Instabio's free plan has the basic features that you're looking for in a link-in-bio platform but if you want to enjoy more, you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan.
Key takeaways:
- Website uses a .cc domain extension and not a .com.
- Registration can be done straight from their homepage.
- There's a free plan while the paid ones range from $2.99 to $5.99 per month.
- All of the layouts have responsive designs.
- Customer support takes a while to answer.
After exploring Hopp and Cardd, I decided to try out more platforms and this led me to Instabio. My goal here is to see the bigger picture of this market and have a better understanding of how each brand differs.
Here, I'll go into detail about what I've discovered and discuss not just the pros but also the cons. You can take all of this into consideration if you're planning to try or use this brand. So, let's get started!
First of all, it's instabio.cc, not instabio.com
I quickly learned that Instabio's website was not instabio.com after encountering a parked domain (if you don't know what it means, it's bascially a domain that's already registered but not developed) on my browser.
A quick Google search for "instabio" revealed that it was actually instabio.cc. This was quite intriguing since other link-in-bio platforms like Taplink (taplink.cc), Linktree (linktr.ee), and Carrd (carrd.co) are also not using the standard ".com" domain extension.
After accessing the correct website, I was taken to a very basic homepage that immediately prompted me to enter a username. So, I gave in and decided to enter my desired username and clicked on the orange "Get started" button to proceed with registration.
It then took me to a registration page where I was asked to sign-up via any of the following:
- Facebook account
- Google account
- Email address and password
I'm glad that they offer not just the standard registration method, but also the option to use third-party accounts. The reason for this is that it makes the sign-up process much faster. I'm the type of user who doesn't want to remember passwords and would just prefer to sign-in using an account that I regularly use and in this case, it was Facebook.
They have an interesting set of templates for me to choose from
Right after registering, I was taken to the platform page, which presented me with a good selection of template designs. It loaded the Bio Link category by default, which means it already took me to the right place.
The templates were grouped according to the following:
- Popular: This loaded the most recommended layouts and their most recent designs as well.
- Industry: This section has sub-categories, including Store, Business & Service, Music, Fashion & Style, Beauty & Hair, Healthy & Wellness, Restaurant & Food, Travel & Tourism, and Creative.
- Scenature: This one also has several sub-categories like Video, Music, Event, Integrations, Feature Carousel, Form, Make Money, Animation, Personal, Media Kit, Design, and Festival.
- Color: There are 10 options to choose from and this includes Black, Gray, Orange, Yellow, Purple, Blue, Red, Pink, Cyan, and Green.
While the variety of designs look overwhelming, it's important to take note that not all of them are free. Some of these are exclusive for paid subscriptions. It was easy to find out if a specific design is free because there's a "Free" label on the upper right side of the image.
And the bio link customization continues!
Customizing my bio link page was fairly easy since I only had to upload my profile photo, position, description, and my relevant links. At this point, I thought I was almost done, but boy, I had no idea what was coming.
The Verified Badge looks familiar
If you notice in the screenshot below, there's a "Verified Badge" similar to Instagram's feature. This indicates that you really own the account and that it will need to go through a verification process for you to use this icon. Since I was just using the free plan, this feature was not available to me.
For popular social media platforms, they have icons
Another nice feature that I like to use are these social icons. This basically means that for popular social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, the links will be assigned with their actual logos. Rather than using buttons or anchor texts, the social links will be represented by clickable icons.
The buttons are also customizable
This is another cool feature that I would like to highlight in this review. What makes this feature worth mentioning is that it allows a deeper level of customization. I have the choice of adding the following:
- A thumbnail using my own image
- A button status with animated emojis such as a bell notification (🔔), a ringing phone (📞), or a beating heart (❤️), but note that this one is available for Pro users only
- A button animation with four options: shake, heartbeat, jello, wobble
You might think, "It's just a button," but for me, these little things can make a big difference if you customize them correctly.
Appearance = theme, fonts, text color, background, block and more
And it doesn't just end there. After clicking on the palette icon (🎨), it took me to a page where I could configure the appearance of my bio link. I can choose a different theme, configure the fonts and text colors, set my preferred background, and other visual elements like headlines and dividers.
These extra layers of customization from Instabio were really impressive, and what's surprising is that even those under the free plan are allowed to use this. It offers something similar to what Linktree provides but with more options.
Presto! My Instabio bio link page is now live
I really enjoyed the whole process of choosing the templates, adding my details, and further customizing my page. It was quite a fun experience and didn't consume a lot of my time. The entire process took just around 15 minutes. It wasn't blazing fast since I needed to do a deeper level of customization and a lot of thinking in between.
Check out this screenshot that I've taken using my laptop's web browser:
They look great on mobile too!
Another thing that I like about Instabio is that their pages are designed for 100% compatibility across different mobile devices. That means the layout of the page will automatically adjust regardless of the device it is accessed from. I've tried viewing my profile on various devices including my iPhone 12, Samsung Galaxy S21 5G, and iPad (9th generation), and they all loaded just fine.
Here's how my profile looked on my Android phone's web browser:
If you'd like to see the Instabio bio link that I created, you can visit this page: instabio.cc/michaelsteiner
The downside: Free plan doesn't come with analytics
One of the major cons of using Instabio, particularly if you're subscribing to the Free plan, is that it doesn't come with analytics. In my case, I really don't mind not having access to this feature since I only need a basic link in bio.
However, for those who are highly dependent on such data, this might be a disappointment. If you have the budget, though, you might want to check out their upgraded plans because these come with "Real-Time Insights," which is their analytics feature..
Customer support wasn't as quick as I expected
I’m sure we’ve all had our fair share of terrible customer service experiences (who doesn't?)
For starters, there's an Instabio Help Center where I was able to find tutorials on how to get started with the platform, information about its features, billiing and subscriptions, and other relevant details.
I was expecting to at least have the option to contact them via live chat, but in most cases, they are offline, so I'm just left with a popup window where they ask me to send a message and wait for a response.
For the majority of my inquiries, I usually get an answer after 2-3 days, which was a bit disappointing. The reason for this is that I'm using a free plan. It was stated on their website that they provide support within 24 hours for Premium users and within 48 hours for Pro subscriptions.
You can choose from a free plan or any of the 2 upgraded plans
Instabio comes at different price points, so you can choose what plan suits you best. For basic needs, there’s the Free plan (who doesn’t love free stuff?), which I think is good enough for anyone who just needs a basic bio link page with a nice design.
Do take note that for this plan, there's a small "Made ♥ with Instabio" branding at the bottom of the page. This wasn't actually a big deal for me since I'm using it for free and it didn't ruin the design of my page anyway.
Now, if you're let's say an influencer, a blogger, or someone who's running a business, then you might want to have this removed. In this case, I suggest exploring Instabio's upgraded plans.
There are only two paid plans: Pro and Premium. You have the choice of being billed monthly or annually, depending on your budget. If you have the funds and are thinking of using this service long-term, then of course the annual payments are more suitable for you as they offer a discount.
| Instabio Plan | Cost (Billed Per Year) | Cost (Billed Per Month) |
| Free | Free | Free |
| Pro | $2.99 per month | $4.99 per month |
| Premium | $5.99 per month | $9.99 per month |
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Extensive customization options
- Unlimited link integration
- Responsive design
Cons
- .cc domain No analytics for the free plan
- Customer support response time will depend on your subscription
- Live chat usually offline
My Verdict
So would I recommend Instabio? My answer for that would be "it depends". The reason for this is that its features and offerings might not be everyone's cup of tea. If you're just looking for a basic platform to put all your links and social profiles, then yes, this is a good option although it's very much the same as any other platform.
This platform is built for people who require a simple link-in-bio solution but you might find that it has more than you need if your demands are simpler. Butt if you're one who's requiring more advanced features like analytics, tracking capabilities and the like then you might find this platform to be underwhelming.
