Beacons vs Whop

Beacons is an all-in-one creator platform from a US startup that began as a link-in-bio tool and grew into a small business suite for social media creators. A single Beacons page sits behind the bio link on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube and can host a storefront for digital products, an email signup form, a media kit for brands and links to everything else a creator does.

Beyond the link page, Beacons includes a store for selling digital downloads, courses and coaching, an email marketing tool for building and messaging a list, a media kit that pulls in audience statistics, invoicing for brand deals and a set of AI tools for captions, pitches and product descriptions. The free plan lets creators start without paying but takes a fee on sales; Creator Pro adds tools but keeps the same fee, and Store Pro removes it while unlocking more customisation.

Beacons fits creators who want monetisation, email and brand partnership admin in one place without stitching together several apps. It is less suited to businesses that need a full website, detailed analytics or precise design control, and the number of features can feel sprawling for someone who only needs a link page. Linktree is the simpler and better-known link page, Stan Store focuses on selling products and courses from the bio link, and Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is stronger when email is the main channel.

Whop is a commerce platform for selling digital products and access, founded in Brooklyn, New York in 2021 by Steven Schwartz, Cameron Zoub and Jack Sharkey. It began as a marketplace for paid Discord communities and software tools such as sneaker bots, and grew into a full stack for online businesses: storefront, checkout, community, content and payouts. In early 2026 it raised a reported $200M strategic investment from Tether.

Sellers create a whop, a branded hub where they can bundle courses, chat and forums, files, events, Discord or Telegram role access, software license keys and custom apps. Whop handles checkout with cards, wallets, ACH and buy-now-pay-later, plus affiliates, promo codes, Content Rewards campaigns that pay clippers per view, and a Discover marketplace that can bring new buyers. There is no subscription fee; Whop earns from payment processing, starting at 2.7% plus $0.30 for domestic cards, with optional paid add-ons such as tax collection and billing tools.

Whop fits creators, coaches, traders and indie software makers who want to launch quickly and sell several product types from one place. Skool offers a cleaner community-plus-course experience at a flat monthly fee, Patreon suits fan memberships around existing content, and Kajabi provides a more polished course and marketing suite.

Buying tip: model your real cost before launching. International cards add 1.5%, currency conversion another 1%, and payouts cost from $2.50 for US ACH to $23 for wires, so effective fees often end up well above the headline rate.