One thing to set straight up front: Beacons does have export options, but mostly for your audience and subscriber data, not a tidy file of your link-in-bio links. So getting your contact list out is genuinely easy; getting your actual link list out is still a quick manual job, the same as with most link tools. The harder question is not "how do I get my links out" but "what am I actually leaving behind," because Beacons is an all-in-one with a store and email built in. This guide covers both: the practical way to extract your links, and the honest read on what does and does not have a home in a links-only tool.
We make Shelfy, a free link tool, so we are biased. We will be straight about where Shelfy is a clean replacement for Beacons and where it is not, because Beacons does things Shelfy deliberately does not.
First, Be Honest About Why You Are Leaving
Beacons is two products in one: a link-in-bio page and a creator commerce stack (storefront, digital products, email). What you do next depends entirely on which part you actually use.
| If you use Beacons for... | Switching to a links-only tool is... | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Just the link-in-bio page | A clean win | Export and move, this guide |
| Links plus a small store you could host elsewhere | Workable | Move links here, keep a separate checkout |
| A real digital-product business on Beacons | Not a full replacement | Keep your commerce, use a links tool only for curation |
Shelfy has no storefront and no built-in email. If your Beacons revenue runs through its store, do not expect a links tool to replace that. The sensible pattern there is to keep your commerce where it works and use a clean, free links page as the audience-facing front door. We laid out that split in Shelfy vs Beacons.
If you are leaving because you mostly use Beacons for links and resent the 5-page cap, the 9% transaction fee, or paying to keep a custom domain after year one, then this is a clean switch. Read on.
Do Not Cancel First
Same rule as any migration: export everything while your account is fully live, then cancel last. The correct order:
- Export your links (this guide).
- Set up and test your new page.
- Update your Instagram, TikTok, and other bios.
- Only then, cancel Beacons.
If you cancel a paid plan first, you can lose the custom domain and any features that were keeping your page together before you have moved off it.
Method 1: Export Your Audience Data First (If You Have It)
Beacons' built-in export is mainly for your audience and subscriber list, which is the data that is genuinely painful to recreate. Get that out first.