The Problem With Bio Links
Back in March 2016, I launched Carrd on Twitter with nothing but a "Coming Soon" page. I was worried it'd hurt its chances of getting featured, but I pushed it out anyway. That launch opened up a lasting channel of user feedback, feature requests, and bug reports — and it taught me something about what people actually need.
Fast forward a few years, and everyone seems to be asking the same question: Beacons vs Linktree – which one should I use?
I get it. Bio links are the digital business card of the internet. You want something fast, something free, something that takes your followers from a single link to... everything else. But after building Carrd, I've come to believe the real answer isn't either of those tools. It's something simpler.
Why Beacons and Linktree Feel So Similar
Both Beacons and Linktree do the same core thing: give you a templated page with a bunch of links. That's it. And for a lot of people, that's fine. But here's the thing — they're both locked into a format that's hard to truly own. You get a handful of design options, maybe some analytics, and a monthly subscription if you want a custom domain.
But they could be so much more. Or rather, you could be so much more with a tool that gives you complete control over your one-page presence.
What I Learned From Launching Carrd
When I first started working on Carrd, I had a simple goal: build the dead-simple, fast, free one-page site builder. Not a page builder, not a CMS — just a place to put a "stack" of elements and get out of the way. The product's narrow focus was intentional. I didn't want to compete with WordPress or Squarespace. I wanted something that a creator, an indie maker, or an everyday person could open and have a gorgeous site in under 5 minutes.
Someone hunted Carrd on Product Hunt before I could. An eager fan got there first. And while that made my launch strategy a bit chaotic, it also proved that people wanted this. They were excited about a tool that didn't try to do everything.
Designing the first Pro plan was its own lesson. I set the price at $19/year — not because competitors were charging more, but because that's what the product was actually worth. I didn't cripple the free plan to force upgrades. I let one strong perk — custom domains — carry the case. That philosophy stuck: keep the free version generous, and let the product speak for itself.
So Why Not Just Use a Bio Link Tool?
Here's the honest truth: a bio link tool like Beacons or Linktree works if you need only links in a prebuilt template. But if you want any other content — a photo, a video, a call-to-action button that doesn't look like a generic link — you're stuck. You're paying for a service that limits what you can express.
A one-page site, on the other hand, is yours. You control every word, every color, every font. And with Carrd, you control it in a mobile-friendly builder (not just mobile-friendly sites). The builder itself works on your phone, so you can edit from anywhere.
The "Stack of Elements" Approach
What makes Carrd different from Beacons or Linktree is the simple "stack" of elements. You add a section, a heading, some text, an image, a button — and you stack them exactly how you want. No templates, no forced layouts. Just a blank page and your creativity.
It's a natural limit to the product's complexity. I deliberately kept the feature set narrow so it stays easy to use. But that narrowness doesn't mean you can't make it really good. Much to my surprise, the results were good. Really good. People started using Carrd for portfolios, landing pages, event pages — even full resumes.
Customizable, Responsive, and Free
Let's be clear: Carrd's free plan is genuinely useful. You can build a complete one-page site, publish it, and share it with your followers — no cost, no ads, no watermark. The paid plan adds custom domains, more elements, and analytics. But the free version isn't a teaser. It's a fully functional tool.
And it's responsive. Every site built with Carrd looks good on mobile, tablet, and desktop — no extra work. Because the builder itself was designed mobile-first, the output naturally fits any screen.
But Isn't Beacons vs Linktree a Different Use Case?
I hear that. Some people think of bio links as a separate category. But is it really? At the end of the day, both Beacons and Linktree are just one-page sites — they're just limited ones. They make money by locking you into their ecosystem and upselling you on features that a simple page builder gives you for free.
When you build with Carrd, you're not renting a template. You're making a site that lives at your own domain (if you want). You can update it whenever you want, with whatever you want. And you can do it in under 5 minutes.
A Dry Run: How Fast Can You Go?
I've tested this. I gave myself the challenge of building a Carrd site that mimics a typical Linktree page — links to social profiles, a bio, a photo — and timed myself. It took about 3 minutes. That's because the builder is so streamlined. You don't wade through dozens of settings. You just stack elements, style them, and hit publish.
Short of me royally screwing up, you can't really go wrong. The product's narrow focus ensures you stay on track. It wasn't 2006 — we're long past the days of bloated page builders. Carrd is built for now, for people who want to move fast.
All Looked Great on Paper, But How Would It Play Out in Practice?
I'll be honest: when I first decided to make Carrd a bio-link alternative, I had doubts. Would people see it as a replacement? Would they miss the analytics dashboards? The answer was yes and no. Some creators wanted deep stats — but many just wanted a simple page that looked like them. They didn't need a dashboard; they needed a canvas.
So I deferred the paid plan work until the very end, focusing first on making the core product rock-solid. That let me see which features actually deserved to be paid — custom domains won out. Everything else stayed free.
Simply Built, Customizable, Responsive
That's Carrd's tagline, but it's also the truth. It's simply built — the code is clean, the interface is minimal. It's customizable — you can change almost every visual detail. And it's responsive — every site adapts automatically.
If you're still weighing Beacons vs Linktree, I'd ask you to try a different approach. Open Carrd, start with a blank page, and build what you actually want. You might find that a one-page site does everything a bio link tool does — and more.
Key Takeaways
- Beacons and Linktree are convenient but limited templates; a one-page site gives you full control.
- Carrd's narrow focus makes it dead simple to use — build a complete page in under 5 minutes.
- The free plan is genuinely useful; you don't need to pay to get started.
- Custom domains justify the $19/year Pro plan — nothing else is locked behind a paywall.
- A one-page site is more flexible, more personal, and ultimately more yours than any bio link tool.