URL shorteners reviewed: Bitly, Dub.co, Short.io, Rebrandly, and noBSredir

There are a lot of URL shorteners. Most of them look the same on the surface - paste a link, get a short link, see some click stats. The differences show up in pricing, limits, and the specific features you actually care about when you’re using one for real work.

All five tools reviewed here are well-built products with real teams behind them. Any of them will shorten a URL and track clicks just fine. The question is which one fits your specific situation - what you’re willing to pay, how many people need access, and which extra features actually matter to you.

I’ve used all five. Here’s what I think.

Bitly

The one everyone knows. Bitly’s been around since 2008, and they’ve earned their brand recognition. When someone sees a bit.ly link, they know what it is. That matters in some contexts.

The product works. Analytics are solid - country, referrer, device breakdowns. The dashboard is clean enough. Solid integrations everywhere - they’ve had 15+ years to build them, and built them well.

Where it gets rough is pricing. The free plan gives you 5 links per month and 30 days of analytics history. Five. That’s not really a free plan - it’s a trial that never ends. Custom domains start at $35/mo on Core, which still doesn’t include team members. You need Growth at $55/mo for collaboration.

QR codes are metered too. 2 per month on free, 10 on Core. Generating a QR code is computationally trivial. Putting a cap on it feels like charging for air.

No MCP server either, so if you’re using AI agents to manage links, you’re stuck writing custom API glue.

Best for: People who need the bit.ly brand recognition, or teams already deep in Bitly’s integration ecosystem.

Weakest point: Pricing. You pay a lot for features that other tools include for free.

Dub.co

Dub is the newer kid. Developer-focused, clean UI, open-source roots. The API is well-designed and the dashboard feels modern. If you’re building something that integrates with a link shortener via API, Dub is a comfortable choice.

Their free plan is better than Bitly’s - 25 links, 1,000 clicks/mo - but still no custom domains. You need Pro at $24/mo for that. Analytics retention is 30 days on free and 1 year on Pro, which means your older data eventually disappears.

The feature set leans toward developer workflows and SaaS integrations. They’ve added things like conversion tracking and partner programs. There’s also a community-built MCP server if you want to manage Dub links through an AI agent, though it’s not officially maintained by Dub.

If you’re a marketer who just wants branded short links with analytics, some of Dub’s features won’t matter to you, and you’ll be paying for stuff you don’t use.

Best for: Developers and SaaS teams who need a link shortener with a strong API and modern tooling.

Weakest point: Analytics retention limits. Losing historical data after a year on a paid plan is frustrating.

Short.io

Short.io does a lot. Branded links, link-in-bio pages, detailed analytics, API access. They’re generous on the free plan too - 1,000 links and a custom domain at $0.

The paid plans get expensive if you need team features. Their Team plan is $49/mo for 3 team members. That’s steep if you have a marketing team of 8 people who all need access.

Where Short.io stands out is the link-in-bio builder. If you need a simple landing page behind a short link, they have it built in. Not every shortener does.

Where it falls flat: redirect speed isn’t something they talk about much, and the dashboard can feel cluttered when you’re managing hundreds of links. No MCP server, so no AI agent integration. The feature breadth is wide but the depth varies.

Best for: People who want a link shortener and a basic link-in-bio page in one tool.

Weakest point: Team pricing. $49/mo for 3 seats is hard to justify.

Rebrandly

Rebrandly has been around a while and they focus heavily on branded links. The core product is fine - you get custom domains, click tracking, and a clean dashboard.

The problem is the add-on model. QR codes? Separate add-on. UTM builder? Add-on. The base plans feel stripped down, and the features you expect to be included are behind extra charges. Their free plan is 10 links with no custom domain. The API is rate-limited to 500 requests per month on free.

On the positive side, their Essentials plan at $13/mo is the cheapest paid entry point among these five. If you have simple needs - a handful of branded links, basic analytics - it works. They also have an official MCP server, so you can create and manage branded links through AI agents like Claude or Gemini. Credit where it’s due - they moved on that quickly.

Best for: Small teams with simple branded link needs and a tight budget.

Weakest point: The add-on model. You keep finding that the thing you need costs extra.

noBSredir

Full disclosure: this is ours. I’ll try to be just as honest.

noBSredir’s free plan gives you 50 links, 1 custom domain, 1,000 clicks/mo, and full analytics with no retention limit. QR codes are unlimited. API access is unmetered. That’s the baseline.

Pro at $19/mo adds 500 links, 5 custom domains, 10 team members, a rules engine for conditional routing (send mobile users one place, desktop users another), link templates, and micro-surveys - one-question surveys attached to links that get 40-70% response rates because they’re a single tap, not a form.

Team at $49/mo adds A/B testing, retargeting pixels, link governance (enforce UTM parameters, require tags, block specific domains), and 25 team members.

Agency at $149/mo adds isolated client workspaces so you can manage links for multiple clients without them seeing each other’s data.

noBSredir also ships with a built-in MCP server - so AI agents like Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible tool can create links, pull analytics, run surveys, and manage your workspace directly. It’s not a third-party add-on; it’s part of the product. Of the five shorteners here, only noBSredir and Rebrandly have official MCP servers. Dub has a community-built one. Bitly and Short.io have nothing.

What we don’t do: link-in-bio pages or landing page builders. If you need those, Short.io or Dub might be better picks. noBSredir does short links, analytics, and surveys. That’s the scope.

Best for: Teams that want everything included in the box - no add-ons, no analytics expiry, no QR code caps. Agencies managing multiple clients.

Weakest point: Newer product, so the integration ecosystem is smaller than Bitly’s or Rebrandly’s.

Quick comparison

Which one?

There’s no single best URL shortener. It depends on what you need.

If brand recognition of the short domain itself matters, go with Bitly (detailed comparison). If you’re building API integrations and want modern developer tooling, look at Dub.co (comparison). If you want link-in-bio pages bundled in, Short.io (comparison). If your budget is tight and your needs are basic, Rebrandly at $13/mo is the cheapest way in (comparison).

If you want a custom domain on free, team seats that don’t cost a fortune, no analytics expiry, and features like micro-surveys and conditional routing - try noBSredir. Free plan, no credit card.

Already using one of these? You can import your links from Bitly, Dub, Short.io, or Rebrandly in minutes. Check the docs if you want to poke around first.