craving vs Beacons: the Beacons alternative with chat and an AI that sells
craving vs Beacons compared: features, transaction fees, chat and AI. See when a craving Home is the better Beacons alternative, and when Beacons fits.
By the craving team · Updated · 6 min read
Short answer
Beacons is a link in bio with a store, a media kit and email tools, built for creators who sell digital products and pitch brands. A craving Home is a personal website with chat and Alter, a personal AI that answers Visitors and can make the sale, plus Tips, Bookings, Memberships and Personal Requests. If you want courses and an email list in one tool, Beacons is a good fit. If you want your bio link to hold real conversations and turn them into paid calls, requests and memberships, craving is the stronger choice.
- Beacons combines a link in bio, a store, a media kit and email; craving combines a personal website, chat and an AI that talks with Visitors.
- Alter, the personal AI on craving, is included on every plan, including Free.
- Beacons lists a 9% transaction fee on its Free and Creator plans and 0% from Creator Plus at $30 a month, as listed in November 2026.
- The craving Free plan has no monthly fee and a 20% platform fee on sales, down to 5% on Pro and Team.
What is the difference between craving and Beacons?
Beacons is a link-in-bio tool with a store, a media kit and email built in. Creators use it to list their links, sell digital products, send brand partners a media kit and collect emails from their audience, all from one page.
craving is a personal website with built-in chat and AI. Your craving Home lives at craving.com/@yourname and holds your links, social profiles, photos, videos, files and contact details. A Visitor can message you, ask Alter a question, book a paid call, send a tip or buy content without leaving your Home.
craving vs Beacons at a glance
| craving | Beacons | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Personal website (Home) with chat, AI and offers | Link in bio with store, media kit and email |
| Links, socials and embeds | Yes | Yes |
| AI that chats with your visitors | Yes: Alter, on every plan | Not part of the plans we compared |
| Chat inbox across channels | Yes: web chat, the craving app, email, Telegram and more | Not part of the plans we compared |
| Paid calls and custom requests | Bookings and Personal Requests, from Go | Not part of the plans we compared |
| Memberships | Yes, from Go | From Creator Plus |
| Courses and email marketing | No course builder, no newsletter tool | Yes |
| Custom domain | Yes, on a supported paid plan | From the Creator plan |
| Monthly price | Free, paid plans from $9.95 | Free, then $10, $30 or $100 |
| Fee on sales | 20% on Free, down to 5% on Pro and Team | 9% on Free and Creator, 0% from Creator Plus |
Why does a Beacons alternative with chat sell more naturally?
A store page works when people already know what they want. Most visitors from a social bio do not: they have a question first. Is this coaching right for me? Do you take custom work? How long is a call? On a page without chat, that question goes into a DM on another app, or nowhere.
On a craving Home the question gets answered on the spot. A Visitor types "Can you review my portfolio?" and gets a clear answer, with the matching Personal Request or Booking ready to buy. The conversation and the checkout sit on the same page.
Messages from your Home, the craving app and connected channels arrive in one inbox. Web chat, email, Bluesky, voice messages and Telegram work on every plan, WhatsApp from Plus, and iMessage and RCS/SMS from Pro.
What does Alter do on a craving Home?
Alter is your personal AI on craving. It learns about you and your offers, then chats with Visitors when you are busy or offline. You choose how it speaks: as your Assistant, talking about you, or as your Digital Twin, talking as you.
- Answers the questions you get every day: prices, availability, what you do and how to work with you.
- Suggests the right offer for each Visitor, such as a Booking, a Membership or a Personal Request.
- Can offer and complete a sale, and asks for a tip at the right moment.
- Helps you run your Home: say "Add this link to my Home" and Alter proposes the change for you to approve.
You stay in control. You can read every conversation and take over any chat yourself. With Stripe connected, Alter has no plan-based reply limit.
Which offers can you sell on craving vs Beacons?
Beacons centers on a store for digital products, with memberships and courses on Creator Plus. That suits creators whose main offer is a download, a template pack or a course.
A craving Home is built around people who sell their time, attention and personal work. On the Free plan you can earn with Tips and Library sales of photos, videos and files. From Go you add Bookings for paid phone or video calls, Personal Requests for custom work such as a custom video, a review or a commission, and Memberships for recurring access to selected content and benefits. Go includes up to two membership plans; Plus and up are unlimited and add trial memberships.
A Live Portrait, an animated version of your portrait, makes your Home move the moment someone lands on it.
Is craving cheaper than Beacons?
As listed in November 2026, Beacons has a Free plan at $0 with a 9% transaction fee on sales, Creator at $10 a month (or $100 a year) with a 9% fee and a custom domain, Creator Plus at $30 a month with a 0% fee plus memberships and courses, and Creator Max at $100 a month. Stripe or PayPal processing comes on top.
You can start on craving for free, with no credit card. The platform fee is 20% on Free and Go, 10% on Plus, and 5% on Pro and Team. When Alter itself makes a sale, an extra 15% applies; sales you make yourself carry no AI fee. A payment processing charge is added at checkout for the Visitor. Paid plans cost $9.95, $29.95, $69.95 or $99.95 a month, and annual billing gives you 12 months for the price of 10.
If you sell a lot of downloads and nothing else, Beacons at 0% from Creator Plus can cost less per sale. If your income comes from calls, requests and memberships that start in a conversation, compare what each tool helps you earn, not only the fee.
When is Beacons the better choice?
- You want to send newsletters and email broadcasts from the same tool, which craving does not offer.
- You sell courses: Beacons includes courses on Creator Plus, and craving has no course builder.
- You sell a high volume of digital products and want a 0% platform fee at a fixed monthly price.
- You want to pay through PayPal, which Beacons lists as a processing option.
If your audience mostly asks before it buys, a Home with chat and Alter covers your links and adds the conversation that leads to the sale.
How do you switch from Beacons to craving?
- Create your free Home and pick your username at craving.com/@yourname.
- Add your links, social profiles and content, and upload files you sell to your Library.
- Tell Alter about you and your offers, then choose Assistant or Digital Twin.
- Connect Stripe, turn on Tips, and add Bookings, Personal Requests or Memberships when you are ready.
- Swap the link in your bios for your Home, share its QR code in person, and Build your Home.
Frequently asked questions
Is craving a good Beacons alternative?
Yes, if you want your bio link to chat with visitors and sell calls, custom requests and memberships. A craving Home includes links and content like Beacons, and adds chat and Alter, an AI that answers Visitors and can complete a sale.
What fee does Beacons take on sales?
As listed in November 2026, Beacons takes a 9% transaction fee on its Free and Creator plans and 0% from Creator Plus at $30 a month. Stripe or PayPal processing fees apply on top.
Does craving have a free plan like Beacons?
Yes. The craving Free plan has no monthly fee and includes a Home, chat, Alter, Tips and Library sales, with a 20% platform fee only when you sell.
Can I send email newsletters with craving?
No. There is no email newsletter or broadcast tool on craving, though lead capture to collect emails is available from Go. Beacons includes email tools if newsletters are central to your business.
Can I use a custom domain on craving?
Yes. You can use a custom domain on craving with a supported paid plan, and from Go you can also get your own craving address such as yourname.craving.com.
Sources
Facts about other products were checked on their official pages in November 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm on their sites before you decide.