A free Bitly alternative
Bitly's free plan stops at five links a month. shrtn.ink has no link cap, its free plan includes the analytics and UTM builder Bitly bills for, and its API has no call cap.
The short version
Pick shrtn.ink if you want unlimited links, per-link analytics and an API without a subscription. Stay on Bitly if you need links on your own domain today, a team with SSO, or integrations like Zapier and Canva — shrtn.ink has none of those yet.
Where shrtn.ink is ahead
- No monthly cap. Unlimited short links and custom slugs on the free plan. Bitly Free allows 5 links and 3 custom back-halves a month.
- Analytics without a plan. Referrers, countries, devices and browsers for every link, free. Bitly starts referrers and top-10 countries at $10/mo on Core, and device data at $199/mo on Premium.
- Links you can change. Edit a destination, set an expiry, or pause a link, as often as you like. Bitly allows 5 edits a month on Core and link expiration from Growth at $29/mo.
- An API without a meter. No call cap, batch creation of 100 links per call, signed webhooks and an MCP server on the same key. Bitly Free caps the API at 1,000 calls a month and keeps webhooks for Enterprise.
- Published latency. Every redirect times its own lookup, and the home page plots p50, p95 and p99 from those samples. Bitly does not publish its redirect latency.
Where Bitly is ahead
- Custom domains. Bitly puts links on your own domain from Growth at $29/mo. On shrtn.ink custom domains are planned, not built.
- Integrations and apps. Zapier, Google Sheets and Canva integrations, browser extensions and a mobile app, all free on Bitly. shrtn.ink has none of them; its API and MCP server are the way in.
- Teams. Bitly sells seats, roles and SSO. A shrtn.ink account has one user.
- Mobile deep links. Bitly opens links in native apps on Premium at $199/mo. shrtn.ink has this planned.
- Track record. Bitly has shortened links since 2008 and is the name people recognise. shrtn.ink is new.
shrtn.ink vs Bitly, feature by feature
- Free
- live today, free for everyone
- Soon
- in development next
- Planned
- on the roadmap
- —
- not offered
| Feature | shrtn.ink | Bitly |
|---|---|---|
| Links | ||
| Short links | Freeunlimited | Free5/mo |
| Custom back-halves | Freesign in | Free3/mo |
| Link expiration | Freeper link | $29/moGrowth |
| Tags & link grouping | Freeunlimited | Free |
| Malware & spam protection | FreeSafe Browsing scan | Free |
| Edit destination later | Freedestination, expiry, pause | $10/moCore, 5 edits/mo |
| Ad-free redirects | Freealways | Free |
| QR codes | ||
| QR code generator | Freeunlimited | Free2/mo |
| Logos, colors, SVG export | Freein the browser | $10/moCore |
| Analytics | ||
| Click counts & 30-day chart | Free | $10/moCore, 30-day history |
| Referrer breakdown | Freeper link, host only | $10/moCore |
| Country breakdown | Freeper link | $10/moCore, top 10 only |
| Device & browser breakdown | Freeper link | $199/moPremium |
| Unique clicks & bot filtering | Freedaily uniques, UA bot flag | $10/moCore |
| Click history retention | Freeno limit | $10–199/mo30 days–1 year |
| Public redirect latency (p50/p95/p99) | Freelive on homepage | — |
| Campaigns | ||
| UTM builder | Free | $10/moCore |
| UTM presets & campaigns | Freein the browser | $29/mo+Growth–Premium |
| Link-in-bio | ||
| Link-in-bio page | Free3 per account | Free2 pages |
| Per-link analytics | Freereferrers, devices, locations | $10/moCore |
| Custom domain | Planned | $29/moGrowth |
| Domains & API | ||
| Branded custom domain | Planned | $29/moGrowth |
| REST API | Freeno call cap | Free1,000 calls/mo |
| Bio page API | Freecreate, edit, stats | — |
| Batch creation | Free100 links/call | $29/moGrowth, CSV |
| Webhooks | Free5 endpoints | Enterprisecustom pricing |
| MCP server for AI assistants | Freebearer API key | Free |
| Beyond links | ||
| Zapier & integrations | Planned | FreeZapier, Sheets, Canva |
| Browser extension | Planned | FreeChrome, Firefox, Edge |
| Mobile app | —not planned | Free |
| Mobile deep links | Planned | $199/moPremium |
| Teams & SSO | Planned | $29/mo+SSO Growth, roles Enterprise |
| Everything above, today | $0 | $199+/mowhere offered |
Bitly details come from public pricing pages as of July 2026, with plan prices re-checked in September 2026; annual-billing prices are shown where cheaper. Plans and limits change — check bitly.com for current terms.
Switching from Bitly
The bit.ly links you already have stay where they are: a short link cannot change its domain, so keep your Bitly account for anything already printed or shared. New links can start here. Sign in, create an API key, and send up to 100 links per call to the batch endpoint in the API, each with its own custom slug if you want to keep a back-half. UTM tags carry over untouched, because they are part of the destination URL.
Frequently asked questions
Is shrtn.ink really free compared with Bitly?
Yes. Everything marked Free in the table is live on the free plan today, with no link cap and no card. Bitly's free plan covers 5 links and 2 QR codes a month.
Can I import my Bitly links?
Not directly; there is no import tool. Your bit.ly links keep working on Bitly, and the batch API recreates the ones you need, 100 per call, each with its own custom slug.
Does shrtn.ink support custom domains like Bitly?
Not yet. Custom domains are planned; today every link lives on shrtn.ink.
Where do the Bitly numbers come from?
Bitly's public pricing page, checked in July 2026 with plan prices re-checked in September 2026, using annual billing. Plans change — always confirm on bitly.com.
Try it in ten seconds
Paste a long URL, get a short link. No signup needed — sign in only when you want custom slugs and click stats.
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