Free Link Shorteners
Which link shorteners a startup can shorten, brand and track links with for free today, how many links and clicks the free plan covers, whether a custom domain is included, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Link shorteners change their free plans from time to time: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you rely on it.
Link shorteners a startup can use for free today include Short.io (Free plan: 1,000 branded links), Dub (open source) (Self-host Dub on your own servers), Linkly (Free plan: 100 links, 500 clicks a month), Shlink (Open source under the MIT license), and Cutt.ly (Free plan: 30 short links a month). Each of the 9 free plans below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, whether a custom domain is included, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
Short, branded links make campaigns, social posts and printed QR codes easier to read and to track. Most link shorteners have a free plan, and open-source shorteners run free on your own domain.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. Free plans cap new links a month, count clicks or keep analytics for a short time, and some keep custom domains for paid plans. Each shortener below shows what is free, its main limit, whether a custom domain is included, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which tools we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which tools are listed or where.
Link shorteners with a free plan
Shorten and track links on a hosted service, free to start.
- 1
Short.io
Branded links across up to 5 custom domains
Short.io's Free plan includes 1,000 branded links and 5 custom domains. Its branded link limits are used over the account lifetime, and no credit card is required to sign up.
- Custom domain
- 5 custom domains included (source: short.io)
- First paid plan
- Hobby: $5 a month (source: short.io)
- 2
Linkly
Links and clicks tracked with one custom domain
Linkly's Free plan tracks 100 links and 500 clicks a month, with one custom domain and no credit card required. The Starter plan is $15 a month, billed annually.
- Custom domain
- 1 custom domain included (source: linklyhq.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: linklyhq.com)
- First paid plan
- Starter: $15 a month, billed annually (source: linklyhq.com)
- 3
Cutt.ly
Short links on one branded domain
Cutt.ly's Free plan gives 30 short links a month, 3 custom back-halves a month and one branded domain, with 30 days of analytics history. The Starter plan is $12 a month, or $132 a year.
- Custom domain
- 1 branded domain included (source: cutt.ly)
- First paid plan
- Starter: $12 a month, or $132 a year (source: cutt.ly)
- 4
Rebrandly
A few branded links on one custom domain
Rebrandly's Free plan includes 10 links and 10 QR codes a month, plus one custom domain.
- Custom domain
- 1 custom domain included (source: rebrandly.com)
Start free at RebrandlyTerms read on rebrandly.com on Rebrandly: the free allowance and how to start - 5
TinyURL
Few links, with unlimited tracked clicks
TinyURL's Free plan includes 30 links a month, and tracked clicks are unlimited. The Free column shows one branded domain. The Pro plan costs $9 a month.
- Custom domain
- 1 branded domain included (source: tinyurl.com)
- First paid plan
- Pro: $9 a month (source: tinyurl.com)
- 6
Bitly
Short links and QR codes with no card to start
Bitly's Free plan covers 5 links a month and 2 QR codes a month, and no credit card is needed to sign up. The first paid plan costs $10 a month, billed annually.
- Main limit
- 5 links a month (source: bitly.com)
- Payment card
- No credit card needed (source: bitly.com)
- First paid plan
- Core: $10 a month, billed annually (source: bitly.com)
Open-source link shorteners
Run your own shortener on your own domain, free.
- 1
Dub (open source)
Teams that want to self-host and own their data
Dub's self-hosting guide says you can run Dub on your own servers and cloud infrastructure, for greater control over your data and design.
- 2
Shlink
Short links served under your own domains
Shlink is an open-source project distributed under the MIT license. It serves your short links under your own domains.
- Custom domain
- Your own domains (source: shlink.io)
- 3
YOURLS
Self-hosting a shortener on your own domain
YOURLS is free and open-source software with no strings attached. It runs on your own domain, so you keep full control over your data.
- Custom domain
- Runs on your own domain (source: yourls.org)
Also useful for founders
Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.
ScraperAPIScraping API that handles proxies, browsers and CAPTCHAs for you1,000 API creditsReferral link
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ColdIQOne API and MCP server for B2B sales data from 40+ providers300 free creditsReferral linkCompare the top options
How this comparison is built
The list covers link shorteners and link management tools a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each tool's terms. Every term comes from the tool's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A cap on links or clicks tracked a month, a custom domain kept for paid plans, links that expire or redirect through an ad can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these tools pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a tool appears, and no tool pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free link shortener?
It depends on volume. By the terms each provider states, Short.io's free plan includes 1,000 branded links and 5 custom domains, Linkly's 100 links and 500 clicks a month, TinyURL's 30 links a month with unlimited tracked clicks, and Cutt.ly's 30 short links a month.
Is Bitly free?
Bitly's free plan allows 5 links and 2 QR codes a month; its Core plan is $10 a month, billed annually.
Which free link shortener includes a custom domain?
By their own pages, Short.io's free plan includes 5 custom domains, and Linkly, Rebrandly, TinyURL and Cutt.ly each include 1.
Is there an open-source link shortener?
Yes. Dub can be self-hosted on your own servers, Shlink is open source under the MIT license, and YOURLS is free and open source.
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