Best Bitly alternatives in 2026

What you are leaving behind

Before comparing anything, here is Bitly's current price list. Every alternative on this page is measured against these four rows.

From bitly.com/pages/pricing, read 8 November 2026. Monthly-billed prices for Core are not offered; Growth's monthly-billed price is higher than the annual rate shown.

Three things stand out for a switcher. The free plan is the only one in this comparison labelled as showing ads. The first paid plan cannot be bought monthly. And a custom domain, which is the main reason most people pay for a shortener at all, does not arrive until the third tier.

Bitly and the alternatives, side by side

The table puts Bitly last so you can read each alternative against it. Columns are the fields that decide a switch: free links, whether the first domain is free, ads, analytics on free, and the first paid price.

Limits from each vendor's pricing page, read 8 November 2026. TinyURL and T.LY figures come from third-party listings because their pricing pages block automated reading.

The alternatives, ranked for switchers

1. ReSlug: fixes every Bitly complaint at once

ReSlug's free plan is 500 active links, a custom domain with automatic SSL, a QR code on every link, a bio page and 30 days of analytics. That is one hundred times Bitly's free link quota, with the domain Bitly sells for $348 a year included at no charge. There are no ads on any plan. When you need more, Pro is $9 a month or $79 a year, billed either way, for unlimited links, ten domains, a year of analytics and an API. The honest caveat is age: ReSlug launched in 2026 and has no team seats yet, so a marketing department sharing one account should read the enterprise entry first.

2. Short.io: the domain fix

If the domain price is the reason you are leaving, Short.io is the most direct answer. The free plan includes five custom domains and 1,000 links. The $5 Hobby plan allows seven domains, and Pro at $18 removes the link limit on ten. Two things to know before you move: the free and Hobby link quotas are lifetime totals rather than monthly refreshes, and Short.io does not publish how long it keeps analytics on any plan.

3. Dub: the API fix

Bitly's API is capped at 1,000 requests a month on free and 5,000 on Core. Dub treats the API as the product: open source, typed SDKs, webhooks, and conversion tracking on Business. The free plan is small on links at 25 a month but includes three custom domains. Pro is $27 a month for 1,000 links a month, ten domains and a year of retention. Pick Dub if links are generated by your software rather than typed into a dashboard.

4. Rebrandly: the enterprise like-for-like

Rebrandly sells to the same marketing departments Bitly does, with branded links, link galleries, teammates and an SSO tier. The free plan is thin at ten links a month, but Essentials at $16 a month ($11 annual) already includes two custom domains where Bitly Core includes none. Professional at $39 ($32 annual) adds teammates, password links and expiration. Costs about the same as Bitly Growth and gives more domains for it.

5. Cuttly: the quiet upgrade for light users

Thirty links a month free with a branded domain, 30 days of analytics and a bio page. That is six times Bitly's free quota plus the domain. Starter is $12 a month for 300 links. A good fit for someone who used Bitly free and hit the five-link wall.

6. Linkly: for click hygiene

A free custom domain and API, with explicit bot and crawler management from the $15 Starter plan. The free tier caps you at 500 clicks a month and pauses links beyond that, so it suits testing more than running.

7. T.LY: a fairer paid plan, no free one

$5 a month buys 500 links and one domain. Compare that with Bitly Core at $10, annual-only, for 100 links and no domain. The catch is the absence of a free account plan, and T.LY's pricing page could not be verified directly.

8. TinyURL: only for casual links

Unlimited free basic links with no ads beats Bitly's five with ads, but the free plan has no analytics and no editing. If you used Bitly to measure anything, TinyURL free is a step down in that one respect.

Match the alternative to your reason for leaving

• "Five links a month is not enough." ReSlug (500 active), Short.io (1,000 lifetime), Linkly (100 a month), Cuttly (30 a month). All free.
• "I will not pay $348 a year for a domain." ReSlug, Short.io, Dub, Cuttly and Linkly include one or more domains free.
• "My audience sees ads." Every alternative here serves clean redirects on free.
• "I cannot buy Core monthly." ReSlug Pro, Short.io, Dub, Rebrandly, Cuttly and T.LY all bill monthly.
• "The API caps block my integration." Dub, Short.io (50 requests a second on free), ReSlug Pro (200 a minute).
• "I need SSO and seats." Rebrandly Enterprise, Dub Business and Enterprise. See the enterprise entry.