Discord, and two affiliate links, paying $29 a month for a storefront you do not sell through is money set on fire. Linktree also handles the ordinary case well: lots of links, tidy presentation, no learning curve.
What the free trial and missing free plan actually mean
Stan Store has no free plan. There is a free trial (reported at 14 days), and after it you are on $29 a month whether or not you sold anything. That is the honest risk: a creator who has not validated demand can spend a few hundred dollars before the first sale. Linktree carries no such risk, which is why it stays the sensible default while you are still figuring out what you sell. Move to Stan when you have something to sell and evidence people will buy it, not before.
Neither one earns you money on what you recommend
Here is the gap both share. Linktree and Stan Store are places to host links and sell your own products. Neither is an affiliate network, so neither sources programs, tracks commissions, or pays you when a fan subscribes to a tool you recommended. For a creator whose content is "here is the AI stack I actually use," that is the whole business model missing. You can paste affiliate links you already have into either page, but you are doing the sourcing, the tracking, and the disclosure yourself. An affiliate storefront built for recommendations does that part, and pays recurring commission when the subscription renews.
■ the verdict
Which should you choose?
Choose Linktree if
You mostly need organized links and sell little or nothing through the page. The free tier is genuinely free, the brand is the most recognized in the category, and setup takes minutes. Upgrade to Premium only if commerce volume makes the 9% fee cost more than $35.
Choose Stan Store if
You sell your own courses, coaching, or digital products and have proof people buy. Zero platform fee and a checkout built for exactly this pay for the $29 quickly at real volume. Skip it until you have something validated to sell.
Choose Favly if
Your income comes from what you recommend, not what you make. Neither Linktree nor Stan Store pays affiliate or recurring commission, so a storefront of AI tools and SaaS that pays every month a fan stays subscribed is a different machine entirely.
■ faq
Linktree vs Stan Store, answered.
Is Linktree or Stan Store better?
It depends on whether you sell. Linktree is the better link page: free, recognizable, and simple. Stan Store is the better storefront: built for courses, coaching, and digital products, with no platform cut on sales. If you sell nothing, Linktree wins on cost. If you sell consistently, Stan's zero fee usually costs less overall.
How much does Stan Store cost compared to Linktree?
Stan Store has no free plan and runs $29 a month for Creator or $99 for Creator Pro, with a free trial first. Linktree offers a free plan plus paid tiers at $8, $15, and $35 a month. Linktree is cheaper on subscription alone, but it also takes 9% to 12% of your sales below the Premium tier.
Does Stan Store charge transaction fees?
Stan Store charges no platform transaction fee, so you keep everything beyond payment processing. You still pay Stripe or PayPal, roughly 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, which every platform passes through. That zero platform cut is Stan's main pricing argument against Linktree, which takes 9% to 12% on sales outside its top plan.
Can you sell courses on Linktree?
Only in a basic way. Linktree supports simple commerce and digital downloads, but it has no course builder, no lesson structure, no booking calendar, and no payment plans. Creators selling structured courses or coaching generally outgrow it fast. Stan Store was designed for that specific job and handles it far better.
Do Linktree or Stan Store pay affiliate commissions?
No. Neither is an affiliate network. Both let you paste in affiliate links you already have, but neither sources programs, negotiates rates, tracks your commissions, or pays you when someone buys a tool you recommended. Monetizing recommendations rather than your own products needs an affiliate storefront instead.
Which is better for a creator just starting out?
Linktree, in almost every case. It costs nothing, takes minutes to set up, and carries no monthly risk while you work out what your audience actually wants. Stan Store makes sense once you have a product and evidence people will pay for it, because its $29 a month starts whether or not you sell.
Recommend software, not sweaters?
Favly is the storefront for AI, SaaS and tech creators, with recurring commissions and no follower gate. Claim favly.com/@you and start today.