A Linq alternative built for the follow-up.
A free Wallet card with no app for either side: one scan brings their details back, and Pro drafts the follow-up and reminds you.
Free forever · No card details · About a minute
cardr.co/kai
The short answer: Linq and Cardr both make a digital business card, and both are good at it. The difference is what happens after the handshake. Linq is strongest at NFC cards, badges and hubs, with an app built around them. Cardr is built for the follow-up you keep meaning to send.
Last updated 12 October 2026, when every Linq fact on this page was re-read from Linq’s own pages.
Why anyone searches for a Linq alternative.
Almost always one specific thing rather than a general dissatisfaction. If it is not this one, we are probably not your answer either.
Linq’s own pages do not publish the price of the subscription its cards need. The shop says “All products require an active subscription before activating to your account”, and linqapp.com itself now leads with a messaging API for developers, so finding what a card costs each month takes more than one visit.
Everything else about Linq is fine, and on the points below they beat us. So the useful question is not “which is better” but whether the thing that sent you looking is a thing we actually fix. On the price: Cardr’s card is free forever, Pro’s price is on our pricing page, and nothing needs buying before it works.
Nothing for them to download.
Tap through what Tom sees when he scans your card.
KaiNo app, no account, no sign-up for the people you meet.
Cardr vs Linq, with their prices as they publish them.
| Feature | Cardr | Linq |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes, the full card, forever, no card details taken | Not stated on Linq’s own pages |
| Paid price | £12 a month, or £9 a month billed annually (£108 a year) | Not published. Linq’s own pages do not state the card subscription price. Cards cost $14.99 to $59.99, and "All products require an active subscription before activating to your account." |
| Apple Wallet pass | Yes, a signed .pkpass on the free tier | Apple Wallet, through the Linq iPhone app, per their help centre; we found no article for Google Wallet |
| Google Wallet | Yes, on the free tier | Not documented in their help centre on the date we checked |
| Their details come back to you | Yes, two-way exchange on the free tier | See their site |
| Follow-up drafted for you | Yes, on Pro, from the note you kept about the meeting | “Set reminders to follow up with new contacts” (shop page) |
| CRM integrations | None | “Send new leads to custom CRM integrations” (shop page) |
| Physical NFC cards | We do not sell any; bring your own tag. Our metal cards, Cardr Metal, use a QR | Yes: Linq Card $14.99 to Linq Card Metal, laser engraved, $59.99 |
Prices checked on 12 October 2026. Every figure in this table was read from https://buy.linqapp.com/ and the pages quoted below that day and is reproduced without editing. Prices are in the currency their page showed us; ours are in GBP. Where a cell says “see their site”, the published page did not state it clearly enough for us to summarise honestly, so we have not guessed. If anything here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Try Cardr before you pay Linq.
The free tier is the whole card, with no expiry and no card details. If it is not better for you, you have lost a minute.
What Linq publishes, and when we read it.
Reproduced rather than summarised. Our previous site described a competitor's capabilities from memory and got it wrong in our own favour, so this page shows you the source and the date instead of asking you to trust the summary.
Linq’s own pages do not state the card subscription price. Cards cost $14.99 to $59.99, and "All products require an active subscription before activating to your account."
Free tier: Not stated on Linq’s own pages. Apple Wallet: Apple Wallet, through the Linq iPhone app, per their help centre; we found no article for Google Wallet. Where a cell elsewhere on this page says “see their site”, their published page did not state it clearly enough for us to summarise honestly, so we have not guessed.
Open the Linq app on your iPhone.
Build robust messaging capabilities in minutes
What Linq does better than us.
A comparison page that only flatters the people who wrote it is an advert. Here is the honest half.
Linq sells a full range of NFC hardware, from a $14.99 card to an engraved metal one, plus hubs and event badges, and its shop lists CRM integrations, follow-up reminders and a customisable wallet card. Linq for Teams adds “admin management, deeper CRM integrations, and HR/SSO syncs”. For an event team that wants hardware and an app from one company, that is a coherent kit.
If you want an NFC card, a badge or a hub from the same company as your profile, Linq sells all three and Cardr sells no NFC hardware. Linq also lists CRM integrations; Cardr has none.
Pick on what breaks for you.
The choice between Cardr and Linq is not close once you know which of these you are. Read down the left column and stop at the first line that is you.
- You already run a CRM and want cards feeding it Blinq Blinq lists native connections to 20+ CRMs. Cardr has none at all.
- You want the most on a free tier, both wallets included Wave Connect Unlimited contacts, a lead form and both wallets for $0, as published.
- You run events with a team and a stand Popl Built for badge scanning at scale, sold through a sales conversation rather than a signup page.
- You want a physical NFC card in your hand Any NFC vendor Cardr sells no NFC cards. Buy a tag from anyone and point it at your cardr.co address.
- You meet enough people and never send the follow-up Cardr The exchange returns their details, the context is kept against the name, and the message is drafted and then chased.
Nobody loses a deal because the card was ugly.
Cardr publishes its prices, and the card is free with nothing to buy first. You make it on the web in about a minute, it goes into Apple Wallet as a signed pass, and Pro is the follow-up: a reminder on the day they named and a message drafted from your note.
The other comparisons.
Paid plans from $9.99/mo. Checked 12 October 2026.
Alternative HiHello alternativePaid plans from $6/mo. Checked 12 October 2026.
Alternative Popl alternativePaid plans from £5.99/mo. Checked 14 October 2026.
Alternative Wave Connect alternativePaid plans from $7/mo. Checked 12 October 2026.
Alternative Mobilo alternativePaid plans from $3/mo. Checked 12 October 2026.
Round-up The best digital business cardsSide by side, including the ones that beat us.
Cardr and Linq, answered.
Checked against Linq’s published pages on 12 October 2026.
Is Cardr cheaper than Linq?
Linq does not publish its card subscription price on its own pages, so a like-for-like comparison is not possible from Linq’s own information. Its cards cost $14.99 to $59.99 on top, and “All products require an active subscription”. Cardr’s card is free forever and Pro is £12 a month, or £9 a month billed annually.
Does Linq do Apple Wallet passes?
Yes, on iPhone: Linq’s help centre adds the card to Apple Wallet from the Linq iPhone app. We found no Linq article for Google Wallet on the date we checked, so we do not claim it either way. Cardr’s Apple Wallet pass needs no app on either side.
Can I move from Linq to Cardr?
There is nothing to migrate. Build a Cardr, add it to your Wallet, and start handing that out instead. Anyone who already saved your old card keeps it; it just stops being the one you share. Cardr also exports everything to CSV or vCard, on the free plan as well as Pro, so you are never locked in here either.
Is there a free alternative to Linq?
Cardr’s free plan is the complete digital business card: a signed Apple Wallet pass, your page at cardr.co/yourname, a QR code, unlimited scans and shares, live updates to your pass and your page, and the two-way exchange that returns their details to you. No expiry, no card details taken and no scan cap. Linq did not publish a free tier we could verify on 12 October 2026.
Should I pick Linq instead?
If you want an NFC card, a badge or a hub from the same company as your profile, Linq sells all three and Cardr sells no NFC hardware. Linq also lists CRM integrations; Cardr has none.
Try the free one before you pay anybody.
The Cardr free tier is the whole card and it does not expire. If it is not better for you than what you are on, you have lost a minute.