Yes, we make a link shortener, so you know where this ends. But a comparison post that pretends the incumbent is useless is not worth your time, so let us do this properly: when Bitly is genuinely fine, when it stops being fine, and what the alternatives actually offer.
When Bitly is fine
If you occasionally shorten a link to paste somewhere, Bitly works. It is established, the free tier exists, and the QR code tools are solid. For a personal account or the occasional social post, there is no urgent reason to move.
Where it starts to pinch
- The shared domain. Free and Core Bitly links live on bit.ly, a domain shared with millions of senders, some of them spammers. In email and especially SMS, filters judge the domain, not you. The CTIA's messaging guidance (May 2023, section 5.3.2) asks senders who use a shortener to use one dedicated to their exclusive use, and Twilio's 10DLC documentation says a bit.ly link in a campaign submission leads to rejection by The Campaign Registry. Our pieces on why SMS links get blocked and 10DLC and URL shorteners cover the mechanics and quote the sources.
- The custom domain starts at Growth. Per Bitly's public pricing page in September 2026, the first plan with a custom domain is Growth at $35 a month billed monthly or $29 billed annually, with one domain and 500 links a month. The full tier-by-tier breakdown is in Bitly pricing explained.
- Read the privacy policy of any shortener you use. Including ours. Click data is valuable, and how a provider uses it is a decision you should make on purpose. Linkturf's position is simple: your click data is not our product, your subscription is, and we never sell or share it.
- Link and QR caps sneak up on you. Bitly meters links and QR codes separately on each tier (10 QR codes a month on Growth, per its pricing page). Caps are easy to hit once campaigns and printed codes multiply.
The alternatives, fairly
Dub
Developer-focused and genuinely excellent engineering. Open source core, strong API, conversion tracking. If you have engineers and want link infrastructure as code, look here. For a non-technical marketing team it can be more tool than you need.
Short.io
A capable generalist with a broad feature set, team functions and integrations, and historically a free tier. Check its current pricing page for what the free tier includes today. The interface shows its breadth; expect some time finding your way around.
Rebrandly
The enterprise pick. Compliance badges, SLAs, account managers, and pricing to match. If procurement is involved in your software decisions, Rebrandly speaks that language.
Linkturf
Ours, so judge accordingly. The premise: every link runs on a domain you own, no shared domain exists at all, and your click data is yours, exportable in one click, never sold or shared. Two custom domains and every feature on the $19 Core plan, with plans differing only by domains and link volume. Built for SMS and campaign senders first. No free tier, on purpose, which keeps spammers off the platform entirely. No API today, and no enterprise SSO. If you need those, the others above are further along. If you want links that land and data you own, that is the whole product. Pricing.
Whatever you pick, own the domain
The tool matters less than the principle: commercial links belong on a domain you control. Every option above supports it. The difference is whether it is the default or an upsell, and what happens to your click data along the way. Setup takes about 15 minutes wherever you land, and here is the walkthrough.