If you sell digital products, whether as a creator, affiliate marketer, or influencer, you've probably heard of Stan Store and Linktree. These are both services that many entrepreneurs consider to be indispensable.
Linktree is perhaps the most popular 'link in bio' tool to help you sell products from your social media profiles. Stan Store is a more powerful tool, but it can also be used to create a 'link in bio' style page, so you can direct your social media followers to that page and sell your content. But what is the difference between the two, and which is best for you and your business?
What is Stan Store?
Stan Store is an all-in-one platform that offers several ecommerce and marketing features, not just link-sharing tools. It's become popular with influencers and creators who do a lot of social media marketing, however, because the store creator produces visually appealing, mobile-friendly stores that offer a frictionless experience when used as a 'link in bio' page.
Who Can Use Stan Store?
Stan Store is aimed at both individuals and businesses looking to sell digital content online, and their 'link in bio' store works well for Facebook, Instagram and TikTok marketers. The platform doesn't offer a free tier, and this may be off-putting to some smaller creators. However, the basic tier is quite affordable so even those with relatively modest followings should be able to recoup their investment if they choose to use Stan Store as their sales platform.
How Does Stan Store Work?
Stan Store offers a drag-and-drop store creator with multiple themes, allowing creators to build a 'link in bio' store and sell products (including digital downloads and calendar bookings) directly from it. The single-page store design offers a frictionless experience for your followers, helping increase conversion rates.
Using Stan Store
Getting started with Stan Store is a quick and easy process, thanks to the drag-and-drop interface and the integrations with popular tools. Simply sign up for the platform and go through the onboarding process which will have you pick a store name, upload a profile picture, and connect your socials and payment details.
With that done, you're ready to design your store and create your first products.
- Go to the My Store tab
- Click Edit Design and choose a theme from the carousel
- Change the colors of the theme if you wish to do so
- Save your selection
- Go to the Sections tab and click Add Product
- Choose a product type, such as:
- eCourse
- Webinar
- External link/URL
- Custom product
- Recurring membership
- Calendar booking
- Fill out the title, subtitle, and other product details
- Select Publish
Stan Store recommends creators add 3-4 products to their store. Adding too many, or too few, can limit the number of sales creators make. If you have more products than that to sell, choose some of your most popular products to display prominently, and rotate others to test how they perform.
Platform Customization
Stan Store's drag-and-drop store creator is easy to use, but quite flexible. There are numerous store themes to choose from, and they're all responsive, so they'll look good on any modern smartphone.
Because the service is focused entirely on creating 'link in bio' stores to share via social media, there is a distinct look and feel to the layout. However, you do have some flexibility to tailor the stores to the tastes of your audience.
Engagement Tools and Customer Management
In addition to the store features, the platform allows you to collect customer/follower emails, and send email marketing messages. Having this feature built-in can be a boon for creators who would otherwise have to pay for MailChimp or other email marketing tools. It also offers some on-platform analytics, so you can track views, purchases, and other statistics, and generate reports with specific date ranges.
Stan Store can integrate with Flodesk, Aweber, Mailchimp, and other popular tools used by marketers, so if the on-platform features are too limited, you can still use your favorite tools.
Stan Store Customer Support
Link most platforms, Stan Store offers a knowledge base that covers basic questions and provides some tips on how to set up a successful store. There's also an email address for more complex issues such as billing problems. However, there isn't a guaranteed response time for email requests, and a common theme among negative reviews is an unresponsive support team leaving people with billing or account issues stuck in limbo.
Most people who use Stan Store are unlikely to need to contact the customer service team because the platform is polished and easy to use. However, having access to a good customer service team is useful for peace of mind, and if you're paying a monthly fee to access the service, it's not unreasonable to expect access to a responsive live chat or email support team.
How Much Does Stan Store Cost?
There's no free tier on Stan Store. However, there is a 14-day free trial, giving would-be users a chance to test out the platform's features. The service offers two subscription tiers.
The basic tier is called the Creator plan, and costs $29 per month if paid for monthly. Those who opt to pay for a year in advance receive a 20% discount. This plan offers access to most of the platform's features, including:
- Calendar booking
- Digital downloads
- Analytics
- Third-party integrations
If you're currently paying for Calendly or a similar booking service, you could use Stan Store to replace that, offsetting some of the subscription fee.
The top tier is the Creator Pro plan, which costs $99 per month. Once again, those who pay for a year in advance receive a 20% discount. Creator Pro offers all of the features of the basic platform plus:
- More pricing options (e.g. payment plans)
- Affiliate links
- Sales funnel tools
- Email marketing flows
- Sales bumps
In addition to the above fees, creators will also have to pay any payment processing fees charged by Stripe or PayPal.
If the fees above seem high, keep in mind that Stan Store is a one-stop shop, covering email, calendar bookings, the 'link in bio' feature and the store itself with one subscription fee. Replacing all those features piecemeal would likely cost far more.
What is Linktree?
In contrast to Stan Store, Linktree is entirely focused on link sharing. It enables creators to build a single mobile-friendly page with their external links on it, which can be shared via Instagram and other social media platforms. Creators can manage their links easily and track statistics, all in one place.
If Linktree seems rather simplistic compared to Stan Store, that's because it is. However, sometimes simplicity is a good thing. The platform is trusted by users, and it does its job very well.
Who Can Use Linktree?
Linktree is ideal for solopreneurs and influencers who want to share links to lots of different web properties via their social media bios. The platform offers a free tier, making it incredibly popular with smaller marketers.
However, big brands are no strangers to the tool. Travel company Expedia and famous chef Jamie Oliver both use Linktree to promote their work and services via social media. That they trust the service with their brand identity speaks volumes.
How Does Linktree Work?
Linktree is perhaps the most well-known 'link in bio' service. It allows influencers to create a mobile-friendly landing page they can add to their Facebook, Instagram or TikTok bios to promote their products or services. The landing pages can be tweaked to match the style of your business, and you can take advantage of scheduling tools to determine when new links go live. Compared to some other marketing tools, it's quite simple, but it achieves the goal of helping social media marketers share multiple links incredibly well.
Using Linktree
To get started with Linktree, simply visit the website, enter the name you'd like to use for your page, and click Claim your Linktree. You'll be taken to a signup page where you can either register with an email address or link an existing Google account.
Next, you'll be taken through a simple onboarding process where you pick a category and, optionally, subcategory, to describe what you'll be using the Linktree for, and choose your membership tier.
Now you're ready to build your page:
- Click Add Link
- To link to a website, simply paste the link in the box
- To add links to Spotify, TikTok, or other popular apps, click View all apps and choose the desired app then follow the prompts
- If you'd like to edit the auto-filled link title, click the pen icon and make your changes
- Click the painting icon to add a thumbnail
- If you're adding multiple links and want to categorize them, choose Add header to insert a header
- You can re-order links by simply clicking on the dots on the left-hand-side and dragging the links
Your Linktree is set live automatically, so people will be able to see the changes you make in real time, so don't add your tree to your social media profiles unless it's ready to share!
Platform Customization
Linktree offers some customization options even for free creators, although these are limited. Subscribers have access to more themes, and those on higher tiers have even more customization options. However, a Linktree will always look like a list of links, and isn't designed to be a replacement for a full website.
Engagement Tools and Customer Management
Free users can see how many times their trees have been viewed and which links people clicked on, but to access any more analytics information, users must subscribe. Only those on the top subscription tier can export their data.
Linktree Customer Support
The customer support options available to Linktree users depend on the tier they're on. There's a comprehensive knowledge base and an email support line, but support response times for members on the Free or Starter tiers are not guaranteed. As with Stan Store, negative Linktree reviews highlight issues with customer service.
Pro members get access to upgraded customer support, but the 4-hour target response time for support is available only to those on the highest tier of the subscription.
How Much Does Linktree Cost?
Linktree offers tiered pricing, ranging from free for the most basic version of the service, to $24 a month for the top-tier service.
Free users can add unlimited links to their Linktree, but are required to keep the Linktree branding and have limited customization options. Premium tiers add some useful features:
Starter:
- Price: $5 month
- Features:
- More style options
- Affiliate marketing tools
- Audience Insights
- Scheduling features
Pro:
- Price: $9 month
- Features:
- Advanced styling options
- Advanced analytics options
- Hide the Linktree logo
- Add more admins
- Social platform integrations
- Upgraded customer support
Premium:
- Price: $24 month
- Features:
- Dedicated customer success manager
- Option to export lifetime analytics data
- 4-hour response time from the customer support team
- Exclusive webinars and videos to help users make the most of the platform
Stan Store vs Linktree: Which is the Better Link in Bio Tool?
We have had a look at what each platform offers and how it works - now, let's briefly review the pros and cons of each.
Advantages of Using Stan Store
- Create a 'link in bio' store
- Email marketing features
- Good customization options
Disadvantages of Using Stan Store
- No free tier
- Store pages support a limited number of products
- Limited payment gateways
Advantages of Using Linktree
- Offers a completely free tier
- Very easy to use
- Can add links to all your external sites in one place
Disadvantages of Using Linktree
- The free tier requires Linktree branding
- Limited analytics on lower tiers
- While you can link to products from 'store', sales must be processed elsewhere
An Alternative to Stan Store and Linktree: Whop
If you've got a large social media following and you'd like to share a variety of links with them or sell products using a polished store interface, why not try Whop?
Whop is a powerful alternative to Stan Store and Linktree. When you register with Whop to start selling, you'll create a Hub, which is a portal to all of your products, apps, and communities. You can link to anything on your Hub, including:
- Telegram or Discord groups
- Web apps
- Software
- Premium (member-only) websites
- Ebooks
- Videos
- Calendar bookings
- Other forms of digital downloads
Once you've set up your Hub, you can choose whether to give access to it for free, or sell access. If you opt to sell access, individual items on the Hub can be gated behind different membership tiers. You can even have a chat app, forum app, and video call app all within your hub, creating one connected place for your online community.
Plus, when people join your Whop Hub, you'll be able to see them in the dashboard and view information about their total spending, the date they joined, and which hubs they're members of. All of this information is available to you as a creator, without being gated behind an expensive subscription fee.
Why Whop is the Best Option for Digital Creators
Whop is free to join, and the platform only makes money when you do, taking a 3% fee on any sales you make. The flexibility, option to add as many items as you like, and low pricing make Whop a good option for solopreneurs and big brands alike.
If you're a social media influencer and you're looking for a good 'link in bio' platform, you've got plenty of options to choose from. If all you want to do is share links and you don't mind having to direct people to other apps or services to sell things, Linktree's free tier could be appealing. For those looking to sell a handful of products, Stan Store's easy-to-use store builder could be the answer. However, if you want to sell more than just a couple of products, keep your community engaged in one place, and want more flexibility than Stan Store offers, Whop is the answer.
Getting started with Whop is free. Why not sign up today to create your first Hub?
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you sell products using Linktree?
Linktree lets creators link to PayPal, Shopify, and other apps, driving sales towards them. However, it doesn't have its own end-to-end sales feature, unlike other platforms such as Stan Store and Whop.
Can you use Stan Store as a traditional web store?
While you could direct people to your Stan Store from a blog, or even on a business card, the store isn't intended to be a website replacement. There are no SEO features, and you can't add a lot of long-form content to the store, so if you want to have a more comprehensive web presence it would be best to explore other options.
Can you use Whop to make a 'link-in-bio' page?
Whop allows creators to build hubs, which are mobile-friendly pages that can include links to digital products, apps, and other web properties. Hubs can be free or require paid membership. This makes Whop Hubs a versatile alternative to a traditional 'link in bio' page.
