Is Carrd Free? Pricing & Plans Explained (2026)
- Yes — Carrd has a free plan that lets you publish up to three sites on
yourname.carrd.cosubdomains, with a small "Made with Carrd" badge in the corner. - Paid plans are unusually cheap: $9–$49 per year (not per month), with custom domain, forms, embeds and the badge removed.
- For most creators the $19/year Pro Standard tier is the right balance — full feature set, custom domain, ten sites included.
Is Carrd Free? Short Answer
Yes, Carrd is free — and the free tier isn't a 14-day trial. You can sign up, build up to three single-page sites, publish them on Carrd subdomains, and never pay anything. Carrd has run a free plan since launch and the product's whole positioning rests on being affordable.
The free plan does have caps. You're limited to three published sites, you can't connect a custom domain, you can't add forms or third-party embeds (analytics, Google fonts, custom code), and Carrd's small "Made with Carrd" badge sits in the bottom corner of every free page. For most simple pages, those limits are easy to live with.
What's Included on the Free Plan
- Up to 3 published sites on
yourname.carrd.co - Access to about half of Carrd's 80+ templates
- The core editor with all element types except forms and custom code
- Hosting included — Carrd serves your pages on their CDN, no extra step
- Mobile-responsive output by default
- A small "Made with Carrd" badge visible on every published page
For a static landing page, profile card, link-in-bio replacement or simple event page that doesn't need a contact form, the free plan is plenty.
Carrd Paid Plans Breakdown
| Plan | Approx price | Sites | Custom domain | Forms & embeds | Branding removed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 3 | — | — | — |
| Pro Lite | $9/year | 3 | Yes | Forms | Yes |
| Pro Standard | $19/year | 10 | Yes | Forms + embeds | Yes |
| Pro Plus | $49/year | 25 | Yes + email forwarding | Forms + embeds + advanced | Yes |
Annual billing is the only billing — there's no monthly option. That's a feature, not a bug: Carrd's pricing is honest and predictable. $19 a year is roughly $1.58 a month for a custom-domain personal site with hosting included.
Comparing Carrd Pricing Against Other Builders
| Tool | Cheapest paid plan | Custom domain on cheapest paid |
|---|---|---|
| Carrd | $9/year | Yes |
| Linktree | ~$5/month (~$60/year) | Pro tier (~$10/mo) only |
| Beacons | ~$10/month (~$120/year) | Yes |
| Squarespace | ~$16/month (~$192/year) | Yes |
| Webflow | ~$14/month (~$168/year) | Yes |
| UniLink | $0 (free includes custom domain) | Yes (free) |
Carrd is the cheapest paid option in this group; UniLink is the most generous on the free plan.
Hidden Costs to Watch
Carrd doesn't take a cut on sales because it doesn't process sales. Anything commerce-shaped is an embed (Stripe, Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy) and the fees come from those processors, not Carrd.
- Domain registration is separate. The Pro plan adds custom-domain support but you still register and pay for the domain elsewhere ($10–$15/year typical).
- No analytics out of the box. If you want click tracking, you'll add Google Analytics, Plausible (~$9/month), Fathom or Cloudflare Web Analytics (free).
- No native email. Form submissions go to your inbox; for newsletters you'd need Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Beehiiv or similar.
- Site count cap. If you outgrow three sites on free or ten on Pro Standard, you upgrade.
When the Free Plan Is Enough
- You want one or two simple landing pages with no contact form.
- You don't need a custom domain.
- You don't need analytics on the page itself.
- You don't need to embed third-party tools.
- You're OK with the "Made with Carrd" badge.
When You Should Upgrade to Pro
- You want a custom domain — that alone justifies $9/year Pro Lite.
- You want a working contact or signup form.
- You want to embed Google Analytics, Calendly, Stripe, YouTube playlists or other third-party widgets.
- You want to remove the Carrd badge for client work.
- You manage more than three sites.
Carrd Pro at $19/year is a borderline-impossible-to-beat value for a custom-domain personal site. Most users who hesitate end up paying for it within their first month.
Free Carrd Alternatives Worth Knowing
- UniLink — full creator suite (link-in-bio, store, course, booking, analytics, email automation) on the free plan, custom domain included. Direct comparison.
- Linktree free — purpose-built link-in-bio with branding visible on free plan.
- Bento.me free — clean aesthetic, no branding on free.
- GitHub Pages — free hosting if you're comfortable with HTML/CSS or static site generators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Carrd really free?
Yes. The free plan is permanent and includes hosting, three published sites and most of the editor. It is not a trial.
Does Carrd charge transaction fees?
No — Carrd doesn't process payments natively. Commerce is handled by Stripe, Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy or other embeds, and those fees come from the processor, not from Carrd.
How much does Carrd Pro cost?
Pro Lite is $9/year, Pro Standard $19/year, Pro Plus $49/year. Annual billing only.
Can I use my own domain on the free plan?
No. Custom domains are a Pro feature. On free your site is at yourname.carrd.co.
Do free Carrd sites have a watermark?
Yes — a small "Made with Carrd" badge in the corner of every free page. Pro plans remove it.
Can I downgrade from Pro back to free?
Yes. When you cancel, your account drops to free at the end of the billing period. Sites beyond the free limit go offline; any custom domains stop working until you re-upgrade.
- Carrd's free plan is real, permanent and enough for simple landing pages.
- Pro tiers cost $9–$49 per year — much cheaper than monthly SaaS competitors.
- Pro Standard ($19/year) is the sweet spot: 10 sites, custom domain, forms and embeds.
- If you need analytics, scheduling, native commerce or email automation, Carrd isn't the right tool — look at full link-in-bio platforms.
Want a custom domain for free?
UniLink ships custom domains on the free plan along with a built-in store, social planner, analytics and email automation. No annual cost, no transaction fees on the platform side.
Try UniLink free ?Create Your Free Link-in-Bio Page
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