--- title: "Best Bitly Alternatives in 2026 (Free Plans & Custom Domains Compared) | LinkPilot Blog" description: "Seven genuine Bitly alternatives compared on free plans, custom domains, and pricing — LinkPilot, Dub, Short.io, Rebrandly, T.LY, TinyURL — with honest trade-offs." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "@id": "https://uselinkpilot.com/#software", "name": "LinkPilot", "applicationCategory": "BusinessApplication", "operatingSystem": "Web", "description": "LinkPilot is a secure link management platform for creating branded short links, tracking engagement, and sharing secrets with expiring, protected, self-destructing links.", "url": "https://uselinkpilot.com", "offers": [ { "@type": "Offer", "name": "Free", "price": "0", "priceCurrency": "USD", "url": "https://uselinkpilot.com/pricing" }, { "@type": "Offer", "name": "Pro", "price": "29", "priceCurrency": "USD", "priceSpecification": { "@type": "UnitPriceSpecification", "price": "29", "priceCurrency": "USD", "billingDuration": "P1M" }, "url": "https://uselinkpilot.com/pricing" }, { "@type": "Offer", "name": "Agency", "price": "299", "priceCurrency": "USD", "priceSpecification": { "@type": "UnitPriceSpecification", "price": "299", "priceCurrency": "USD", "billingDuration": "P1M" }, "url": "https://uselinkpilot.com/pricing" }, { "@type": "Offer", "name": "Enterprise", "priceSpecification": { "@type": "PriceSpecification", "priceCurrency": "USD" }, "url": "https://uselinkpilot.com/pricing" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://uselinkpilot.com/#organization", "name": "LinkPilot", "url": "https://uselinkpilot.com", "parentOrganization": { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://tetracorehq.com/#organization", "name": "TetraCore", "url": "https://tetracorehq.com/" }, "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://uselinkpilot.com/logo-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 }, "description": "LinkPilot is a secure link management platform for creating branded short links, tracking engagement, and sharing secrets with expiring, protected, self-destructing links.", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/uselinkpilot", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/uselinkpilot", "https://facebook.com/uselinkpilot" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "name": "LinkPilot", "url": "https://uselinkpilot.com", "potentialAction": { "@type": "SearchAction", "target": "https://uselinkpilot.com/blog?q={search_term_string}", "query-input": "required name=search_term_string" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://uselinkpilot.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Blog", "item": "https://uselinkpilot.com/blog" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Best Bitly Alternatives in 2026 (Free Plans & Custom Domains Compared)", "item": "https://uselinkpilot.com/blog/best-bitly-alternatives" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BlogPosting", "@id": "https://uselinkpilot.com/blog/best-bitly-alternatives#article", "headline": "Best Bitly Alternatives in 2026 (Free Plans & Custom Domains Compared)", "description": "Seven genuine Bitly alternatives compared on free plans, custom domains, and pricing — LinkPilot, Dub, Short.io, Rebrandly, T.LY, TinyURL — with honest trade-offs.", "datePublished": "2026-07-09", "dateModified": "2026-07-09", "image": "https://uselinkpilot.com/logo-512.png", "author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "LinkPilot Team", "url": "https://uselinkpilot.com" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "LinkPilot", "url": "https://uselinkpilot.com", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://uselinkpilot.com/logo-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } }, "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://uselinkpilot.com/blog/best-bitly-alternatives" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the best free Bitly alternative?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "For a free plan with real analytics and a custom domain, LinkPilot (50 links, 1,000 clicks/mo, 1 custom domain) and Short.io (a famously generous free tier) lead. Dub's free tier (25 links) suits developers. All figures as published July 2026 — verify with each vendor." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why are people leaving Bitly?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The most cited reasons are free-plan cuts (widely reported at 10 links/month with short analytics history) and price increases on paid tiers, while several features remain enterprise-gated. Verify current Bitly plans on bitly.com." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can I move my existing Bitly links to another shortener?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Existing bit.ly links stay on Bitly's domain and can't be transferred. What you can migrate is your workflow: export your links to CSV, recreate the slugs on your own custom domain in the new tool, and use your domain going forward so this never happens again." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which Bitly alternative also handles secret sharing?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "LinkPilot is the only tool in this roundup that pairs branded short links and analytics with burn-after-read secret links (passwords, API keys) in the same workspace." } } ] } ] --- [![LinkPilot](/link_pilot_icon.webp)LinkPilot ](/) [Features](/features)[Tools](/tools)[Blog](/blog)[Pricing](/pricing)[FAQ](/#faq) Toggle theme [Sign In](/login)[Start free](/signup) 1. [Home](/) 2. [Blog](/blog) 3. [Link Tracking](/blog/category/link-tracking) 4. Best Bitly Alternatives in 2026 (Free Plans & Custom Domains Compared) [Link Tracking](/blog/category/link-tracking) # Best Bitly Alternatives in 2026 (Free Plans & Custom Domains Compared) Seven genuine Bitly alternatives compared on free plans, custom domains, and pricing — LinkPilot, Dub, Short.io, Rebrandly, T.LY, TinyURL — with honest trade-offs. By LinkPilot Team · July 9, 2026 · 4 min read Bitly is still the household name in link shortening — and for many teams, still a fine product. But its free plan has shrunk while paid prices climbed (both widely reported; verify current plans with Bitly), and that combination sends a steady stream of people searching for alternatives. Here are the ones actually worth considering, including where each beats the others. ## What is the best Bitly alternative? **For most teams, the best Bitly alternative is whichever tool gives you a custom domain and real analytics at your price point: LinkPilot if you also want secret links and a free custom domain, Dub if you want a developer-first open-source platform, Short.io if you want the most generous free tier, and Rebrandly if branded domains at volume are the whole job.** ## How do the alternatives compare? Tool Free plan First paid tier Custom domain on free/low tier Stand-out LinkPilot 50 links, 1,000 clicks/mo, 5 secret links $29/mo — unlimited links, 50k clicks, API Yes — 1 on free Secret links + analytics in one workspace Dub 25 links, 1,000 clicks/mo ~$30/mo — 50k clicks Yes Open source, developer DX Short.io Generous link allowance, multiple domains Low-cost paid tiers Yes Most generous free tier Rebrandly 10 links/mo (post-2025 repricing) Metered branded links/clicks Paid Domain catalogue & branding focus T.LY Basic free shortening Low-cost Paid Simple, popular with solo users TinyURL Unlimited basic redirects Paid adds analytics/branding Paid Zero-friction one-off links Bitly (baseline) 10 links/mo, short analytics history Growth from ~$35/mo Paid Brand recognition, QR suite All plan details as published July 2026 — shortener pricing changes often; verify with each vendor before deciding. ## 1\. LinkPilot — best if you want more than shortening LinkPilot's free plan includes what Bitly charges for: 50 branded short links, 1,000 tracked clicks a month, [real-time analytics](/glossary#real-time-analytics "Glossary: real-time analytics"), and a custom domain. Paid is one flat $29/mo Pro tier (unlimited links, 50,000 clicks, [API](/glossary#api "Glossary: api")) instead of a feature ladder. The differentiator is the second workflow: [burn-after-read](/glossary#burn-after-read "Glossary: burn-after-read") secret links for passwords and API keys, with audit timelines — no other shortener in this list does that. There's also an [anonymous shortener](/tools/free-link-shortener) that needs no account. Weaknesses, honestly: no open-source edition, and the brand is younger than everything else here. Full comparison: [LinkPilot vs Bitly](/compare/linkpilot-vs-bitly), and see [pricing](/pricing) for the plan matrix. ## 2\. Dub — best for developers Dub is the open-source darling of this category: clean API, typed SDKs, great docs, modern [dashboard](/glossary#dashboard "Glossary: dashboard"). If your links are created by code more than by humans, start here. Its free tier is genuinely usable (25 links) and paid scales by clicks. It doesn't do secret sharing or [white-label](/glossary#white-label "Glossary: white-label") agency [workspaces](/glossary#folders "Glossary: workspaces"). Comparison: [LinkPilot vs Dub](/compare/linkpilot-vs-dub). ## 3\. Short.io — best free tier Short.io's free tier (multiple custom domains and a large link allowance, as published July 2026) is the most generous in the category, which is why it appears in every roundup. The trade-off is that advanced routing and team features climb the paid tiers, and there's no ephemeral/secret capability. Comparison: [LinkPilot vs Short.io](/compare/linkpilot-vs-short-io). ## 4\. Rebrandly — best for branded domains at volume Rebrandly practically invented "branded links" as a category and its domain tooling is deep. Its March 2025 repricing (free plan down to 10 links/month, widely discussed) pushed a lot of light users elsewhere — but for enterprises managing many branded domains, it remains a serious option. Comparison: [LinkPilot vs Rebrandly](/compare/linkpilot-vs-rebrandly). ## 5\. T.LY and TinyURL — best for simple personal use Both do frictionless shortening with paid tiers for analytics and branding. If you need a [short URL](/glossary#short-link "Glossary: short url") occasionally and don't measure anything, they're fine — see [LinkPilot vs TinyURL](/compare/linkpilot-vs-tinyurl) and [LinkPilot vs T.ly](/compare/linkpilot-vs-tly) for where the ceilings are. ## How do you actually switch? 1. Export your links from Bitly (CSV export in the dashboard). 2. Set up your own custom domain in the new tool — this is the step that makes you migration-proof forever. 3. Recreate the slugs that still matter via CSV import. 4. Update the links you control (bio pages, email templates, ads). Old bit.ly URLs keep redirecting on Bitly's side — you can't transfer them, which is precisely the argument for owning your short domain from now on. For the price side of the decision, see our [Bitly pricing teardown](/blog/bitly-pricing-explained). ## Tools mentioned in this article [ Free Link Shortener Create short links instantly with no signup required. ](/tools/free-link-shortener)[ URL Shortener Compress long URLs into clean short links. ](/tools/url-shortener) ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the best free Bitly alternative? ### Why are people leaving Bitly? ### Can I move my existing Bitly links to another shortener? ### Which Bitly alternative also handles secret sharing? ## Run smarter links with LinkPilot Tracking, UTMs, QR codes, AI insights, and white-label reporting — in one workspace. Free to start. [Create your free account](/signup) ## Read next [ Link Tracking ### URL Shortener APIs Compared: Bitly, Dub, Short.io, TinyURL & LinkPilot A developer's comparison of URL shortener APIs — auth models, rate limits, webhooks, SDKs, and pricing gotchas — with honest notes on where each API shines. ](/blog/url-shortener-api-comparison)[ Link Tracking ### Bitly Pricing Explained: What You Actually Get Per Tier (2026) A plain-English teardown of Bitly's plans — what the free tier really includes, where the paid tiers gate features, and how the math compares to alternatives. ](/blog/bitly-pricing-explained)[ Link Tracking ### The 30-Second Redirect Audit Every Marketer Should Run Monthly Redirect chains cost you speed, conversions, and attribution data. Here's what 301/302/307/308 mean, why chains hurt, and a copy-paste monthly audit checklist. ](/blog/redirect-chain-audit-guide) On this page - [What is the best Bitly alternative?](#what-is-the-best-bitly-alternative) - [How do the alternatives compare?](#how-do-the-alternatives-compare) - [1\. LinkPilot — best if you want more than shortening](#1-linkpilot-best-if-you-want-more-than-shortening) - [2\. Dub — best for developers](#2-dub-best-for-developers) - [3\. Short.io — best free tier](#3-shortio-best-free-tier) - [4\. Rebrandly — best for branded domains at volume](#4-rebrandly-best-for-branded-domains-at-volume) - [5\. T.LY and TinyURL — best for simple personal use](#5-tly-and-tinyurl-best-for-simple-personal-use) - [How do you actually switch?](#how-do-you-actually-switch) ![LinkPilot](/assets/link_pilot_icon-Bslvq5xV.webp)LinkPilot [About](/about)[Features](/features)[Pricing](/pricing)[For Agencies](/url-shortener-for-agencies)[Tools](/tools)[Blog](/blog)[Glossary](/glossary)[Compare](/compare)[Privacy](/privacy)[Security](/security-architecture)[Transparency](/transparency)[Terms](/terms)[GDPR](/gdpr) [](https://x.com/uselinkpilot)[](https://www.linkedin.com/company/uselinkpilot)[](https://facebook.com/uselinkpilot) © 2026 TetraCore. All rights reserved. · LinkPilot is [a TetraCore product](https://tetracorehq.com/)