Stan Store vs Beacons.ai
Choosing between Stan Store and Beacons depends on your goals. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Stan Store: Best for creators focused on selling digital products, courses, and services. Offers strong monetization tools, flat pricing, and advanced sales features.
- Beacons: Ideal for creators prioritizing branding and customization. Includes free plans, AI tools (text and image generation), and flexible design options.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Stan Store | Beacons |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Monetization & Sales Tools | Customization & Branding |
| Starting Price | $29/month | Free (9% fee) |
| AI Features | Text Generation | Text & Image Generation |
| Email Marketing | Paid Plans Only | Available on Free Plan |
| Transaction Fees | None | 9% (Free Plan) |
| Customization | Simple Design Options | Advanced, AI-Powered Tools |
- Stan Store suits creators with steady sales who need simple pricing and strong sales tools.
- Beacons works well for beginners or creators wanting free entry and advanced design features.
Pick based on your priorities: sales simplicity or visual branding.
Platform Features
Sales and Payment Options
Stan Store and Beacons approach digital sales differently. Stan Store offers a digital product builder that includes a dedicated tool for creating courses. On the other hand, Beacons provides flexible payment options with features like "Buy Now Pay Later" and support for multiple currencies.
| Feature | Stan Store | Beacons |
|---|---|---|
| Processing | Stripe & PayPal | Multiple providers |
| Sales Tax Collection | US, CA, UK, AU, NZ, CH, NO, EU | Limited |
| Product Types | Digital products, courses, memberships | Digital products, courses, appointments, memberships |
| Special Payment Features | Standard payment options | Buy Now Pay Later, Multi-currency |
When it comes to promoting your products, the marketing tools offered by each platform reveal their distinct strengths.
Marketing Tools
Both platforms include tools designed to amplify marketing efforts, but they differ in what’s offered. Beacons includes email marketing across all plans – even the free one. In contrast, Stan Store limits email marketing to its Creator Pro plan, which costs $99 per month.
Stan Store also features an AutoDM tool for Instagram, which helps with social media engagement, and provides analytics focused on sales and customer behavior. Beacons, however, offers more detailed analytics paired with growth tools like advanced link tracking and audience insights.
AI and Automation Tools
AI features play a role in simplifying tasks like content creation and audience engagement. Each platform focuses on different aspects to align with its primary goals of monetization and branding.
Stan Store includes Stanley, an AI tool that generates text based on social content and handles basic inquiries. Beacons goes further with AI capabilities, offering tools for creating brand outreach emails, writing product descriptions, generating media kits, and even creating product images.
| AI Feature | Stan Store | Beacons |
|---|---|---|
| Text Generation | Yes | Yes |
| Image Generation | No | Yes |
| Email Creation | Basic | Advanced |
| Media Kit Generation | No | Yes |
| Product Descriptions | Basic | Advanced |
Stan Store vs Beacons Best Link in Bio For Digital Products
Cost Analysis
Stan Store uses a flat-rate pricing model with no transaction fees, while Beacons offers tiered pricing with varying fees.
Stan Store Plans
Stan Store has two subscription options. The Creator Plan costs $29 per month (or $300 annually) and includes features like custom domains, unlimited courses, and memberships. The Creator Pro Plan is $99 per month (or $948 annually) and adds perks like unlimited email marketing and pixel tracking. Both plans only require standard payment processor fees.
Beacons, on the other hand, provides more pricing tiers to choose from.
Beacons Plans
Beacons offers four different plans:
| Plan | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | Transaction Fee | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 9% | 50 email sends, 1 course, 10 AI generations |
| Creator | $10 | $8.33/mo | 9% | 500 email sends, unlimited AI generations |
| Store Pro | $30 | $25/mo | 0% | Unlimited courses, memberships, no branding |
| Business Pro | $90 | $75/mo | 0% | Dedicated support, unlimited everything |
While Beacons’ free plan is beginner-friendly, the 9% transaction fee can cut into profits as sales grow.
Price Comparison
The pricing structures reflect each platform’s priorities – Stan Store emphasizes simplicity and predictable costs, while Beacons offers flexibility and scalability.
The best option depends on your sales volume. For example, a creator making $1,000 in monthly sales would pay:
- Stan Store Creator Plan: $29 flat fee
- Beacons Free Plan: $90 (9% of $1,000)
- Beacons Store Pro Plan: $30 flat fee
For creators with steady sales, Stan Store’s flat-rate pricing is more budget-friendly. However, Beacons’ free plan is a good choice for those just starting out. Your decision should align with your sales volume and business stage.
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Setup and Design Options
Stan Store and Beacons cater to different creator preferences, offering distinct approaches to setup and design customization.
Platform Navigation
Stan Store focuses on simplicity with a clean, easy-to-use interface. Its drag-and-drop builder makes it accessible, even for those without technical skills.
Beacons, on the other hand, provides a feature-packed interface. While this means the setup process might take longer, it offers more flexibility for creators who want detailed customization.
| Platform | Setup Time | Interface Type | Navigation Experience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stan Store | Under 15 minutes | Simple, minimal | Easy drag-and-drop |
| Beacons | Varies | Feature-packed | More complex, highly flexible |
After completing the setup, both platforms allow creators to refine their site’s appearance using a range of design tools.
Design Tools
Both Stan Store and Beacons provide tools to help creators establish their brand identity, but their approaches differ.
Stan Store offers key design features like custom fonts, color selection, banner image customization, and theme options with an integrated color picker.
Beacons takes it a step further with:
- A wide variety of templates suited for different needs
- AI-powered design assistance
- Highly customizable landing page elements
- Advanced branding tools to ensure visual consistency
The main distinction lies in their customization philosophy. Stan Store prioritizes simplicity, making it perfect for creators who want a polished look without spending too much time on design. Beacons, with its extensive options and AI tools, is better suited for those looking to create a highly personalized and unique visual style.
Other Platform Options
If you’re looking for alternatives to Stan Store and Beacons, Crevio is another platform worth considering for monetization.
About Crevio
Launched in 2024, Crevio focuses on creators by offering 0% platform fees on all plans. It provides a mobile-friendly "link-in-bio" store where you can sell digital products, services, and memberships.
Here’s what makes Crevio stand out:
- Multiple content delivery formats
- Full ownership of audience data
- Customizable branding
- Seamless integration with existing creator tools
Crevio Plans
Crevio keeps its pricing simple, with two plans to choose from:
| Feature | Basic Plan ($29/month) | Growth Plan ($89/month) |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction Fees | 0% | 0% |
| Published Products | 5 | Unlimited |
| Admin Seats | 5 | Unlimited |
| Branding | Includes Crevio branding | Fully customizable |
| Support Level | Standard | Priority creator support |
Both plans come with a mobile-friendly store and Stripe for payment processing.
Platform Comparison
Here’s a quick look at how Stan Store, Beacons, and Crevio stack up:
| Feature | Stan Store | Beacons | Crevio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $29/month | Free (9% fee) | $29/month |
| Premium Plan | $99/month | $50/month | $89/month |
| AI Tools | Text generation | Text & image AI | Not available |
| Transaction Fees | None | 9% (free plan) | None |
| Product Limits | Unlimited | Varies by plan | 5 (Basic) / Unlimited (Growth) |
Beacons offers a free entry point and advanced AI tools, while Stan Store shines in digital product creation. Crevio, on the other hand, provides a balanced option with no transaction fees, making it appealing for creators expecting higher sales volumes.
Conclusion
Deciding between Stan Store and Beacons comes down to what you prioritize: Stan Store is geared toward selling digital products, while Beacons shines with its customization options and versatile link-in-bio tools.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
Stan Store is a great fit if you:
- Focus on selling digital products or services.
- Need strong analytics and booking tools.
- Appreciate its positive reputation on Trustpilot.
- Want advanced email marketing tools (available with the Creator Pro plan).
Beacons might be better if you:
- Are looking for a free plan to start with.
- Want highly customizable landing pages.
- Could benefit from built-in AI tools for text and image creation.
- Need email features at lower price tiers.
When it comes to pricing, Beacons starts at $0/month (with a 9% transaction fee) and goes up to $50/month for VIP features. Stan Store begins at $29/month, offering specialized tools for digital product sales. For those looking for a balance, Beacons’ Creator Pro plan costs $30/month and includes unlimited emails and extensive customization. On the other hand, Stan Store’s targeted tools make it worth the higher price for creators focused on selling digital products and booking services.
Ultimately, pick the platform that aligns with your monetization goals and brand strategy.
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