Best URL Shorteners in 2026

There are dozens of URL shorteners, and the lists you'll find ranking for this search are mostly years out of date — full of dead links to services that shut down long ago (goo.gl, bit.do, ClickMeter and others are all gone). So we built a directory we actually maintain.

Every outbound link below was verified live in June 2026. Services that have been discontinued aren't quietly left in to rot — they're moved to a clearly-labelled Discontinued section so you don't waste time on them.

The right shortener depends on what you're doing:

• Marketers & businesses want branded links, click analytics, retargeting pixels and custom domains.
• Developers often want a solid API or a self-hosted, open-source tool they fully control.
• Casual users just need to shrink a long link, fast and free.

Jump to: Marketing & business · Free & simple · Open-source & self-hosted · Discontinued · How to choose

Best URL shorteners for marketers & businesses

These are full link-management platforms — branded domains, analytics, team features and APIs — rather than bare link-shrinkers.

Linkly

Linkly is a marketing-focused link shortener built around tracking and attribution. Alongside branded short links it offers retargeting pixels (build ad audiences from every click), geo and device redirects, link rotators for split-testing, QR codes, bulk operations and live Google Sheets feeds. Free to start (500 clicks/month); paid plans from $39/mo. Best for marketers and affiliates who care about what happens after the click.

Bitly

Bitly is the best-known name in the category and a safe, recognisable default. The free plan is now limited (5 links/month) and links can't be edited after creation, but the dashboard scales well to thousands of links. Paid from $10/mo. See our Bitly vs Linkly comparison or the full Bitly review. Best for brand recognition and large link libraries.

TinyURL

TinyURL has been shortening links since 2002. Its draw is simplicity: paste a long URL, get a permanent short one, no account required. Analytics and link editing are paid-only (Pro from $9.99/mo). Full review · TinyURL vs Linkly. Best for quick, never-expiring free links.

Rebrandly

Rebrandly specialises in branded links and has access to 500+ domain extensions, plus the option to buy a domain in-app. Free tier is 10 links/month; paid from $13/mo. Full review · Rebrandly vs Linkly. Best for agencies building lots of branded links.

Short.io

Short.io has one of the most generous free tiers around — 1,000 branded links and 50,000 clicks/month with 5 custom domains — and is genuinely developer-friendly. Paid from $5/mo. Full review · Short.io vs Linkly. Best value free tier for branded links.

Dub

Dub is a modern, fast, open-core platform with real-time analytics, conversion and revenue attribution, and first-class SDKs. Free 25 links/month; paid from $25/mo. Full review · Dub vs Linkly. Best for developer teams that want attribution built in.

BL.INK

BL.INK targets enterprise and regulated industries, with ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type 2 and HIPAA BAA support, audit logs, SSO/MFA and data residency options. Paid from $48/mo, no free plan. Full review · BL.INK vs Linkly. Best for compliance-heavy organisations.

Branch

Branch is really a mobile deep-linking and attribution platform rather than a classic shortener — universal links, deferred deep linking and install attribution. Enterprise pricing from ~$199/mo. Full review. Best for mobile-first apps.

Linkfire

Linkfire is the music industry's smart-link standard: release pages, pre-saves, bio links and audience insights for artists and labels. From ~$21/mo. Full review. Best for musicians, labels and podcasters.

Cuttly

Cuttly is a budget-friendly shortener with a usable free tier, click analytics, custom back-halves and an API. Best for individuals who want analytics without a big bill.

T.ly

T.ly is a fast, no-nonsense shortener with a generous free API, browser extensions and link previews. Best for a simple, developer-friendly free option.

Replug

Replug wraps shortened links with retargeting, branded CTAs and bio-link pages, aimed at marketers. Best for adding CTAs and retargeting to shared content.

Switchy

Switchy focuses on bio links, smart CTAs and deep linking with A/B testing. Best for creators and social bios.

Pixelfy

Pixelfy is built around retargeting pixels and is popular with advertisers and affiliates. Best for paid-traffic marketers.

Sniply

Sniply adds a custom call-to-action overlay on top of any page you link to, turning shared content into a conversion opportunity. Best for content marketers sharing other people's articles.

Best free & simple URL shorteners

No account, no dashboard, no cost — paste a link and go. These are ideal for one-off links where you don't need analytics.

• is.gd — Free, no signup, privacy-friendly, and offers a simple API. A long-standing favourite for quick links.
• v.gd — The sister service to is.gd; identical, but always shows a preview page before redirecting (useful for trust).
• ShortURL.at — Free and instant with no account, one of the most-used casual shorteners on the web.
• Tiny.cc — Free with an optional account for basic stats and custom slugs.
• da.gd — Minimalist and developer/CLI-friendly (it can shorten, expand and echo headers); completely free.
• ulvis.net — Free with custom aliases, optional passwords and an API.

Best open-source & self-hosted URL shorteners

If you want full control of your data and redirects — no third party, no monthly fee — self-hosting is the answer. You provide the server and upkeep; you own everything.

YOURLS

YOURLS ("Your Own URL Shortener") is the most established self-hosted option: PHP/MySQL, MIT-licensed, with 245+ community plugins. Source on GitHub. Full review. Best all-round self-hosted choice.

Shlink

Shlink is a modern, actively-maintained self-hosted shortener with a proper REST API, real-time visit tracking, QR codes and multi-domain support. Source on GitHub. Best for an API-first self-hosted setup.

Kutt

Kutt is a clean, modern Node.js shortener you can use free on its hosted instance or self-host. Custom domains, password-protected links and an API. Source on GitHub. Best for a polished, easy-to-run open-source tool.

Dub (open source)

Beyond its hosted plans, Dub's core is open source (Next.js) and self-hostable for teams that want a modern, attribution-focused stack they control. Best for developers who want a modern self-hosted platform.

Sink

Sink runs entirely on Cloudflare Workers and Analytics Engine — no traditional server, near-zero cost, fast everywhere. Best for a serverless, Cloudflare-native shortener.

Polr

Polr is a lightweight, long-running PHP shortener with a clean API. Note that community maintenance has slowed considerably, so check recent activity before deploying it for anything critical. Best for a minimal, no-frills self-hosted link engine.

Discontinued & deprecated URL shorteners

These appear on most "best URL shortener" lists but no longer work — don't build anything on them. We've kept them here, clearly flagged, because the outdated lists won't tell you.

• goo.gl (Google) — ❌ Discontinued. Google stopped creating new links in 2019 and stopped serving most existing ones in August 2025. Any goo.gl link you still see is likely dead.
• bit.do — ❌ Shut down entirely in 2023. All links are gone.
• git.io (GitHub) — ❌ GitHub stopped creating new git.io links in 2022.
• ClickMeter — ❌ Discontinued; the company was acquired and clickmeter.com now redirects to Rebrandly.
• Ow.ly (Hootsuite) — ⚠️ No longer a standalone shortener; Ow.ly links can only be created from inside Hootsuite.
• adf.ly — ⚠️ The "pay-per-click" shortener was rolled into Linkvertise; the old adf.ly brand is gone.
• su.pr (StumbleUpon) — ❌ Dead since StumbleUpon wound down.
• x.co (GoDaddy) — ❌ Discontinued; the domain is now parked/for sale.

How to choose the right URL shortener

A quick decision guide:

• You're a marketer or affiliate and care about clicks, audiences and attribution → Linkly, Bitly or Dub.
• You want the cheapest branded links with a real free tier → Short.io or Rebrandly.
• You just need a quick free link with no account → is.gd, TinyURL or ShortURL.at.
• You're a developer who wants control and no monthly fee → self-host YOURLS or Shlink.
• You're in music → Linkfire. Mobile app deep links → Branch. Enterprise compliance (HIPAA/ISO) → BL.INK.

Whatever you pick, the things that matter most over time are reliable redirects, the ability to use your own domain, and analytics you can actually act on. If link tracking and retargeting are the point, that's exactly what Linkly is built for.