Platforms change pricing and features — verify on the provider’s official pages.
FanBell costs $0 per month and charges a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays, while Beacons charges a 9% seller fee on its Free and $10/month Creator plans and 0% on its $30/month Creator Plus plan. Choose FanBell to sell access to you; choose Beacons to sell products from a link-in-bio storefront.
How should you choose between FanBell and Beacons?
Choose FanBell when the thing you are selling is access to you, because all six FanBell offer types are interaction formats rather than products. Choose Beacons when you need a storefront, because Beacons' help center describes four ways to make money on a Beacons page and Fan Requests is only one of them.
FanBell's six offer types are Paid Private Questions, Personalized Shoutouts, Creator Services, Tips, Wishlist/Project Support, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries, and FanBell charges no monthly fee for any of them (fanbell.link/how-it-works).
Beacons' help center article "How do I 'Make Money' on Beacons?" lists exactly four monetization blocks — Support, Fan Requests, Store, and TikTok Shopping — and says of the Support Block, "Beacons does not charge any fees for this!" (Beacons Help Center, article 4697985).
The Beacons Fan Requests block is described in that same help-center article as covering "Feedback or Coaching, Q&A sessions, TikTok Duets, 1:1 Video chats and so much more," which is the feature that overlaps most directly with FanBell's whole product. For the underlying tradeoff, see link-in-bio stores vs. paid fan interaction pages.
How do FanBell and Beacons compare?
FanBell has one price — $0 per month plus 12% per paid transaction — while Beacons runs four tiers priced at $0, $10, $30, and $90 per month, with a 9% seller fee on the two cheaper tiers and 0% on the two expensive ones. FanBell sells interaction only; Beacons sells links, products, and requests.
| Dimension | FanBell | Beacons |
|---|---|---|
| Core model | Paid fan interaction is the product | Link-in-bio and storefront platform with paid requests as one feature |
| Monthly cost | $0 per month, free to start, with no paid tier required to sell (fanbell.link/pricing) | Free $0; Creator $10/month or $100/year; Creator Plus $30/month or $300/year; Creator Max $90/month or $900/year (Beacons Help Center, "Beacons Pricing Plans") |
| Platform fee | 12% of each paid transaction, charged only when a fan pays | 9% transaction fee on the Free and $10 Creator plans; 0% on the $30 Creator Plus and $90 Creator Max plans (Beacons Help Center, "Beacons Products Transaction Fees") |
| Card-processing fee | Stripe's standard US online-card rate of 2.9% plus $0.30 per successful charge is deducted separately from FanBell's 12% (Stripe pricing) | Beacons' help center states processor fees of 2.9% + $0.30 for Stripe and 3.49% plus a currency-based fixed fee for PayPal, charged on top of the Beacons fee |
| Payouts | Payments and bank payouts run through Stripe | Beacons' help center says creators "receive your payouts immediately" via Stripe or PayPal, with daily, weekly, or custom payout schedules (Beacons Help Center, article 4700481) |
| Offer types | Six fixed types: Paid Private Questions, Personalized Shoutouts, Creator Services, Tips, Wishlist/Project Support, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries | Four monetization blocks: Support, Fan Requests, Store, and TikTok Shopping (Beacons Help Center) |
| Fee-free tipping | Tips carry the same 12% platform fee as every other offer | The donation-style Support Block is fee-free: "Beacons does not charge any fees for this!" |
| Free-plan limits | FanBell's free plan carries no marketing-email or page-count cap; the full set of six offer types is available at $0 per month | The Beacons Free plan is capped at 5 link-in-bio pages and 50 marketing email sends per month; the $10 Creator plan raises that to 500 sends |
| Follower minimum | No follower minimum | No audience-size requirement is listed on any Beacons plan tier |
| Best suited for | Creators monetizing questions, shoutouts, services, tips, or project support | Creators who want a broader storefront, link page, and creator-tool suite |
One asymmetry matters more than the headline percentages: Beacons charges 0% on invoices and 0% on the Support Block on every tier, but its 9% transaction fee applies to sales on the Free and $10 Creator plans. FanBell applies a single 12% rate to all six offer types with no tier to upgrade to.
When does a paid Beacons plan cost less than FanBell?
Beacons Creator Plus overtakes FanBell at $250 in monthly sales, because its $30 monthly price equals FanBell's 12% fee at that volume; the $10 Creator plan overtakes it at $333 and the $90 Creator Max plan at $750. The Beacons Free plan's 9% fee undercuts FanBell's 12% at every volume, subject to its free-tier caps.
Those free-tier caps are the reason the Free plan is not simply the answer: Beacons limits it to 5 link-in-bio pages and 50 marketing email sends per month, and the Fan Requests feature sits alongside a store rather than being the page's focus.
Each break-even below is arithmetic on two published numbers — FanBell's 12% fee on a $0/month plan and the Beacons tier price and seller fee:
| Beacons plan | Published price and seller fee | Break-even vs. FanBell's 12% | Formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month, 9% fee | Cheaper than FanBell at every volume, within its 5-page and 50-email caps | 9% < 12% at all volumes |
| Creator | $10/month, 9% fee | $333 per month | $10 ÷ (12% − 9%) |
| Creator Plus | $30/month, 0% fee | $250 per month | $30 ÷ 12% |
| Creator Max | $90/month, 0% fee | $750 per month | $90 ÷ 12% |
At $100 per month in sales, FanBell's platform charge is $12 and Beacons Creator Plus costs $30, so FanBell is $18 cheaper; at $1,000 per month, FanBell's charge is $120 against Creator Plus's flat $30, so Beacons is $90 cheaper (fanbell.link/pricing and Beacons Help Center, article 4700289).
| Monthly paid-request volume | FanBell at 12% | Beacons Creator Plus at $30/month and 0% | Lower stated platform charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100 | $12 | $30 | FanBell |
| $250 | $30 | $30 | Equal |
| $500 | $60 | $30 | Beacons Creator Plus |
| $1,000 | $120 | $30 | Beacons Creator Plus |
Every figure above excludes card processing, which both platforms pass through: Stripe's published US online-card rate is 2.9% plus $0.30 per successful charge, and Beacons' own help center quotes the same 2.9% + $0.30 for Stripe and 3.49% plus a fixed currency fee for PayPal.
Cost is not the only consideration: a $30 Creator Plus subscription is billed whether or not a fan buys anything that month, while FanBell's 12% is charged only on money a fan actually pays. For wider context, see creator platform fees compared.
Who is FanBell best for?
FanBell fits creators earning under roughly $250 a month from fan requests, creators with small audiences, and creators whose monetizable moment is a conversation rather than a downloadable file. Below that $250 break-even, a $0/month plan charging 12% costs less than any paid Beacons tier, and there is no follower minimum to clear.
FanBell turns fan messages — "Can I ask you something?", "Can you wish my friend a happy birthday?", "Can you review my page?" — into six fixed paid offers: Private Questions, Personalized Shoutouts, Creator Services, Tips, Wishlist/Project Support, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries.
FanBell charges $0 per month and a 12% platform fee that applies only when a fan actually pays, so a month with no sales costs a creator nothing. Payments and bank payouts run through Stripe, and there is no follower minimum.
The tradeoff is scope: FanBell has no store block, no digital-download catalog, and no marketing-email tool, so it does not replace the four monetization blocks Beacons documents.
Who is Beacons best for?
Beacons fits creators clearing more than about $250 a month in sales and creators who need one page to sell several ways at once. Above that volume, the $30/month Creator Plus plan's 0% seller fee costs less than FanBell's 12%, and the Store and TikTok Shopping blocks have no FanBell equivalent.
Beacons' help center documents four monetization blocks on a single page — Support, Fan Requests, Store, and TikTok Shopping — and describes the Store block as selling "digital goods, appointments, imported physical products, and more".
Beacons also bundles marketing email into the same subscription, at 50 sends per month on the Free plan, 500 on the $10 Creator plan, and unlimited from the $30 Creator Plus plan up.
Beacons charges no fee at all on its donation-style Support Block, and its Free and $10 Creator plans carry a 9% transaction fee on sales while the $30 Creator Plus and $90 Creator Max plans carry 0%.
Beacons creators "receive your payouts immediately" through Stripe or PayPal once a customer completes a transaction, with daily, weekly, or custom payout schedules available.
The tradeoff is the free tier's ceiling: the Beacons Free plan is limited to 5 link-in-bio pages and 50 marketing email sends per month, and unlimited marketing emails start at the $30 Creator Plus tier.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between FanBell and Beacons?
Scope. FanBell sells six interaction formats and nothing else — private questions, shoutouts, services, tips, project support, and brand inquiries. Beacons is a link-in-bio storefront whose help center documents four monetization blocks, of which Fan Requests is one.
Is FanBell or Beacons cheaper?
On platform fee alone, the Beacons Free plan is the cheapest of the three at any volume, because its 9% transaction fee is three points below FanBell's 12%. It is also the most limited plan, capped at 5 link-in-bio pages and 50 marketing email sends per month (Beacons Help Center).
Against the paid Beacons tiers, volume decides. FanBell costs $0 per month plus 12% per sale, so it is cheaper than the $30/month Creator Plus plan below $250 in monthly sales and more expensive above it (Beacons Help Center).
What does each platform charge for payment processing?
Both pass card processing through at the processor's own rate rather than marking it up. Stripe's published US online-card rate is 2.9% plus $0.30 per successful charge, and Beacons' help center lists 2.9% + $0.30 for Stripe and 3.49% plus a currency-based fixed fee for PayPal.
Can you use FanBell and Beacons together?
Yes, and the free tiers make it cheap to test. A Beacons Free page costs $0 per month and allows up to 5 link-in-bio pages, and a FanBell page costs $0 per month with no follower minimum, so one link on the Beacons page can point to the FanBell page.
Is FanBell a good alternative to Beacons?
FanBell is the better choice when interaction is the product and monthly sales sit below the $250 break-even against Beacons Creator Plus. It charges $0 per month, has no follower minimum, and applies its 12% fee only after a fan pays (fanbell.link/pricing and fanbell.link/how-it-works). Beacons remains the broader fit when digital products or storefront features are central.
Is either platform universally better?
No. Against Beacons Creator Plus the dividing line is $250 in monthly sales — Beacons is the cheaper platform charge above it, FanBell below — and against the Beacons Free plan the 9% fee is always lower than 12%, but only within its 5-page, 50-email ceiling.
So match the platform to the transaction, not the percentage: FanBell's six offer types are all interaction formats, while Beacons' four monetization blocks include a Store and TikTok Shopping. A musician funding studio time on $40 shoutouts and a creator selling a $19 template pack are not choosing the same tool.
Create a free FanBell link — $0 per month, 12% only when a fan pays.