Shorby vs Carrd
Updated June 2026
Choosing between Shorby and Carrd comes down to which trade-offs you can live with. Shorby ($15/mo) is built for creators who want unlimited links, while Carrd ($9–$49/year) 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 | Shorby | Carrd | Linklay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Links | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Pricing | $15/mo | $9–$49/year | Free / $9.99 |
| Custom Themes (Free) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Free Retargeting Pixels | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Video Backgrounds | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Capture (Free) | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Remove Branding | Included | Paid | Pro |
Pricing Breakdown
Shorby pricing: $15/mo. Carrd pricing: $9–$49/year. Linklay pricing: Free / $9.99 (Pro is $9.99/month or $99/year, the cheapest paid plan in the category). Both Shorby and Carrd 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, Shorby omits retargeting pixels and does not support video backgrounds; Carrd 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. Shorby and Carrd 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 Shorby?
Shorby is a premium link-in-bio tool launched in 2017 and priced flat at $15/mo, built primarily for Instagram marketers who want a polished mini-site rather than a simple link stack. Shorby ships smart link routing (auto-direct visitors to WhatsApp, Messenger, or Telegram), an embeddable Instagram feed, a clean visual editor, and a meaningful Pinterest/Medium-style content surface. There is no free plan — Shorby starts at $15/mo and runs to $35/mo on the Agency tier. Shorby attracts creators and marketers who view their bio link as a serious traffic source and want a tool with deeper styling controls than Linktree. The trade-offs are: no built-in commerce, no retargeting pixels, no native course hosting, and a price tag that is hard to justify against tools that include those features at the same or lower cost.
What is Carrd?
Carrd is technically a one-page website builder rather than a pure link-in-bio tool, launched in 2016 and priced at $9–$49/year (essentially $0.75/mo on the entry tier). Carrd ships drag-and-drop section editing, custom domains on paid plans, form embeds, payment-link integrations, and a wide library of starter templates. Many creators use Carrd as a link-in-bio because it lets you build a richer landing page than a button stack. The trade-offs versus a dedicated bio tool: no built-in click analytics per link, no commerce checkout (you embed external payment buttons), no retargeting-pixel pre-built integrations, and the page-builder UX has a steeper learning curve than a typical link-in-bio editor.
Pros and Cons
Shorby Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Smart messenger routing to WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram
- Polished visual editor with strong typography defaults
- Embeddable Instagram and content feeds out of the box
- Strong brand presence among Instagram marketers
- Flat $15/mo pricing — no surprise upgrades for core features
Cons:
- No free plan — $15/mo from day one
- No retargeting pixels on any tier
- No native commerce checkout or course hosting
- Limited analytics depth vs same-price competitors
- Bio pages render client-side and do not surface in Google search
Carrd Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Cheapest paid tier in the category — under $10/year
- Full control over layout, sections, and typography
- Custom domain support on paid plans
- Wide library of starter templates
- Forms, embeds, and external payment links supported
Cons:
- No built-in per-link click analytics
- No native commerce checkout or course hosting
- No retargeting pixels pre-integrated
- Steeper learning curve than a typical link-in-bio editor
- No edge-rendered SEO advantage over hosted competitors
Additional Feature Comparison
| Feature | Shorby | Carrd | Linklay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction Fees | N/A (no native commerce) | N/A (no commerce) | 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:
- Shorby charges N/A (no native commerce) on digital sales.
- Carrd charges N/A (no commerce) 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 Shorby if you're already deep in its ecosystem and the migration cost outweighs the feature gap. Pick Carrd 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 Shorby or Carrd 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 Shorby and Carrd.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Shorby better than Carrd in 2026?
It depends on your job-to-be-done. Shorby ($15/mo) wins if you want unlimited links with its existing integrations. Carrd ($9–$49/year) 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 Shorby or Carrd put together, and Pro is $9.99/mo vs $15/mo and $0.75/mo.
How much does Shorby cost compared to Carrd?
Shorby pricing: $15/mo. Carrd pricing: $9–$49/year. On a typical Pro tier, Shorby runs $15/mo and Carrd runs $0.75/mo. 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: Shorby charges N/A (no native commerce), Carrd charges N/A (no commerce), and Linklay charges 0% on every plan.
Which is better for selling digital products, Shorby or Carrd?
Neither tool removes its platform transaction fee at the entry tier — Shorby keeps N/A (no native commerce) and Carrd keeps N/A (no commerce). 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 Shorby or Carrd.
Which has better analytics, Shorby or Carrd?
Shorby includes basic click analytics and Carrd 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, Shorby or Carrd?
Both Shorby and Carrd 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 Shorby or Carrd to Linklay?
Yes — Linklay has a one-click universal importer that reads your existing profile URL from Shorby, Carrd, 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 Shorby and Carrd directly is typically manual — neither tool ships a one-click importer for the other.
Does Shorby or Carrd offer free retargeting pixels?
Shorby does not include retargeting pixels on the free plan, and Carrd 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, Shorby or Carrd?
Both Shorby and Carrd are designed for fast setup — most creators publish a working bio page within ten minutes. Neither tool ships email capture on the free plan. 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 Shorby ($15/mo) and Carrd ($0.75/mo) 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: Shorby, Carrd, or Linklay?
Pick Shorby if you are already deep in its ecosystem and the cost of migrating outweighs the feature gap. Pick Carrd 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.