Comparisons · 10 min read · Updated June 10, 2026

The 8 Best Bitly Alternatives in 2026 (Free and Paid)

Bitly is the URL shortener everyone has heard of, and for years that was reason enough to use it. But its free plan now allows just 5 new links a month with no custom domain and no click analytics retention, and the first meaningful paid tier — Growth — costs $29/month billed annually for 500 links and a single custom domain. For a lot of individuals and small teams, that math stopped working.

This guide compares eight alternatives on the numbers that actually matter: free-plan limits, paid pricing, custom domains, analytics depth, and API access. The figures come from each vendor's published pricing as of June 2026; where a vendor doesn't publish a number, we say so rather than guessing.

Why people look for a Bitly alternative

• The free plan is a demo. Five links a month, no custom domain, no analytics retention, and ads on links. It exists to upsell, not to use.
• Paid pricing climbs fast. Growth is $29/month annual ($35 monthly) and still includes only one custom domain, 4 months of analytics retention, and 10 QR codes a month.
• Missing link controls. Even on paid plans, Bitly lacks link expiration, scheduling, password protection, and click limits — table stakes elsewhere.
• Metered API. The free API allowance is 1,000 requests a month, which a modest automation burns through in a day.

If you want the full line-by-line breakdown against any one provider, each section below links to a side-by-side comparison. Here is the short version of the whole field:

1. ReSlug — the most features per dollar

Yes, ReSlug is our product, so judge this entry by the numbers. The free plan includes 500 active links, 1,000 tracked clicks a month, one custom domain, unlimited QR codes, link expiration, UTM support, a bio page, and 30 days of real-time analytics with geo and device breakdowns — more than Bitly's $29/month Growth tier on several axes, at $0.

Pro costs $6.6/month billed annually ($9 monthly) and removes the ceilings: unlimited links and tracked clicks, 10 custom domains, a year of analytics retention with bot-click filtering, custom QR codes with colors and logos, link scheduling, password protection, click limits, five bio pages, and API access with 10 keys at 200 requests/minute. The honest gaps: no webhooks yet, and custom QR styling is Pro-only. See the full ReSlug vs Bitly breakdown.

2. Dub — best for developers

Dub is a modern, open-source-friendly link platform with the best developer experience in the field: a clean API included even on the free tier, webhooks, SDKs, and up to 40 custom domains on Pro. The free plan allows 25 new links a month with 30 days of analytics.

The trade-off is price — Pro is $25/month billed annually ($30 monthly) — and there are no bio pages or bulk CSV import. If your links are created by code and webhooks matter, Dub is the strongest pick; if a human creates them in a dashboard, you are paying for plumbing you won't use. Side-by-side: ReSlug vs Dub.

3. Short.io — generous free tier for domain collectors

Short.io's free plan is unusually generous where Bitly's is stingy: 1,000 links (lifetime), five custom domains, unlimited QR codes, API access, and analytics with no retention limit. Paid starts at $18/month and lifts links to unlimited.

Weak spots: no bio pages, no link expiration on free, and the per-month price is monthly-billed — there's no cheaper annual tier at the entry level. For agencies juggling many branded domains on a budget of zero, the free tier is hard to beat. Details: ReSlug vs Short.io.

4. TinyURL — the familiar name, with caveats

TinyURL has been shortening links since 2002 and the free tier creates 100 links a month — but with no click analytics at all until you pay. Pro at $13/month allows 250 new links a month and then meters additional usage, custom domains cap at three, and bulk import lives on a separate $69/month plan.

It works fine for casually shortening a URL to paste somewhere. As campaign infrastructure — where you need to know which links get clicked — the analytics gap is disqualifying. Numbers: ReSlug vs TinyURL.

5. Rebrandly — branded links for larger teams

Rebrandly built its product around branded short links and does them well, with solid custom QR support even on free. But the free tier allows only 10 links a month, and Pro at $32/month annual ($39 monthly) is the most expensive non-enterprise entry here while including just three custom domains and unspecified analytics retention.

It makes sense for marketing teams standardizing on branded links with enterprise needs on the horizon — SSO, link galleries, account management. For individuals it's a lot of money for limits ReSlug or Short.io beat at a fraction of the price. Breakdown: ReSlug vs Rebrandly.

6. T2M — the budget option with visible ceilings

T2M's pitch is transparent, low pricing: a $5 one-time entry plan (500 links a month, 5,000 tracked clicks, six months of retention) and a Standard tier at $7.49/month annual. Every cap is published, which we respect.

The caps are also the catch: Standard still meters tracked clicks at 25,000 a month, includes one custom domain, and keeps tags and the API in higher tiers. A viral moment that blows past your click quota is exactly when you want your analytics working. Comparison: ReSlug vs T2M.

7. Bl.ink — enterprise link management

Bl.ink targets enterprises managing links as a governed asset — deep organization, auto-archive rules, city-level geo data. There is no free plan (a 21-day trial), entry pricing is $48/month, and the unusual constraint is a 7,500 lifetime tracked-click cap per link on the entry tier.

If procurement is involved and you need link governance across departments, it belongs on the shortlist. For everyone else the pricing is a category error. Numbers: ReSlug vs Bl.ink.

8. Linktree — if you only ever needed the bio page

Some people used Bitly alongside Linktree — short links from one, the link-in-bio page from the other. Linktree is the category leader for bio pages, but it is not a URL shortener: no short links, no redirects, and no custom domains on any plan, with deeper analytics gated behind higher tiers.

Worth noting: platforms like ReSlug now bundle bio pages with the shortener (one on free, five on Pro), so the two-subscription setup is often one subscription too many. Side-by-side: ReSlug vs Linktree.

How to choose

• Most capability for the least money: ReSlug — the free tier covers real campaign work, and Pro at $6.6/month annual undercuts everything comparable.
• API-first, links created by code: Dub, if the budget allows; ReSlug Pro covers the same core workflow at a quarter of the price, minus webhooks.
• Many custom domains for free: Short.io.
• Strict budget with predictable, small volume: T2M.
• Enterprise governance and procurement requirements: Bl.ink or Rebrandly.

Whichever you pick, run a real two-week trial: import or create your actual links, put a QR code on something physical, tag a campaign with UTM parameters, and see whether the analytics answer the questions you actually ask. Pricing tables don't capture how a tool feels at week two — your own links do.