Since the downfall of Google URL Shortener three years ago (RIP), the internet, including myself, has been searching for the best substitute for shortening links.
I’ve spent over a decade evaluating technology and web services, and I can assure you that there is very seldom a single right solution.
What you need and desire from a URL shortening service will determine which one is best for you. Aside from options that allow you to add calls-to-action to your links or redirect users according to their location, there are also simple, quick, and free URL shortening tools that provide information about who is visiting your links and are focused on marketing and analytics.
I evaluated over 35 different solutions to help you find the best URL shorteners for the majority of users. This is what differs them the greatest and best.
Table of Contents
The Top 5 URL shortening applications
- T2M URL Shortener is the best URL shortener.
- Rebrandly is a tool for creating branded links.
- TinyURL provides short URLs that are anonymous, quick, and free.
- BL.INK can be used by small business owners.
- Use Sniply to add a call to action to the links you share.
1. T2M URL Shortener is the best URL shortener.
T2M URL Shortener is one of the best URL shorteners on our list of competitors. This link-shortening service will win you over with its ease of use.
T2M URL shortener has a robust dashboard, branding, and API, as well as Create Short Url, custom link generator, tag generator, and many other features similar to these best services.
Features
- No-spam policy
- Short URLs for domains
- Extensive analytics with geo-location data
- Public analytical reports
- One-click domain mapping
- API for creating URLs in bulk
- URL that never expires
- QR Code Generation Software
- CSV Import & Export
Price
T2M URL Shortener offers a basic tier for a one-time fee of $5 if all you want to do is use the basic T2M URL Shortener service. There are no ongoing fees; the $5 is solely for verification and spam reduction.
Following that, four ongoing programs charge monthly or annually:
- Monthly fee: $9.99
- Pro: $29.99 per month
- Premium is $89.99 per month.
- Dedicated Instance – contact sales
If you pay annually, you will get three months free.
2. Best URL shortener for personalized links and branding
Rebrandly
Rebrandly, like the other applications on our list, is a fantastic URL shortener, but what distinguishes it is its appeal. Rebrandly believes that brands, whether they are people or products, benefit from customized connections to online content. Out of all the apps we looked at, their free plan allows for the most unique domains, which are connected with Short.io. This allows you to customize the entire short URL rather than just the end.
3. The best free URL shortener for personal and quick use
TinyURL
Free link shortener TinyURL has been around since 2002 because it shortens URLs with the lowest amount of hassle. It’s a valuable tool for when you need to rapidly create a link that won’t expire. After pasting your lengthy link into the box and modifying the second half of the URL, click Make TinyURL. After that, you can use the link without fear of it breaking forever.
TinyURL is free to use; personal plans for monitored links and marketed domains begin at $9.99 per month (paid annually).
4. Best URL shortener for small business owners
BL.INK
In addition to reducing long URLs, BL.INK, a full-featured URL shortener service, can be used to track visitors from your links. Its dashboard provides general information as well as hottest trends links, and its analytics page allows you to explore traffic by referrers, location, and device.
You can also separator clicks based on the time of day. When you add tags to your shortened links, you can see link traffic in new, individualized ways that are ideal for campaign tracking and management.
Price: BL.INK offers a free plan with 1,000 active links and basic analytics, as well as an Expert+ plan with 10,000 active links, 7,500 recorded clicks per link, and 3 users starting at $48/month.
5. The best URL shortener for sharing links with a CTA
Sniply
Sniply’s main feature is the ability to add a call-to-action (CTA) to any link you share, in addition to receiving a short URL and click-tracking data. When someone clicks on a link from your Twitter profile to a cool article, you can display a pop-up urging them to subscribe to your newsletter for more fantastic links.
Price: Sniply has a free plan with 500 monthly clicks. A basic package with 5,000 monthly clicks costs $25 per month (paid annually); a Business plan with a custom domain and no Sniply branding costs $125 per month (paid annually) (billed yearly).
