Instant vs Beae: Which Shopify page builder is right for your store?

Building high-converting landing pages shouldn't require a developer or force you into constant upgrade cycles. That's why choosing the right page builder matters so much for your Shopify store's growth.

Two popular options in this space are Beae Landing Page Builder and Instant. Both promise drag-and-drop simplicity and professional results, but they take very different approaches to pricing, features, and long-term scalability.

If you're evaluating these tools, this guide breaks down everything you need to know to make the right choice for your store.

A quick breakdown

While both Beae and Instant offer page building for Shopify, Instant delivers significantly more value for growing stores. Beae's pay-as-you-go model might seem affordable initially, but it locks unlimited publishing behind a $149/month plan and charges extra for essential features. Instant gives you unlimited pages, cleaner code, advanced CRO tools, and complete store customization from day one.

Here's how they stack up at a glance:

Pricing: Understanding the real cost

The pricing models for these two tools reveal fundamentally different philosophies about how page builders should work.

Beae's pay-as-you-go structure

Beae starts with a pay-as-you-go plan at $19.99/month that gives you 10 to 100 published slots, all editor features, unlimited draft pages, and 24/7 live chat support. This sounds reasonable until you start building out your store and realize how quickly you'll hit those slot limits.

Need advanced features like unlimited blog posts, Shopify sections, product templates, analytics, and A/B testing? That's an additional $49.99/month on top of your base plan, bringing you to roughly $70/month for capabilities that should be standard.

Want truly unlimited published slots? You'll need the Enterprise plan at $149.99/month. At that tier, you finally get all app features, unlimited publishing, priority support, and advanced business growth tools.

Instant's all-inclusive approach

Instant's Starter plan at $39/month includes unlimited pages and blog posts from the start. You also get 5 reusable theme sections, 1 product template, support within one day, the ability to publish as your home page, custom navigation and footer builders, and access to over 500 conversion-focused templates.

The Pro plan at $99/month scales up to 20 theme sections, 5 product templates, 10,000 A/B test sessions, custom CSS classes, and the ability to publish a custom cart drawer with upsells and conversion features.

The Business plan at $249/month gives you enterprise-level capabilities: 50 theme sections, 10 product templates, 100,000 A/B test sessions, testing up to 6 variants, Liquid code blocks, and full Shopify Markets support for international selling.

Key pricing differences:

When comparing both apps, Instant delivers better value at every price point. Unlimited publishing comes standard on all Instant paid plans, while Beae locks this behind a $149/month paywall. Blog building is included free with Instant but costs an extra $49/month with Beae's add-on structure.

Most importantly, features that are essential for professional stores—custom navigation, cart drawer customization, team collaboration, and advanced CRO testing—simply aren't available in Beae at any price. These aren't nice-to-haves; they're the capabilities that separate amateur stores from professional ones.

Beae's lower entry cost might look attractive, but you'll quickly find yourself paying for add-ons and upgrades to get the features you need. Instant is built for full store customization from day one, without nickel-and-diming you for essential capabilities.

Feature comparison: What you can actually build?

The real differences become clear when you look at what each tool actually lets you create.

Design and layout capabilities

Both tools offer drag-and-drop builders, but the experience and capabilities differ significantly.

Instant gives you complete control over your entire store experience. Build custom headers and navigation menus that match your brand perfectly. Design unique footers that convert. Create a custom cart drawer with strategic upsells, countdown timers, and reward messaging to increase average order value. None of these capabilities exist in Beae.

Instant also supports real-time team collaboration, meaning multiple people can work on your store simultaneously without stepping on each other's toes. You can publish to draft themes to preview everything before it goes live. These are professional-grade features that make a real difference in how efficiently you can build and iterate.

Performance and code quality

Both builders output Shopify Liquid code, but code quality matters enormously for page speed, SEO, and customer experience.

Instant generates cleaner, less bloated, and more readable code that renders natively within Shopify's infrastructure. This translates directly to faster page loads, better Core Web Vitals scores, and improved SEO performance.

Beae's code output can be heavier and potentially slower, especially as pages become more complex. The builder itself can also lag during editing, which slows down your design process. Instant loads instantly (hence the name) and maintains responsive positioning throughout your workflow.

Why Instant wins for serious merchants

When you step back and look at the complete picture, Instant comes out ahead in the ways that matter most for store owners who want to build professional, high-converting stores.

• More flexibility: Build exactly what you envision without running into feature walls or "upgrade to unlock" messages. Custom navigation, footers, cart drawers, and components give you complete control.

• Cleaner code: Better performance means faster page loads, improved SEO, happier customers, and ultimately better conversion rates.

• Built-in CRO tools: Stop paying for multiple apps to run tests and track performance. Everything you need is included.

• Professional features: Team collaboration, draft theme publishing, advanced testing capabilities, and Shopify Markets support aren't extras—they're standard.

• Unlimited publishing from day one: Build as many pages as your store needs without arbitrary limits or surprise upgrade costs.

You can build faster, launch more pages, and stay fully on-brand without hacks, workarounds, or expensive upgrade cycles.

Reviews from Instant merchants

Both tools have strong reviews, but the feedback from Instant users highlights specific advantages that matter for long-term success.

One merchant from Distinct Amsterdam shared:

"Tried a few other standard names like PageFly, Shogun, but Instant actually enabled me to build the website I want with just basic skills. Extremely competent and willing to help the team, who seem to be available at all times. The community on Slack is active and helpful. Since I discovered Instant, many new features have been added, and these guys don't seem to stop."

Another from the founder of Lectec was emphatic:

"There's a lot of page builders out there. And without a doubt, I have literally tried them all. I've tried all the old legacy page builders. There's literally nothing better than Instant."

The BASBAS team emphasized usability and support:

"This is my favorite landing page tool. We've tested everyone, and this one is the easiest and most intuitive. Highly recommended. Oh, and their support is top-notch."

The consistent theme in these reviews is that Instant removes the technical barriers that hold merchants back, while providing the advanced features that professionals need.

Making the switch from Beae

If you're currently using Beae and feeling constrained by publishing limits, add-on costs, or missing features, migrating to Instant is straightforward.

The Instant team provides migration support to help you move your important pages without starting from scratch. Everything works seamlessly with your current Shopify setup. You get:

• Full custom store build ready in one week

• 24/7 support throughout the migration

• White glove service from Instant experts

• Pages built according to best practices

• No downtime or disruption to your store

Learn how to Switch to Instant today.

Choosing the right page builder for your needs

Both Beae and Instant can help you build pages for your Shopify store, but they're designed for different ambitions and scales.

Beae works if you're on an extremely tight budget, only need a handful of basic pages, and don't plan to grow or optimize aggressively. But the moment you want to scale beyond their published slot limits, add blogs, customize your navigation, or run serious A/B tests, you'll hit walls that require expensive add-ons or simply can't be overcome.

Instant is built for merchants who are serious about building professional, high-converting stores. The pricing is transparent, the features are comprehensive, and the tool grows with your business without forcing you into a maze of add-ons and upgrade paths.

For Shopify merchants who want flexibility, performance, and professional capabilities from day one, Instant is the clear winner.