Bitly Free Plan: What You Get and What You Don't (2026)

Bitly is one of the most recognisable URL shorteners in the world. Millions of people use it to shorten links, and many start with the free plan. But Bitly's free tier has become increasingly restrictive over the years, and it's worth understanding exactly what you're getting — and what you're not.

In this post we'll break down everything included in Bitly's free plan in 2026, the limitations you'll run into, and how it compares to alternatives.

Bitly's free plan (sometimes called the "Free" tier) gives you:

• Up to 10 links per month — this is the number of new short links you can create each month.
• Basic click analytics — you can see total clicks, but reporting is limited.
• bit.ly branded domain — all free links use the bit.ly domain.
• QR codes — Bitly generates a basic QR code for each link.
• Link-in-bio page — a simple landing page for social media profiles.

That's about it. For casual, personal use — sharing the odd link on social media — this may be enough.

The free plan has some significant limitations:

This is the biggest restriction. If you're a marketer, content creator, or running a business, 10 links per month is very limiting. Every campaign, email, social post, or ad that needs tracking requires a new link.

Bitly used to offer a much more generous free plan, but has steadily reduced the limits over the years.

You can't use your own branded domain on the free plan. All your links will use bit.ly, which means your links look like everyone else's and you miss out on the trust and recognition a branded domain provides.

Custom domains are available on Bitly's paid plans starting at $8/month, but with limited link volume.

Free plan analytics are basic — you can see click counts, but you won't get detailed breakdowns by country, device, referrer, or time period. For marketers who need to understand their audience or prove ROI, this isn't enough.

You can't add tracking pixels (like Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel, or Google Tag Manager) to your links on any Bitly plan. This is a deal-breaker for performance marketers who rely on retargeting.

Features like redirecting by country, device-based redirects, link rotators, or A/B testing aren't available on Bitly's free plan — or any Bitly plan.

You can't set expiration dates or password-protect your links.

Bitly doesn't include a UTM tag builder, so you'll need a separate tool to add campaign tracking parameters to your URLs.

The trade-off is clear: Bitly gives you unlimited clicks but very few links and minimal features. Linkly gives you unlimited links with full analytics and all features, but caps clicks at 500/month on the free plan.

For most marketers and businesses, the Linkly model makes more sense — you can create as many links and campaigns as you need, and upgrade when your traffic grows.

Bitly's free plan is fine if:

• You only need to shorten a handful of links per month
• You don't need custom branding
• You don't need detailed analytics
• You're sharing links casually, not for business

If any of these apply, you'll quickly outgrow Bitly's free plan:

• You create more than 10 links per month
• You want your own branded domain
• You need retargeting pixels on your links
• You need smart redirects (geo, device, A/B)
• You need detailed analytics (not just click counts)
• You need API access for automation

Linkly's free plan includes everything mentioned above — unlimited links, custom domains, detailed analytics, QR codes, retargeting, smart redirects, and API access. You're limited to 500 tracked clicks per month, which is enough to test everything out and run small campaigns.

When you're ready for more volume, paid plans start at $9/month with 5,000 clicks.

Try Linkly for free — no credit card required.

• Bitly Alternative — a detailed feature comparison
• Bitly vs Linkly — head-to-head comparison
• Bitly Enterprise Pricing — what Bitly charges larger teams
• Best Link Shortener 2026 — our roundup of the top tools
• About the Linkly Free Plan — full details on what's included