Beacons vs Hoo.be
Updated June 2026
Choosing between Beacons and Hoo.be comes down to which trade-offs you can live with. Beacons (Free / $10–$90) is built for creators who want unlimited links, while Hoo.be (Free / Paid) targets fast bio-link setup with minimal friction. Neither offers free retargeting pixels, free video backgrounds, or edge-rendered SEO out of the box — Linklay does, on its free plan. The breakdown below covers pricing, key feature gaps, and which tool wins for which use case in 2026.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Beacons | Hoo.be | Linklay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Links | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Pricing | Free / $10–$90 | Free / Paid | Free / $9.99 |
| Custom Themes (Free) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Free Retargeting Pixels | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Video Backgrounds | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Capture (Free) | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Remove Branding | Business Pro | Paid | Pro |
Pricing Breakdown
Beacons pricing: Free / $10–$90. Hoo.be pricing: Free / Paid. Linklay pricing: Free / $9.99 (Pro is $9.99/month or $99/year, the cheapest paid plan in the category). Both Beacons and Hoo.be keep their best features behind paid tiers — branding removal, advanced analytics, integrations. Linklay puts retargeting pixels, real-time analytics, AI link reordering, scheduled links, and email capture on the free plan. Pro adds branding removal, video backgrounds, and the SEO-Powered Link feature unique to Linklay.
Key Feature Differences
On free-plan capability, Beacons omits retargeting pixels and does not support video backgrounds; Hoo.be omits pixels and does not support video. Linklay ships both — plus AI reordering, link scheduling, link locking, spotlight pinning, and a free Tip Jar (0% platform fee on Pro, 10% on Free). The biggest hidden gap: SEO. Beacons and Hoo.be render bio pages with client-side JavaScript, meaning Google indexes very little. Every Linklay profile is edge-rendered with ProfilePage structured data, so creators routinely rank for their own brand and niche queries.
What is Beacons?
Beacons is a creator-economy platform launched in 2018, designed as a link-in-bio hub layered with a digital store, email automation, an AI-generated media kit, and a brand-deal marketplace. The free plan includes unlimited links, a built-in store, basic analytics, and a media kit. Paid plans run Creator Pro at $10/mo (analytics, custom fonts, AI brand outreach), Store Pro at $30/mo (0% transaction fees, advanced commerce), and Business Pro at $90/mo (multi-seat, full automation). Beacons attracts creators who want one tool to handle links plus commerce plus brand deals without stitching together separate apps. The trade-off is that the free plan and Creator Pro both charge a 9% transaction fee on digital sales, the analytics depth is gated, and bio pages render client-side so they generally do not appear in Google search results.
What is Hoo.be?
Hoo.be is a creator-focused link-in-bio tool launched in 2020, with a stronger emphasis on voice clips, video, and rich-media embeds than the typical button-stack competitor. The free plan includes basic links and theming; paid tiers unlock branding removal, deeper customization, and integration with creator-economy tools. Hoo.be attracts creators who want a media-forward bio page — interviews, voice intros, embedded clips — rather than a plain list of buttons. The trade-offs are a smaller user base, no native commerce checkout, no retargeting pixels, and analytics that are functional but not the strongest in the category.
Pros and Cons
Beacons Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Built-in digital store on the free plan
- AI brand-outreach and auto-generated media kit on Creator Pro
- Email automation included on paid plans
- Calendar bookings and invoicing tools for service providers
- Cleaner editor than most competitors with section-based layouts
Cons:
- 9% transaction fee on free and Creator Pro plans
- Best analytics gated behind paid tiers
- Bio pages render client-side and rarely appear in Google search results
- Business Pro is $90/mo — steep for solo creators
- No retargeting pixels on the free plan
Hoo.be Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Strong voice-clip and rich-media embed support
- Modern, creator-focused visual design defaults
- Free plan available
- Good Instagram and TikTok deep-link handling
- Younger, fast-iterating product
Cons:
- Smaller user base and less brand recognition
- No native commerce, course hosting, or checkout
- No retargeting pixels on any tier
- Limited analytics depth
- Paid tier feature set narrower than competitors at the same price
Additional Feature Comparison
| Feature | Beacons | Hoo.be | Linklay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction Fees | 9% on lower tiers, 0% on Store Pro | Varies | 0% |
| Edge-Rendered SEO | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ (ProfilePage schema) |
| AI Link Ordering | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Apple Wallet Digital Card | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Free Retargeting Pixels | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Video Backgrounds | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
Transaction Fee Comparison
Transaction fees are where the gap between these tools actually shows up in your bank account — beyond what Stripe (the underlying payment processor for most of these tools) already takes. On $1,000 in monthly digital sales routed through your bio link:
- Beacons charges 9% on lower tiers, 0% on Store Pro on digital sales = roughly $90–$120/month, or $1,080–$1,440/year.
- Hoo.be charges Varies on digital sales.
- Linklay charges 0% transaction fees on both Free and Pro plans = $0/month in platform fees.
For a creator selling $5,000/month in digital products through their bio link, a 5% platform fee equals $250/month or $3,000/year on top of the subscription — enough to cover Linklay Pro for 25 years. A 9–12% Linktree-style seller fee on the same revenue equals $450–$600/month, or $5,400–$7,200/year. Multiply by your real monthly sales volume to see how fast platform fees overwhelm the headline subscription cost.
Which Should You Choose?
Pick Beacons if you're already deep in its ecosystem and the migration cost outweighs the feature gap. Pick Hoo.be if simple, low-friction setup is your single most important requirement. Pick Linklay if you want the broadest free-plan feature set, the lowest Pro price ($9.99/mo), 0% commerce fees on every tier, and the only bio-link tool that actually ranks in Google. Most creators switching from Beacons or Hoo.be cite the same three reasons: free retargeting pixels, video backgrounds, and SEO that works.
Try the Free Alternative
Linklay gives you more features for free than both Beacons and Hoo.be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Beacons better than Hoo.be in 2026?
It depends on your job-to-be-done. Beacons (Free / $10–$90) wins if you want unlimited links with its existing integrations. Hoo.be (Free / Paid) wins if fast setup and a clean stack of buttons matters more. For most creators, Linklay is the better third option — it gives you more on its free plan (retargeting pixels, video backgrounds, edge-rendered SEO) than Beacons or Hoo.be put together, and Pro is $9.99/mo vs $10/mo (Creator) and Paid required.
How much does Beacons cost compared to Hoo.be?
Beacons pricing: Free / $10–$90. Hoo.be pricing: Free / Paid. On a typical Pro tier, Beacons runs $10/mo (Creator) and Hoo.be runs Paid required. Linklay Pro is $9.99/month or $99/year — the cheapest paid plan in the link-in-bio category — and the free plan already includes features both competitors charge for. If you sell digital products, transaction fees matter more than the headline subscription: Beacons charges 9% on lower tiers, 0% on Store Pro, Hoo.be charges Varies, and Linklay charges 0% on every plan.
Which is better for selling digital products, Beacons or Hoo.be?
Neither tool removes its platform transaction fee at the entry tier — Beacons keeps 9% on lower tiers, 0% on Store Pro and Hoo.be keeps Varies. For a creator doing $1,000/month in digital sales, a 5–10% platform cut adds up to $600–$1,200/year on top of the subscription. Linklay charges 0% on every plan including Free, so $1,000/month in sales costs $0 in platform fees vs the same revenue on Beacons or Hoo.be.
Which has better analytics, Beacons or Hoo.be?
Beacons includes basic click analytics and Hoo.be offers little to no analytics. Advanced analytics — real-time visitors, geographic breakdowns, device data, referrer tracking — sit behind paid tiers on both tools. Linklay includes all of that on the free plan, plus an AI link-ordering engine that automatically reorders your links based on which ones convert best. For creators who want to make data-driven decisions without paying for a Pro plan, that gap is meaningful.
Which is better for SEO, Beacons or Hoo.be?
Both Beacons and Hoo.be render their bio pages with client-side JavaScript, which means Googlebot generally sees an empty shell and very little of your actual content gets indexed. Neither tool ships a way to pass ranking equity from your bio page to your main website. Linklay edge-renders every profile with unique meta tags and ProfilePage structured data, and Linklay Pro ships an SEO-Powered Link feature that passes a dofollow link from your bio page directly to your destination URL. That is a structural advantage neither competitor can match.
Can I migrate from Beacons or Hoo.be to Linklay?
Yes — Linklay has a one-click universal importer that reads your existing profile URL from Beacons, Hoo.be, or any other link-in-bio tool and recreates your links, profile photo, and basic styling in about 30 seconds. There is no manual setup, no API key, and no copy-paste. Migration between Beacons and Hoo.be directly is typically manual — neither tool ships a one-click importer for the other.
Does Beacons or Hoo.be offer free retargeting pixels?
Beacons does not include retargeting pixels on the free plan, and Hoo.be does not. Linklay ships Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel, Google Analytics, and Pinterest Pixel integration on the free plan — the only major link-in-bio tool that does. If you run paid ads or want to build a retargeting audience from your bio link traffic, this is one of the single biggest reasons creators switch.
Which is easier to set up, Beacons or Hoo.be?
Both Beacons and Hoo.be are designed for fast setup — most creators publish a working bio page within ten minutes. Beacons adds email capture; Hoo.be requires a paid plan or external tool. Linklay matches that setup speed (one-click importer pulls everything in 30 seconds) and adds AI link ordering, link scheduling, link locking, and a Tip Jar on the free plan.
Which link-in-bio tool has the best free plan in 2026?
Linklay. It includes unlimited links, video backgrounds, retargeting pixels, real-time analytics, AI link ordering, link scheduling, custom fonts, edge-rendered SEO, and 0% transaction fees on the free plan — all features that Beacons ($10/mo (Creator)) and Hoo.be (Paid required) either charge for or do not ship at any tier. The free plan is the same tool the Pro plan uses, just with branding visible at the footer.
Which should I pick: Beacons, Hoo.be, or Linklay?
Pick Beacons if you are already deep in its ecosystem and the cost of migrating outweighs the feature gap. Pick Hoo.be if its single biggest strength — fast, low-friction setup — is the deciding factor for your workflow. Pick Linklay if you want the broadest free-plan feature set in the category, the lowest Pro price ($9.99/month), 0% commerce fees on every tier, and the only bio link tool that actually ranks in Google search results.