8 Best URL Shorteners for Simplified Web Links
Google URL Shortener will be shut down in 2025. What are the best alternatives for simplified web links? This article covers all you need to know.
On July 18, 2024, the existing Google URL shortener was announced to be shut down on August 25, 2025. If you're searching for alternatives, you’ve come to the right place.
What is a URL Shortener?
URL shortening technology converts long URLs into shorter, more memorable links through redirection, ensuring users can access the original page. URL shorteners compress long links and store the original URLs with identifiers in a database. When users click the short link, the tool quickly retrieves and displays the target page.
Why do You Need URL Shorteners?
Shortened URLs are easier to remember, making them more convenient for advertising and sharing across various platforms, ultimately helping to attract more traffic. For example, Twitter imposes a character limit on URLs, so using shortened links allows you to convey your message more efficiently.
URL shorteners for simplified web links enable you to customize your URLs with fewer characters, enhancing clarity and professionalism while creating a more visually appealing presentation. It will build brand awareness, and lead to increased conversions. Furthermore, you can tailor shortened URLs to enhance your brand identity.
8 Best URL Shorteners for Simplified Web Links
Now that you better understand the definition and importance of URL shorteners, I will present the 8 best URL shorteners for simplified web links, covering their introductions, features, and pricing. You will learn:
- Bitly
- BL.INK
- Dub
- Rebrandly
- Short.io
- ShortLink
- ShortURL
- TinyURL
1#Bitly
- Organic search traffic: 3M
- Backlinks: 32.8M
Founded in 2008, Bitly is a URL shortening service and link management platform that enables users to create short links quickly and efficiently. In addition to shortening URLs, Bitly provides a comprehensive dashboard for analyzing link performance and engagement data. Users can also generate QR codes for their short links, making it easy to share across various platforms.
However, the free version has some limitations. Users who do not upgrade their plan cannot utilize branded links and are restricted to generating QR codes twice. Upgrading offers expanded access to short links, additional QR code generation, and the ability to add a link for easier access to your page. Note that the QR code must be in PNG format, with a 1:1 aspect ratio, a maximum size of 5MB, and dimensions of 2500x2500 pixels.
Bitly processes approximately 600 million links each month for use on social networks, SMS, and email. Shortened URLs utilize the bit.ly domain or other generic domains provided by the service. As of November 2023, guest users are no longer able to create shortened links, and all users must create an account.
The platform's user base is predominantly located in Indonesia (23% of total traffic), the United States (14%), and India (12%), with the remaining 51% distributed across other countries. This makes Bitly one of the most popular URL shortening services online.
Plans and Planning
Bitley's cost starts at $8 per month, billed annually.
2#BL.INK
- Organic search traffic: 3.8K
- Backlinks: 836.3K
Founded in 2008, the same year as Bitley, BL.INK is a business focusing on URL shortening services. Its short link management includes URL builders in every plan, enabling everyone on your team to create data for each link. Short links also allow you to change the destination URL without losing campaign data. BL.INK offers two types of short links: branded links and unbranded links.
Additionally, BL.INK supports integrations with Zapier, Khoros, Sprinklr, and over 2,000 other platforms to provide a wonderful experience for users.
It also features a dashboard where you can generate QR codes for your links and track detailed data about them. BL.INK's customers are spread worldwide, with those in the United States making up the largest share, contributing 63% of the total traffic of 3.8K.
Plans and Pricing:
You can choose the Expert plan for $48 per month, with payment due after a 21-day free trial. Pricing ranges from $48 to $599, or even higher for custom services tailored to enterprises
3#Dub
- Organic search traffic: 22.7K
- Backlinks: 87.3K
Launched in late 2022, Dub is a rapidly evolving startup that offers modern URL shortening services without the bloat found in some other tools. Its clean interface features keyboard shortcuts andAI-powered URL slug suggestions, among other helpful features.
Dub is the preferred open-source link management infrastructure for modern marketing teams, including companies like Vercel, Raycast, and Perplexity. Its intuitive workspace provides analytics and a real-time event stream for links, helping users determine the next steps to take.
The platform offers a variety of integration tools, including Raycast, Slack, and Zapier, to streamline web linking. Additionally, users can access features like the ChatGPT link shortener, Google link shortener, and QR code API powered by Dub. Dub’s website also provides comparisons with competitors such as Bitly, Bl.ink, Short.io, and Rebrandly.
Notably, Dub is now SOC 2 Type II compliant, reflecting its commitment to security and privacy for customers—an achievement that enhances its brand identity and is likely to attract more potential users.
Currently, Dub is gaining significant traffic from India and Indonesia, which account for 39% and 23% of its total traffic of 22.7K, respectively.
Plans and Pricing:
This URL shortener's free plan includes more features than those of the first two URL shorteners we discussed. For enhanced service, you can choose a plan at $19 per month or $49 per month when billed annually, which includes two months free.
4#Rebrandly
- Organic search traffic: 62.4K
- Backlinks: 11.7M
Founded in 2015, the Rebrandly team operates globally, with members in the US, Italy, Spain, and the UK. Its client roster includes some of the world’s top businesses, such as LVMH, Toyota, and PayPal.
This online URL shortener is user-friendly and efficient. In addition to standard URL shortening features, Rebrandly leverages Rebrandly AI to analyze data from billions of links, helping determine the optimal times for sharing branded links. This capability allows users to track link popularity, gather insights about who is clicking on their links, and automatically generate QR codes.
Rebrandly adheres to the highest data privacy and protection standards, including compliance with SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA.
The platform offers four types of reporting, all statistics presented in the reports are displayed in UTC. Basic reporting provides insights into total clicks and geographic distribution. Advanced reporting offers more detailed information, including the top days for click distribution throughout the week. The Professional plan delivers data on the top browsers used (such as Chrome, Safari, Facebook App, and Instagram App), while the aggregated reporting provides an in-depth analysis of user interactions, including device and browser breakdowns and peak activity times. Additionally, custom reports are available to meet the specific needs of enterprises.
The primary sources of traffic come from the US (31%) and India (13%), contributing to a total traffic volume of 62.4K.
Plans and Pricing:
This URL shortener free to everyone offers four paid plans. The free plan allows for 10 branded links per month, and includes QR codes, click analytics, and access to the Rebrandly API. However, this may not be sufficient for your team or business needs. You can explore paid subscriptions ranging from $13 to $99, each with a 14-day free trial. For enterprises requiring large-scale link creation and management, there are additional options available for further personalization.
5#Short.io
- Organic search traffic: 40.8K
- Backlinks: 297.2K
Short.io is one of the top URL shorteners offering a comprehensive range of services. The website provides a wealth of how-to guides on its features, including bulk options.
For instance, regarding encrypted links, users can generate links that do not reveal the destination URL unless the hash is specified in the path. In addition, the new 404 redirect feature allows users to display non-existent short links on the branded links page, providing the same functionality as a regular link.
To add a link, simply click on the Apple icon, Android icon, or globe icon, and choose how to target your audience and which link to provide. Please note that you will need to use your custom domain name.
Plans and Pricing:
Short.io provides a generous free plan that includes 5 custom domains, a total of 1,000 branded links, unlimited redirects, and up to 50,000 tracked clicks per month. Additionally, you can choose from several paid plans ranging from $15 to $148, tailored to meet your specific needs.
6#ShortLink
- Organic search traffic: 12.1K
- Backlinks: 220.9K
ShortLink is a URL shortener designed for businesses. According to ShortLink, users can access valuable data on revenue and orders. The dashboard is very user-friendly, and, like other URL shorteners mentioned, it allows you to customize your URLs, generate QR codes, and track and analyze your data.
If you use ShortLink on your Shopify website, you can preload checkout links with custom influencer message bars. Businesses can also create short URLs for affiliate links in emails, social media posts, and automatic discount links. These features enhance user experience and help convert more traffic into customers.
Bangladesh(22%) and the US(22%) are the primary sources of traffic for ShortLink.
Plans and Pricing
A free plan is available, and you can choose from various subscription plans based on your needs. Pricing ranges from $7.99 to $29.99, with the number of relevant links varying from 100 to 1,000.
7#ShortUrl.at
- Organic Search Traffic: 814.5K
- Backlinks: 113.7M
ShortURL.at lets you shorten long links from platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, TikTok, blogs, and websites. Just paste the long URL, click "Shorten URL," and then copy the shortened link to share it via websites, chats, or emails. You can also track the number of clicks on your shortened URL.
The interface is minimalist and user-friendly; no signup is required. Just visit the website and enter the long link in the text box.
Your shortened URLs can be used in publications, documents, advertisements, blogs, forums, instant messages, and more. Track statistics for your business and projects by monitoring the number of hits with the click counter. ShortURL is easy and fast. Simply enter your long link to get a shortened version. It works with any link, regardless of size, and always provides a shortened URL. The service is fast and secure, utilizing HTTPS protocol and data encryption. All links that attempt to disseminate spam, viruses, or malware are deleted.
The majority of total traffic comes from the US (17%) and India (16%).
Plans and Pricing
The service is free, with the premium plan starting at $10 per month and going up to $20,000 per month.
8#TinyURL
- Organic Search Traffic: 1M
- Backlinks: 979.5M
Due to the inability to send long links from a unicycling website to subscribers, Kevin Gilbertson founded TinyURL in January 2002. As the internet's original link shortener, TinyURL was the first platform to offer comprehensive link management. Simply paste the long URL into the box, customize the second half if desired, and click "Shorten URL."
TinyURL also offers a fun exploration activity called TinyURL-whacking, which allows users to discover interesting sites by adding random letters and numbers after the first forward slash in tinyurl.com/. This enables users to uncover links without needing to copy them.
To access additional features, you'll need to register for a TinyURL premium account. This account allows users to create, manage, and track link campaigns of all sizes, view the history of shortened URLs, access tracking and analytics, branded domains, and more.
The US is the primary source of TinyURL's traffic, accounting for 24% of the total share.
Plans and Pricing
Free plan is accessible. But upgrading your account can help you gain better service. The pricing ranges from $9.99 per month to $1499 per month. You can also customize your plan for your enterprises.
Final Thought
In November 2009, Bitly's shortened links were visited 2.1 billion times, indicating the popularity of URL shortening services. However, shortened URLs come with certain risks. Users have frequently voiced frustration in Google's URL shortener discussion group, reporting that specific shortened links were disabled after being flagged as spam. Additionally, a short URL obscures the target address, potentially leading to redirection to unexpected sites. Many services use such compact URL formats that they are vulnerable to brute-force attacks, which adds an extra layer of complexity to retrieving web pages.
Therefore, while it's important to choose URL shorteners that meet your business needs, it is equally essential to select safe URL shorteners to simplify your web links.
I hope this article has inspired you. For more information on website building or business marketing, feel free to visit our blog.
Written by
Kimmy
Published on
Nov 21, 2024
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