How to Sell on Instagram (2026): 3 Methods Compared

Method 1: Instagram Shops and product tags

Instagram Shops lets you build a catalogue and tag products in posts, Reels and stories. What changed: as of September 2025, Shops on Instagram and Facebook use website checkout, and Meta has discontinued payment processing for Shops^[1]. Buyers tap a tagged product, see it inside Instagram, and complete the purchase on your website.

To qualify, your professional profile must list products that can be bought directly from your website, on a single domain you may need to verify; you need a visible refund and return policy; and your business must be in a supported market^[3]. The full experience is available in the US; Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand are in open beta, and eight more countries get a limited version^[2].

Meta is also testing a one-tap “Buy now” button after ad clicks, starting with PayPal and Stripe^[4]. That is an ads feature, not a return of in-app checkout for Shops.

Choose this if you already run a website store (Shopify, WooCommerce and the like) and want product tags on your content. If you don’t have a website, Shops isn’t an option yet; methods 2 and 3 are.

Method 2: A shop on the page behind your bio link

Instagram lets you add up to five links to your profile^[6]. Point the first one at a page that works as a shop: products with photos and prices, a way to order, and your other channels. Every post can then say “shop via the link in my bio”.

1. Pick a tool with a shop. Options range from free plans with a per-sale fee to subscriptions: Stan Store costs $29 a month^[7], Beacons takes 9% on its free plan^[8], and The Leap takes 0%^[9]. The link-in-bio fees table compares 15 tools.
2. Add your products with clear photos, the price, sizes or options, and delivery information.
3. Connect payment: the tool’s checkout, or your own payment link (Stripe, PayPal) or bank details.
4. Put the page link first in your bio and mention it in captions, stories and Reels.
5. Handle orders from the tool’s dashboard, and confirm each one to the buyer.

MinglyLink, which we make, works this way for free: a shop with a cart and orders, a booking calendar and your links on one page. 0% MinglyLink fee: you’re paid via your own payment link, processor fees only. It doesn’t have a built-in card checkout or automatic file delivery yet. Instagram also sells its own link page with up to 20 links in the paid Meta One Essential plan ($14.99 a month), but that is a list of links, not a shop^[5].

The step-by-step guides: selling on Instagram without a website and how to lay out your bio-link shop. Comparing paid options? See Stan Store alternatives.

Method 3: DM and WhatsApp orders

The oldest method still works, especially for made-to-order and local sales: post the product, and write “DM to order” or add a WhatsApp button.

1. Post the product with the price, sizes or options, and delivery area in the caption.
2. Add a WhatsApp click-to-chat link to your bio or bio page, with a pre-filled message such as “Hi, I’d like to order…”. Our free WhatsApp link generator builds one, and this wa.me guide explains the format.
3. When a message comes in, confirm the item, total with shipping, and delivery time.
4. Send a payment link or bank details, or agree cash on delivery where that is normal.
5. Keep a simple order log (a spreadsheet works) so nothing gets lost in the chats.

It costs nothing but your time, and it doesn’t scale: past a handful of orders a day, move the catalogue to a bio-link shop so people can browse and order without waiting for you.

How to take payment

• Payment links (Stripe, PayPal and similar) work in every method: send one per order or put one on each product.
• The tool’s checkout, if your store or link-in-bio tool has one. Check the platform fee per sale; it comes on top of card processing.
• Bank transfer or cash on delivery, common for local sales in many countries. No processing fee, but you chase payment yourself.

Card processing typically costs about 2.9% + 30¢ per order in the US, whichever method you use.

Shipping and delivery

• Show the shipping cost before people order, on the product or in the caption. Surprise costs kill sales.
• State where you ship and how long it takes, and stick to it.
• Use tracked shipping for anything valuable, and send the tracking link when the parcel leaves.
• Digital products need a delivery method: automatic delivery from your tool, or a download link you send yourself.

Selling from Germany or Austria?

A business selling on Instagram in Germany or Austria needs an Impressum that visitors can reach within two clicks, for example on the page behind your bio link. Our German guide covers what goes in it, with a template: Impressum auf Instagram.

How much does it cost to sell on Instagram?

Instagram doesn’t take a cut, because it no longer processes payments for Shops^[1]. What you pay:

• A website store for Shops, or a link-in-bio tool: from $0 (free plans) to around $30 a month.
• Platform fees per sale: 0% to 12% on free link-in-bio plans; Linktree, for example, takes 12% on its free plan^[10].
• Payment processing: about 2.9% + 30¢ per card payment in the US.
• Shipping and packaging, which is often the biggest cost for physical products.

Which method should you use?

• You already have a website store: set up Instagram Shops and keep a link to your store in your bio.
• No website, a handful of products: a free bio-link shop. Build it once and every post can point to it.
• Custom or local orders: DMs and WhatsApp, with a bio page listing what you make and your prices.

Most sellers combine them: the bio-link shop for browsing, DMs for questions, and Shops once a website exists. For a list of what to sell and how to present it, see selling digital products on Instagram and the free Shopify alternative.