Nothing has had quite the impact on modern marketing that social media has. People who once would have had to blog to make a name for themselves can now quickly gain a following by focusing on social media such as Instagram.
The same can be said for businesses. Where once the focus was completely on SEO and blogging, now many businesses are finding that they can have an enormous reach to their audience simply by using the power of social media.
However, one of the biggest limitations of social media like Instagram is that you can only put one link in the bio section of the tool. In light of this, bio link tools became widely used.
Essentially, what these tools do is to create a landing page that you can link to from your social media profiles. This landing page is then customized and filled with links to wherever you want — your blog and your online shop, for example.
In this post, we will discuss Linktree vs Linkin.bio in terms of key features and user experience. Let’s dive in…
About Linktree and Linkinbio (Later)
Linktree is a leader in the bio link tools space, with over 18 million users. Linktree was born out of the realization from some social media managers that there needed to be a solution to the problem of social media profiles not having enough links.
Because links had to be changed out regularly, they figured it would be easier to just have a landing page with buttons on it that included as many links as the customer wanted — thus, Linktree was born.
Linkin.bio, on the other hand, came from the social media tool Later and was added as an additional feature. Later is Instagram-focused, so Linkin.bio became a natural tool to add as many businesses and content creators were frustrated with only having a single link.
Want a more customizable bio link tool? Use Wix for free! |
How Does Linktree Work? A Brief Walkthrough of the Dashboard…
Linktree is simple to sign up for and fairly simple to use, especially compared to similar products. Because Linktree is solely focused on creating a single landing page with many links, it’s actually very easy to use — the dashboard has only a few features.
When you log into Linktree for the first time, a wizard walks you through exactly how to set up your Linktree landing page, so for first-time users or users unfamiliar with how landing pages work, it’s a great tool — you don’t have to mess around with help boards trying to figure out what to do.
At the top of the screen, you’ll see just a few menu options:
- Links
- Appearance
- Settings
- Analytics
If you have the free plan, there will also be a link called PRO that sends you to the pricing page.
Links is where you create the links for your landing page. The links are displayed on a mockup of your landing page on the right of the screen. This is particularly useful because you’ll be able to see exactly what your customers will see when they click the Linktree link.
You simply add in your links here. There are a number of options here for each link, including what’s called a “leap link” that you can use to temporarily forward visitors to a destination (instead of the Linktree landing page). Other link types include thumbnail links, priority links, schedule links, and gate links. However, these links are only available with the pro version of the tool.
On top of that, there are other link types that are used for more specific purposes as you can see here:
You can also include a thumbnail with your link, and you can access analytics for each link from this dashboard as well.
The appearance menu option is about as straightforward as it sounds. You get to pick a bio image, create a little title and bio, and then choose a theme or design a theme (the colors of your links and the background of the page).
The pro version allows you to design your buttons, your background, and even your fonts, but many of the themes that come with the basic version are just fine and look nice and clean.
Settings is where you’ll find integrations. From here, you can create links to all your social media profiles. You also can integrate with email and SMS subscribers, and you can connect a Paypal, Square, or Shopify account, with Stripe coming soon.
The analytics tab shows you all kinds of data, including views and clicks, as well as money earned if you’re connected to an ecommerce account. Additionally, you can find information on where visitors that land on your Linktree page are coming from in terms of traffic source (Instagram, TikTok, etc.) and location in the world.
How Does Linkin.bio Work?
Linkinbio is a little more complex and has a few more features than Linktree. First, the entire platform is just a feature of Later, so to access it, you need a Later account. Thankfully, you can get a free Later account, so this isn’t as much of a barrier as it might seem at first.
You choose the Linkinbio tab on the sidebar menu, you’re taken to a secondary menu that allows you to put together the Linkinbio landing page. These items on the secondary menu are called “blocks.”
From the beginning, you’ll see that setting up your landing page is simple. You start by setting up your profile, where you can edit your name and your bio.
Next is the social links block. Here you’ll add links to a variety of platforms, even including Google My Business and WhatsApp, which is handy if you have a lot of products on your Google My Business page or if you interact with customers a lot on WhatsApp.
After you’ve put together your social links and your profile, you can create the buttons themselves. You’re able to choose their colors and their backgrounds, and you can link to any URL you want.
Usually, you’d want to link to a store on your website, but you could link to your blog or an email capture landing page with a lead magnet, or anywhere else you want. You can also have as many buttons as you want.
One great feature that makes Linkinbio stand out is the ability to feature your latest Instagram posts. You can include your latest post. You can also select any of your recent Instagram posts and add links on those posts to any website you choose. In other words, you can display your Instagram posts as they look on Instagram but on your Linkin.bio landing page. Each of these posts could link out to a different website.
The posts that have links added to them will turn from black and white to images with color. Only these images will be displayed in your Linkin.bio page.
Additionally, all your Instagram posts will be featured anyway below the featured post, and you can add links to those as well.
Finally, there’s a settings tab, where, if you have the pro version, you can embed your Linkinbio gallery in your website or connect a Shopify store. You’ll also be able to connect your account to Google Analytics here.
Once you are happy with your Linkin.bio page looks, you can simply grab the URL in the upper right part of the dashboard, and add it to your Instagram bio.
Want a more customizable bio link tool? Use Wix for free! |
Aesthetics and Appearance
The design capabilities of a bio link tool is often one of the most important aspects that people consider when evaluating options. If someone has hundreds or thousands of followers, chances are they want to display their links with some style.
In terms of customizability of design, Linktree definitely has the upper hand over Linkin.bio. With Linktree you can choose between numerous font options, you can design the shape and color of your buttons, and you can choose from a wide array of different themes. It is important to keep in mind, however, that many of these customization options come with the paid version.
To see how Linktree users can take advantage of the platform’s themes and customizability, check out these Linktree examples.
Unfortunately, Linkinbio has fewer options when it comes to design. However, to be fair, the landing page tool is fundamentally different. With Linkin.bio you can display the posts from your Instagram account, with an outbound link on each post. The layout of these posts is designed with a grid-like layout just like an Instagram account.
This design is the reason why many people want to use Linkinbio to begin with. However, the platform doesn’t leave as much room for customizability. Yes, you can add buttons, add a profile section and more, but there is little you can do to modify the design of these sections.
Nevertheless, Linkinbio looks extremely clean and modern, making it easy for your followers to find what they are looking for.
Pricing
Because Linktree is only a landing page generation tool, its cost is pretty reasonable. For only $6 a month, you can get the pro version. Yes, there is a free version, and yes you get all the features you need out of it, but if you need the available integrations, you’ll want the pro version.
The difference between the two mostly is based on design and integrations. Without the pro version, you are relegated to some pretty basic designs. If you like basic and clean, then the free version will work for you.
However, if you want a branded landing page, you’re going to want to go with the pro version.
Other features, like link scheduling, priority links, and leap link functionality, only come with the pro version, and any of the major integrations, like Mailchimp or Zapier, also require you to have the pro version.
Linkinbio is more expensive for the simple reason that it’s part of a much larger platform — Later. Later has a ton of functionality for multiple social media platforms.
If you get the free version of Later, you can use Linkinbio, you’re just limited in terms of (mostly) design. You can only change button colors once you start with the basics plan at $8/month. However, if you get the growth plan ($25/month), then you get custom featured media and 5 links per post, along with Shopify integration.
Want a more customizable bio link tool? Use Wix for free! |
When to Choose Linktree vs Linkin.bio
You should choose Linktree if you’re looking for something that’s easy to use, yet very customizable. There are numerous theme options and many ways in which you can customize the design of your page by changing fonts, and button designs, and colors.
You’ll also want to choose Linktree if you’re on a budget. At $6/month, it’s hard to say it’s anywhere near expensive. You can add as many links as you want, and you can link to anything you can think of. The integrations are also great.
The only real drawback is the inability to add Instagram images to the landing page with links on the images, so if that’s something you really want, Linktree isn’t for you.
That’s one of the reasons you’d want to go with Linkinbio — you want to have images on your landing page, and you want to have a featured image. This can be especially important for ecommerce brands.
You’ll also want to choose Linkinbio if you need the extra features that Later offers. Linkinbio is a feature of Later, and though you can get it all for free, you have to pay to get the other features (designed buttons etc.).
However, if you want to lots of control over the design of your page, then Linkinbio isn’t for you — it just doesn’t have that capability.
When choosing between Linktree vs Linkin.bio, it always helps to try both out briefly to see firsthand which one is best for you.
You can see how other bio link tools stack up to Linktree in the following comparisons:
