We all know that social media is the fuel that drives most online businesses. It’s the place where you can connect with your clients, share your content, and get real-time feedback from your audience.
But one of the biggest drawbacks of social media platforms, such as Instagram, is that you can only include one link in the bio section of your profile.
This can be frustrating and creates extra work for you, especially if you have multiple services or products to promote, or you’re trying to drive traffic to an external website.
Thankfully, there are several tools you can use to get around this limitation.
Carrd and Linktree are the most popular solutions out there, and they’ve proven to be ideal for adding landing pages to your social media platforms, building lists, and promoting your services.
In this article, I’ll take a look at how they stack up against each other and help you figure out which one is better for your needs.
Carrd vs Linktree: Introduction
What is Carrd?
Carrd is a simple landing page website builder that gives users everything they need to create a professional one-page site in minutes.
You can use Carrd’s websites to set up bio link pages, collect email addresses for your business, promote your products, or even showcase your portfolio.
It allows you to build up to three websites for free on its platform, as well as providing unlimited hosting for life. The sites are also optimized both for mobile devices and browsers.
Since its release in 2015, Carrd has grown into a well-known platform used by more than 800,000 users, who have built more than 1.2 million sites.
It doesn’t require you to know any code whatsoever. You simply choose from one of their thousands of templates, add in your content and images, and then tweak it until it’s perfect for your needs.
What is Linktree?
While Carrd is a multipurpose tool, Linktree specializes in one thing: displaying links in your social media bio.
It’s not just for Instagram and Facebook. You can use it on Pinterest, Reddit, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitch, Poshmark, Amazon, and anywhere else you want.
Linktree currently has over 12 million users and about 32,000 people signing up for it every day.
The main goal of the platform is to make it easy for your followers to click a link in your bio and get automatically taken to where you want them to go. This could be a website, your Twitter account, or even a Google document.
You can also use this tool to drive traffic to other social media sites or send them straight to an opt-in page.
Carrd vs Linktree: Sign Up
Carrd
Carrd lets you preview and edit your site before publishing it without signing up, but you won’t be able to share it with anyone else.
To create an account:
- Navigate to Carrd.co.
- Click the menu button in the top right corner of your screen.
- Next, fill out all of your information on the sign-up form and hit “Sign Up”.
- You’ll then be redirected to your dashboard. Before using it fully, you’ll be asked to confirm your email address by clicking on a link that they send you.
- After verifying your account, you’ll be able to access Carrd’s website builder and other features automatically.
Linktree
Signing up for Linktree is a bit more involved than Carrd. You have to go through a multi-step page before you can use the tool, and the signup process itself takes longer than Carrd’s.
To create an account:
- Navigate to Linktree
- Click on the “Sign up free” blue button in the top right corner.
- You’ll now need to pick a username for your site, which will also be your URL domain. Make sure it’s not taken!
- Choose between entering your email or your phone number and hit “Create Account”. Your email address will be used to verify your identity, while your phone number will allow them to send you an SMS message with a link that can be used to confirm your account.
- After that, you’ll be asked to create a password. Once done, click “Next.”
- On the new page, enter your name and pick one of the categories that will best describe your profile on Linktree (or select “other” if none of them apply). You’ll be able to choose between business, education, entertainment, creative, fashion & beauty, tech, non-profit, and more.
- Next, you’ll see their four pricing plans – Free, Starter, Pro, or Premium. Select one and hit “Create Account” again.
- Once you have your account set up, you’ll need to verify your email address or phone number by following the instructions provided.
- After that, you’ll be able to start adding links to your bio and customizing your Linktree profile.
Carrd vs Linktree: Dashboard
Carrd
The Carrd dashboard is designed to help you manage and create your sites. It’s fully responsive, so it looks great on any screen size, and it’s intuitive enough that you can use it with ease.
It has a left-hand navigation panel where you can quickly access different sections of your account, including the sites you’ve built, those that have been shared with you, your notifications, and training documentation.
This makes it easier for users who have lots of sites to manage because it means they don’t have to scroll through multiple screens just to get access to everything they need.
Carrd’s dashboard also does a great job organizing your work. You can categorize your pages in three folders: Published, Draft, and Templates, and then sort them by title or date.
Linktree
Like Carrd, Linktree’s dashboard is easily accessible and straightforward. With a few clicks, you can add new links or explore a wide variety of widgets you can use on your pages.
Linktree doesn’t have a left-hand navigation panel. Instead, it has five tabs on top of the screen: Links, Appearance, Setting, Analytics, and Upgrade (you’ll only see this last one if you’re using their free plan).
The Analytics tool is a useful feature you won’t see in Carrd’s dashboard. It allows you to check how your links are performing and make adjustments where necessary.
Also Read: Best Linktree Alternatives
Carrd vs Linktree: User Interface and Ease of Use
Carrd
Carrd has a minimalist design that doesn’t get in the way of your work. It has all the features you need for building landing pages, and it’s easy to get started with your first page in just a few minutes.
Carrd makes this process as simple as possible by providing a wide variety of free and premium templates for you to choose from. These templates range from simple one-pagers to professional-looking sites, and they come in different styles and colors.
If you love designing your own site and would rather start from scratch, you can also use Carrd’s blank canvas option. There’s no need to install any software on your computer, as everything happens in your browser window.
Linktree
Like Carrd, Linktree is also very user-friendly. Its interface is clean, with no complicated features or unnecessary options that take up time and space.
You can’t choose your own template, like you can with Carrd, but the site’s streamlined process makes creating your page a cinch.
After signing up, you get to pick from six themes: Air White, Air Black, Poppy, Spray, Mineral Orange, Linktree x Daniel Triendl – and then you’re good to go!
These themes are all beautiful and minimalistic, and you can customize each one to fit your needs with just a few clicks.
Carrd vs Linktree: Landing Page Builder
Carrd
Carrd has an excellent browser-based site builder. You can build an entire one-page website in minutes, and the interface is simple enough that even the most inexperienced user can get their site up and running with no problem.
To add elements to your page, click on the menu button in the top right corner. From there, you can insert a wide range of elements including
- Text boxes: You can use Carrd’s editor’s formatting options to make it look exactly how you want.
- Images: These include photos, logos, or other graphics. You can even upload an image from your social media profile.
- Links: You can create links to external websites and social media accounts.
- Videos: You can add videos by uploading them from YouTube or Vimeo, or by uploading them directly from your computer.
You can also add buttons, timers, tables, icons, and more. Simply click on the element you need and it’ll appear on the site.
After that, place them anywhere you want by using Carrd’s drop-and-drag feature.
The top-right menu is where you’ll find the undo or redo buttons, as well as a preview of what your page will look like when it’s published. You can also click on “Mobile View” to see how your page will look on a phone or tablet.
If you have a technical background and want to get into the nitty-gritty of building your site, Carrd also has a built-in system that lets you create your own custom design using CSS.
Linktree
Unlike Carrd, Linktree doesn’t have a website builder where you can customize every aspect of your page. Instead, you can only add links from the dashboard.
However, you can add as many as you want by just clicking on the “Add New Link” button. Using a free plan, these are the main types of links the platform lets you insert on your page:
- Links to other social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)
- Links to your own website.
- Links to your favorite YouTube or Vimeo videos.
- Links to your favorite blog posts and articles.
- Links to an online shop or store where you sell products.
- Links to an online form where you want to collect leads.
- Links to donation platforms (like Patreon)
You can check all of these categories on the “Explore” button, and you can even add visual interest by adding thumbnails and icons to your links.
If you upgrade to Linktree’s Pro plan, you’ll have access to a few more advanced features. For example:
- You can add links to take your visitors to any page without having to dig through your Linktree page.
- You can set up a specific priority level for all of the links added to your site.
- You can create a schedule for when certain things happen on your site (such as when your link will get published).
When you’re editing your Linktree page on a mobile device, the mobile view of that page appears on the right side of your screen. The view updates as you make changes, so you always have a current version.
Once you’re satisfied with the way your links are displayed on the page, you can customize the appearance of your profile using the Appearance tab. You can add your profile picture, a title for yourself, and a short bio.
Carrd vs Linktree: Mobile Application
Carrd
Carrd doesn’t have a mobile app at the moment. It can be viewed from your phone and will display correctly on just about any screen size, but you still need to access the platform from your browser if you want to create or edit your pages.
Linktree
In contrast, Linktree does offer a mobile app for both Android and iOs devices.
With the app, you get quick and easy access to your page and all of your link stats. You can also use it to add new links, schedule them, or change their appearance.
The app also allows you to add images directly from your phone or tablet while you are on the go.
Carrd vs Linktree: Customer Support
Carrd
You can reach out to Carrd’s support team directly by clicking the “Help” button in the left navigation panel on your dashboard.
They are also very active on Twitter and have built out a really helpful wiki for questions about using Carrd as well as for issues with the tool itself.
Linktree
While Carrd is pretty much supported by email, Linktree has multiple methods to get in touch with them.
You can reach them by email, message them through their chatbot, or find them on Twitter and Facebook.
Linktree’s Help Center also has lots of resources to help you get started with the app.
Carrd vs Linktree: Third-party integrations
Carrd
While Carrd doesn’t offer any integrations on its website, you can find plenty of plugins and apps on the internet that let you integrate Carrd sites with other services.
For example, if you want to add a feed of photos from Instagram to your website, there’s a plugin that will let you pull content from the Instagram API using an API key.
You can also use plugins like Countdown Timer, Google Reviews, Google Maps, Event Calendar, Audio Player, or Testimonial Sliders. There are even integrations with Gravity Forms or Contact Form 7 so you can build your forms without any coding knowledge at all.
Linktree
Linktree has a wide range of integrations and apps you can find by clicking on the “Explore” button on your dashboard.
These include:
- Cameo
- GoFundMe
- OpenSea
- Bandsintown
- Typeform
- Community.com
- Twitch
- Vimeo
- Youtube
- SoundCloud
- Spotify
- Shopify
- PayPal
- Venmo
- TikTok
- And more
Carrd vs Linktree: Pricing
Carrd
Carrd’s free plan is great for people who don’t want to pay for a landing page service. However, if you need more than one website, you’ll need to upgrade to one of its multiple paid plans.
Carrd’s Pro Lite option starts at $9/year, allowing you to build up to three websites.
It comes with most of the features you’ll need, but if you want to use Google Analytics, meta tags, embeds, or forms on your page, then you’ll have to pick the Pro Standard plan. It costs $19/year for 10 sites.
There’s also a Pro Plus plan costing $49/year for 25 sites. It includes advanced features such as redirects, password protection on your site, variables, and other options.
But it doesn’t end there. Each of these yearly subscriptions has multiple versions with more advanced features and a varying number of websites available:
- Pro Lite 10: $14/year for 10 sites
- Pro Lite 25: $29/year for 25 sites
- Pro Standard 25: $39/year for 25 sites
- Pro Standard 50: $69/year for 50 sites
- Pro Standard 100: $119/year for 100 sites
- Pro Standard 250: $219/year for 250 sites
- Pro Standard 500: $339/year for 500 sites
- Pro Plus 50: $89/year for 50 sites
- Pro Plus 100: $159/year for 100 sites
- Pro Plus 250: $299/year for 20 sites
- Pro Plus 500: $469/year for 500 sites
These prices may vary, so check Carrd’s website for the latest rates.
Linktree
Like Carrd, Linktree also offers a limited free version.
If you want to upgrade, there are three paid plans available – the Starter plan at $5/month, the Pro plan at $9/month, and the Premium plan at $24/month. However, these prices are subject to changes, so check Linktree’s website for updates.
These subscription options don’t offer as many customization features as Carrd’s plans. However, they’re still an affordable way of creating a bio link page for your social media accounts.
You can add a variety of links, embed videos, tweets, or NFT galleries, create animations, or even code-protect your links.
Carrd vs Linktree: Documentation
Carrd
Carrd’s help center has plenty of documentation and resources, including FAQs and tutorials.
The articles cover everything from getting started and making the most out of the app’s features, to common problems and troubleshooting tips.
Linktree
The platform’s help center is also a great resource for finding answers to all your questions.
You can find documentation and guides on everything from how to get started with Linktree, how to use the app’s features, how to use third-party integrations, and even information on billing & subscriptions.
Carrd vs Linktree: Pros & Cons
Carrd
Pros
- It allows you to create fully customized, responsive landing pages.
- Its website editor is aimed at non-tech savvy users, but if you want, you can design your page from scratch using CSS.
- Its paid plans allow you to use a customized domain.
- It offers over 100 templates to help you get started.
- It provides a lot of style and customization options.
- It has excellent customer support and comprehensive documentation.
- It has a free version you can use to create one site, and its yearly paid plans are affordable.
Cons
- Its free plan doesn’t allow you to create contact forms or add widgets to your page.
- It doesn’t have a built-in analytics tool.
Linktree
Pros
- It allows you to create a simple landing page where you can add multiple links for free.
- Its user interface is intuitive and very easy to use.
- It has a mobile application for Android and iOS devices.
- It comes with a built-in analytics tool you can use to track how your links are performing.
- Its monthly paid plans are affordable.
Cons
- It doesn’t allow you to hide the Linktree logo unless you upgrade to a paid plan.
- It doesn’t offer as many customization features for your page.
Similarities & Differences
| Carrd | Linktree | |
| Free Version | ✔ | ✔ |
| Landing Page Builder | ✔ | ✔ Limited to adding links |
| Intuitive Dashboard | ✔ | ✔ |
| Customer Support | ✔ | ✔ |
| Documentation | ✔ | ✔ |
| Customization Features | ✔ | ✔ |
| Analytics | X | ✔ Only for links and profile bio |
| Templates | ✔ | X |
| Mobile Application | X | ✔ |
| Third-party Integrations | ✔ | ✔ |
Verdict: Carrd vs Linktree – Which is Better?
Linktree and Carrd are both good options for building a bio link page for your social media profiles. The two platforms offer a sleek, easy-to-use interface that allows you to create landing pages quickly and easily, lots of customization features, outstanding customer support, and strong free plans.
However, Linktree is the best solution if you’re just looking for a simple but effective way to create a list of links.
First, its free version allows you to add an unlimited number of links to your page.
Second, it has some great features that Carrd doesn’t have, including link scheduling, link tagging, and analytics. They even offer a mobile application, which is great if you need to manage your links on the go.
And finally, the design options are great and allow you to customize your links without having to do any coding at all.
