Stan Store vs Shopify vs MinglyLink: The Free Way to Sell From Your Link in Bio (2026)
Stan Store charges $29–$99 a month. Shopify starts at $5–$39 and climbs fast once you add apps and transaction fees. MinglyLink lets you list products and take orders straight from your link in bio for free — and you keep 100% of every sale. Here's the honest, numbers-first comparison.
MinglyLink Team
E-commerce & Creator Tools
TL;DR
- • Stan Store — best for solo creators selling digital offers (courses, coaching, downloads) from a link in bio. $29–$99/mo, no free plan.
- • Shopify — best for scaling a large physical-goods brand with inventory, shipping zones, and POS. $5–$2,300+/mo, and it retired its Linkpop link-in-bio storefront.
- • MinglyLink — best if you want to sell from your bio for free, keep 100% of proceeds, and combine products, bookings, and a monetized link-in-bio in one page.
1 The Three Approaches to Selling Online
People search for "stan.store" and "shopify" because they want the same thing: a simple way to turn an audience into sales. But these three tools solve that problem very differently.
Stan Store is a creator storefront built directly into your link in bio. It's polished, fast to set up, and great for selling digital products, courses, coaching calls, and memberships. The catch is that it's subscription-only — there's no free plan in 2026.
Shopify is full-blown commerce infrastructure: real inventory management, shipping zones, tax automation, multi-currency, POS, and B2B wholesale. It's built to run a serious store — but it's not a link-in-bio tool (Shopify retired its "Linkpop" link-in-bio product), and the monthly cost plus apps and transaction fees add up quickly.
MinglyLink takes a third path: a free-forever, fully customizable link-in-bio page with a native shop built in. You add products, customers add them to a cart, and they check out — physical goods, digital products, or bookable services — without you ever paying a monthly fee or a platform cut.
2 Real Cost Breakdown (2026)
Headline prices hide the real number. Here's what each platform actually costs to start selling today.
| Cost | MinglyLink | Stan Store | Shopify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | $0 — free forever | $29 (Creator) / $99 (Pro) | $5 / $39 / $105 / $399 / $2,300+ |
| Free plan? | Yes — all core features | No (14-day trial only) | No (3-day trial, then paid) |
| Platform fee per sale | 0% | 0% | +0.2%–2.0% if not using Shopify Payments |
| Payment processing | Standard Stripe (≈2.9% + 30¢) | Standard Stripe/PayPal (≈2.9% + 30¢) | 2.4%–2.9% + 30¢ (Shopify Payments) |
| Cost in year 1 (before sales) | $0 | $300–$948 | $60–$1,260+ (plan only) |
Stan Store and Shopify pricing reflect publicly listed 2026 plans; processing fees are set by Stripe/PayPal/Shopify Payments and apply on every platform, including MinglyLink. Always verify current pricing on each provider's site.
3 Full Feature Comparison
| Feature | MinglyLink | Stan Store | Shopify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell from link in bio | Yes — native to the bio page | Yes — that's its whole model | No (Linkpop retired) |
| Native cart & checkout | Yes — multi-item cart drawer | Yes (per-offer) | Yes (full checkout) |
| Physical products | Yes — optional shipping address | Limited (digital-first) | Yes — best-in-class |
| Digital products | Yes | Yes — best-in-class | Yes (often via apps) |
| Bookings / appointments | Built in — used by clinics | Yes (calls/webinars) | Apps required |
| Multi-currency shop | Yes — pick your shop currency | Limited | Yes (higher tiers) |
| Earn from ads (revenue share) | 60% to creator — unique | No | No |
| SEO-indexed storefront | Yes — custom meta + product schema | Basic | Yes — strong |
| Link safety checks | Yes — Google Safe Browsing | No | No |
| Own domain needed? | No — free ming.ly/you | No — free subdomain | Recommended (extra cost) |
4 What You Actually Keep Per Sale
Here's where the "free" difference compounds. Say you sell a $30 product. On every platform you pay your payment processor (~2.9% + 30¢ ≈ $1.17), so you net about $28.83 in processing terms. The real divergence is the monthly subscription you have to earn back before you keep a cent.
Break-even at $30 per sale:
- • MinglyLink: sale #1 is already profit — $0 to recover.
- • Stan Store ($29/mo): you must sell ~1 product every month just to cover the subscription before profit begins.
- • Shopify Basic ($39/mo): ~1–2 sales/month to cover the plan — more once you add paid apps.
For a creator doing a handful of sales a month, a $29–$99 subscription can quietly eat most of the profit. MinglyLink removes that floor entirely — and creators keep 100% of their product proceeds.
5 Time to First Sale
Independent reviews clock Stan Store at roughly 22 minutes from signup to a live storefront, and Shopify at closer to four hours once you configure products, shipping, taxes, and a theme. MinglyLink lands in the Stan Store camp: claim your ming.ly/username, flip on Shop, add a product with a price and currency, and it's instantly purchasable from your bio — no theme setup, no domain purchase, no plan to pick.
6 Which One Fits You
Choose MinglyLink if…
- • You want to sell from your bio without a monthly fee
- • You want to keep 100% of proceeds
- • You sell a mix of products, bookings, and links
- • You also want to earn from ads on your page
Choose Stan Store if…
- • You sell mostly digital offers & coaching
- • You want a polished, opinionated funnel
- • A $29–$99/mo subscription fits your volume
Choose Shopify if…
- • You run a large physical-goods brand
- • You need inventory, shipping zones, POS
- • You're scaling beyond a link in bio
7 Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a free alternative to Stan Store and Shopify?
Yes. MinglyLink lets you list products and take orders directly from your link in bio with no monthly subscription and no platform fee — you keep 100% of every sale minus only your payment processor's standard fee (e.g. Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢). Stan Store costs $29–$99/month and Shopify starts at $5–$39/month and climbs from there.
How much does Stan Store cost in 2026?
Stan Store has no free plan in 2026. The Creator plan is $29/month and Creator Pro is $99/month (cheaper billed annually). It advertises "0% platform fees," but you still pay standard Stripe/PayPal processing on every sale.
How much does Shopify cost in 2026?
Shopify Starter is $5/month, Basic is $39/month, Grow is $105/month, Advanced is $399/month, and Plus starts around $2,300+/month. If you do not use Shopify Payments, an extra 0.2%–2.0% transaction surcharge applies on top of your gateway fees.
Can I sell physical and digital products from my link in bio?
With MinglyLink, yes — you can sell physical products (with an optional shipping address at checkout), digital products, and services/bookings, all from the same bio page with a native cart and checkout. Stan Store is strongest for digital offers and coaching; Shopify is built for larger physical-goods catalogs but is not a link-in-bio storefront.
Does MinglyLink support multiple currencies?
Yes. You pick a shop currency (USD, SAR, and other supported currencies) that controls how prices display and how customers are charged at checkout.
8 The Verdict
Shopify is the right tool the day you're running a real physical-goods operation with inventory, shipping, and a team. Stan Store is a clean, fast choice for digital creators who don't mind a monthly subscription.
But if you're a creator or small business who just wants to sell from your link in bio without paying to play — products, bookings, and links on one SEO-friendly page, keeping 100% of every sale and even earning from ad revenue share — MinglyLink is the easiest, cheapest place to start. There's no plan to outgrow because there's no plan to begin with.
Want the wider field? See our best link in bio tools for 2026 roundup, learn how to monetize your link in bio, or compare Linktree vs MinglyLink.