Every URL shortener shortens URLs. What you are really choosing is whose domain your links depend on, what happens to them if you leave, and how much analytics you get before the paywall. Here is an honest look at the main options.
Ask these four questions first
- What happens to my links if I stop paying? This is the big one. A short link is a dependency — if it dies, every place you posted it breaks, including things already printed.
- Can I use my own domain? Branded links get more clicks, and more importantly they are portable. If you own the domain, you can move provider without breaking anything.
- How much analytics is actually free? Click counts are universal; referrer, country and device data often are not.
- Is there a link limit, and is it per month or lifetime? These are very different numbers.
Bitly
The default, and the most trusted-looking domain in the category — which genuinely matters when people decide whether to tap an unfamiliar link. Mature analytics, reliable infrastructure, QR codes included.
Best for: teams who need a name nobody questions. Watch for: the free tier has been narrowed several times over the years, so check what it currently includes rather than relying on what you remember.
TinyURL
The old guard. Creates links without an account, and they have historically just kept working — which for a one-off link you need to survive indefinitely is a real feature.
Best for: a link you need once and never want to think about again. Watch for: analytics and management are thin compared with the rest.
Rebrandly and Short.io
Both are built around custom domains rather than treating them as an upsell, which makes them the sensible choice if branded links are the point. Rebrandly leans towards marketing teams; Short.io is popular with developers for its API.
Best for: anyone shortening on their own domain at volume. Watch for: pricing scales with clicks as well as links, so model your actual traffic before committing.
gomy•bio
Ten short links on the free plan with 30 days of statistics; paid plans from $2.99 a month remove the link limit and add a year of statistics, geographic and device targeting, A/B testing, deep links, click limits, expiry dates and UTM templates. Custom domains are on the top plan.
The honest positioning: if all you need is a shortener, the specialists above are more focused, and Bitly's domain carries more trust than ours does. The reason to use us is that the same account also holds your bio page and your dynamic QR codes, with one set of statistics across all three. Most people shortening links also need those, and elsewhere that is two or three subscriptions.
Side by side
| Bitly | TinyURL | Rebrandly / Short.io | gomy•bio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes, limited | Yes | Yes, limited | Yes, 10 links |
| No account needed | No | Yes | No | No |
| Custom domain | Paid | Paid | Core feature | Top plan |
| QR codes | Yes | Basic | Yes | Yes, dynamic |
| Bio page included | Separate product | No | No | Yes |
| Domain recognition | Highest | High | Your own | Low |
The advice nobody gives you
If a link matters long-term, put it on a domain you own. That is the only genuinely portable answer. Every shortener, including ours, is a dependency — but a link on your own domain can be moved to a different provider in an afternoon, while a link on somebody else's domain cannot be moved at all.
For everything else — a link in a text message, an email signature, a social post — pick on whichever free tier covers what you need and do not over-think it. The switching cost for a link you posted last Tuesday is zero.
Try the free plan if the bio page and QR codes are things you were going to need anyway.
