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.
- Log in to Beacons on a desktop browser.
- Open your audience or subscribers area and look for the download or export icon to pull your contacts as a file.
- Save it somewhere safe. This is your email list, and it is worth more than the links.
Note that this exports your contacts, not your link-in-bio links. For the links themselves, use Method 2 or 3 below, which always work. Because Beacons updates its dashboard regularly, exact menu locations move around.
Method 2: Copy Directly From Your Live Page
For most pages this is just as fast and needs no settings hunting.
- Open your public Beacons page in a browser, for example
https://beacons.ai/yourname. - Right-click each link and choose Copy link address to capture the true destination, not just the visible label.
- Paste each URL into a notes doc or spreadsheet, one per line, with its label beside it.
Method 3: View Page Source (Catches Everything)
If you have many links or links tucked inside sections, the page source has them all.
- Open your Beacons page in a desktop browser.
- Right-click and choose View Page Source, or press Ctrl+U (Cmd+Option+U on Mac).
- Search the source with Ctrl+F for
httpand copy out the destination URLs you recognize.
Method 4: Screenshot for Layout Reference
Take a full-page screenshot so you have a visual record of order, labels, and sections. It is not a data export, but it makes rebuilding the layout faster.
Move Them In Without Retyping
Once you have a list of URLs (one per line, or in a spreadsheet), you do not have to re-add them one at a time. Shelfy takes them three ways:
- Paste a list. All your URLs at once, one per line.
- Upload a CSV. If your export or spreadsheet is in that format.
- Upload a bookmarks file. Export your browser bookmarks as HTML and import that.
For each link, Shelfy auto-fetches the page title and preview image, so you get a finished page without hand-entering names and thumbnails. A page that took an afternoon to build on Beacons moves over in one paste.
Rebuild Smarter, and Fix the Beacons Limits
Switching is a chance to undo what cramped you on Beacons:
- Drop the page cap. Beacons' free tier limits link-in-bio pages and stamps branding. Shelfy gives unlimited collections free, so split "Shop," "Latest," and "Work with me" into separate pages without hitting a wall. Our link curation guide covers the structure.
- Keep your custom domain free, permanently. Beacons gives a custom domain free for the first year on a paid plan, then charges. Shelfy includes custom domains on the free plan with no time limit. Running your page on your own domain also keeps you off the shared
beacons.airoot, which matters for the same reason we explain in is Linktree safe: shared link-in-bio domains can get filtered together. - Stop the transaction fee, if it applies. This only matters if you are keeping commerce elsewhere; a links page has no fee because it takes no payments.
The Final Step: Cancel Beacons
Only after your new page is live and your bios point to it:
- Confirm every link works in a mobile browser.
- Update your Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other bios to the new link.
- Give it a day to confirm traffic is flowing.
- If you run a store or email list on Beacons that you are keeping, do not cancel the whole account. Downgrade only the part you no longer need.
- Cancel or downgrade in Beacons settings, and note your billing date so you are not charged for another cycle.
Keep your export and screenshot for a week or two in case you spot a missing link.
Quick Reference
| Step | What to do | Tool |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Decide what you are really leaving (links only vs commerce) | Honesty |
| 2 | Export your audience/subscriber data from Beacons | Beacons |
| 3 | Copy link addresses from your live page | Browser |
| 4 | Or read them from View Page Source | Browser |
| 5 | Paste, upload CSV, or import bookmarks into the new tool | New tool |
| 6 | Rebuild as collections, set a free custom domain | New tool |
| 7 | Update social bios, confirm traffic, then cancel or downgrade | Phone, Beacons |
FAQ
Does Beacons let you export your links?
Beacons lets you export your audience and subscriber data, which is the part worth saving, but not a tidy file of your link-in-bio links. For the links themselves, copy each link address from your live page or read them out of the page source. Both take only a few minutes and always work. Export your audience data through Beacons first, then grab the links manually.
Is Shelfy a full replacement for Beacons?
For the link-in-bio page, yes, and it removes the page cap, branding, transaction fee, and custom-domain time limit. For commerce, no. Beacons has a storefront, digital-product delivery, and built-in email; Shelfy has none of those by design. If your revenue runs through the Beacons store, keep your commerce where it works and use a free links page as the front door.
Why leave Beacons if it has a free plan?
Common reasons: the free tier caps your link-in-bio pages and keeps Beacons branding, sales carry a 9% transaction fee, and a custom domain is only free for the first year on a paid plan before becoming a recurring cost. If you mostly use the links page and not the store, those are all costs you can avoid on a free links-only tool.
Will I lose my custom domain if I cancel Beacons?
If the domain is one you registered and own, no. You point it at your new tool instead. If you were relying on a domain tied to a Beacons paid plan, cancel only after you have moved the domain's destination. Shelfy supports custom domains on its free plan, so you can keep running your own domain without a recurring fee.
Further Reading
- Shelfy vs Beacons - Where each tool wins, including commerce
- Beacons vs Linktree - The two big link-in-bio platforms compared
- How to Export Your Links From Linktree - The same move, for Linktree users
- Is Linktree Safe? - Why shared link-in-bio domains get filtered
- Link Curation Guide - Rebuild as organized collections