ShortURL is a free tool that turns a long address into a shorturl.at link and counts the clicks it gets. It is online in November 2026. The homepage says links that spread spam, viruses or malware are deleted, and it lists paid extras such as custom short links, a dashboard, detailed analytics, an API, QR codes and a browser extension, without showing a price.
The rule that matters sits in the terms of service. Short URLs that do not have at least one click per month are disabled, and disabled ones may become available for use by other users. The same page says the premium plan exists because the free service carries no guarantee of continuity.
That is fine for a link you share today and forget tomorrow. It is a real risk for anything printed, archived or posted where clicks arrive in bursts, like a conference slide or a seasonal promo. The tools below keep links alive without a monthly click, and most show more than a counter. Shorteners that stopped working altogether are covered in Bit.do alternatives.
Prices below are as of November 6, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Price | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| TinyURL | Free links with no expiry and a custom alias | Free; Pro $9/month yearly | Web, API |
| Short.io | Free stats on your own domain | Free; Hobby $5/month | Web, API, browser extensions |
| Cuttly | Free branded domain and link-in-bio | Free; Starter $12/month | Web, API |
| Kutt | Free links with password and expiry options | Free, open source (MIT) | Hosted kutt.to; Docker, Node |
| Dub | Clean analytics and an API on a free plan | Free; Pro $27/month yearly | Web, API; self-host |
| YOURLS | Links that live as long as your server | Free, open source (MIT) | PHP and MySQL server |
| Rebrandly | Branded QR codes and links for marketers | Free; Essentials $8/month yearly | Web, API, mobile apps |
TinyURL
TinyURL is the most direct fix for the shorturl.at expiry rule. Its pricing table lists link expiration as never on the free plan, and a free account gets 30 links a month, unlimited tracked clicks, a custom alias and no ads. Custom aliases are a premium extra on shorturl.at.
Stats stay basic until you pay. Pro at $9 a month billed yearly, or $11 monthly, adds clicks over time, referrers, countries, devices and browsers, plus 125 links a month and three branded domains. Our TinyURL alternatives page compares it in more depth.
Best for: Anyone who wants a free short link that keeps working even if nobody clicks it for a year.
Pricing:
- Free: 30 links/month with an account, unlimited tracked clicks, basic analytics.
- Pro: $108 a year ($9 a month) or $11 on monthly billing. Bulk 50K $69/month yearly. Enterprise is quoted from $3,999 yearly.
Watch out for:
- A free account is capped at 30 new links a month, so anyone shortening in bulk will need Pro.
Official site: TinyURL.
Short.io
Short.io is the pick for people who outgrew a bare click counter. The free plan tracks 50,000 clicks a month on up to 1,000 links, includes QR codes, A/B tests and the API, and lets you connect five custom domains.
Nothing on the pricing page ties link life to clicks, and Pro at $18 a month is where you choose to make links expire. Hobby at $5 adds country targeting and lifts the allowance to 2,500 links and 100,000 clicks.
Best for: Bloggers and small businesses who want real stats on a branded domain without paying.
Pricing:
- No cost: up to 1,000 links, 5 custom domains, 50,000 clicks tracked each month.
- Hobby $5/month. Pro $18/month. Team $48/month. Enterprise $148/month. Yearly plans are 17% cheaper.
Watch out for:
- You need your own domain to get value from it, and registration fees are not included in any plan.
- The free allowance is 1,000 links in total, not per month.
Official site: Short.io.
Cuttly
Cuttly gives free users two things shorturl.at sells as premium: a branded domain and a dashboard with stats. The free plan covers 30 links a month, one branded domain, a link-in-bio page with five URLs and 30 days of analytics history.
The jump to paid is steep for casual users. Starter at $12 a month mostly raises the link count to 300, while Single at $25 adds a year of history, customisable QR codes and five domains.
Best for: Creators who want a bio page and a branded short link from one free account.
Pricing:
- Free: 30 links/month, 1 branded domain, 30 days of history.
- Starter $12/month or $132/year. Single $25/month or $275/year. Team $99/month.
Watch out for:
- Click history older than 30 days is not shown on Free or Starter.
Official site: Cuttly.
Kutt
Kutt's public instance at kutt.to is free and gives you controls shorturl.at lacks. Each link can have a password, an expiry date you set yourself and a description, and you can add custom domains at no cost.
Because Kutt is MIT-licensed software with about 11.1k GitHub stars, you can also run the same app on your own server with SQLite, Postgres or MySQL. That turns a free service into one nobody can switch off for you.
Best for: Free users who want to decide themselves when a link expires.
Pricing:
- kutt.to: free; a Premium link is shown with no public price.
- Self-hosted: free, open source (MIT).
Watch out for:
- Make sure you are on kutt.to. The README says the old kutt.it domain no longer belongs to the project and may host phishing.
Official site: Kutt.
Dub
Dub is a newer shortener with a polished dashboard and a free tier: 25 new links a month, 1,000 tracked events, three custom domains and 30 days of analytics. It suits people who want shorturl.at's simplicity plus an API.
Its core code is open source under AGPLv3, with about 24.9k stars on GitHub, and the README explains how to self-host. Pro costs $27 a month billed yearly, which hands over 12,000 new links and 600,000 events upfront, or $30 a month with 1,000 new links each month.
Best for: Developers and small teams who want free links with an API and readable stats.
Pricing:
- Free: 25 new links/month, 1,000 tracked events/month, 3 custom domains.
- Pro $27 a month billed yearly ($30 monthly). Business $81 billed yearly ($90 monthly). Advanced $270 billed yearly ($300 monthly) (pricing page, monthly prices).
Watch out for:
- At 25 new links a month, the free plan makes fewer links than the 30 that TinyURL or Cuttly allow.
Official site: Dub.
YOURLS
YOURLS means your links expire only when you decide. It is a free MIT-licensed PHP app you install on your own hosting, with click history, referrer tracking, visitor locations, bookmarklets and plugins.
Setup takes a short domain, a PHP 8.1 host and a MySQL database. The latest release, 1.10.6 from August 30, carries the security hardening that 1.10.5 added two days earlier, so the project is clearly still maintained.
Best for: Site owners with basic hosting who want permanent links and full stats for free.
Pricing:
- Free, open source (MIT). Hosting and domain not included.
Watch out for:
- Security updates are your job. Update to 1.10.6, or your server keeps holes such as the unauthenticated file inclusion that 1.10.5 closed.
Official site: YOURLS.
Rebrandly
Rebrandly is aimed at marketers rather than one-off sharing. Its free plan has one custom domain plus rebrand.ly, 10 links and 10 QR codes a month.
Paid plans carry the weight. Essentials, at $8 a month yearly or $11 monthly, includes 250 links, 10,000 tracked clicks, 250 QR codes and two domains, which covers a small shop's campaigns.
Best for: Small businesses that print QR codes and want them on their own branded domain.
Pricing:
- Free: 10 links/month, 1 custom domain.
- Essentials $8/month yearly or $11 monthly. Professional $22 or $32. Growth $104 (yearly) or $149 (monthly).
Watch out for:
- Free engagement data covers only 100 clicks a month, so free stats are thinner than shorturl.at's simple counter suggests you need.
Official site: Rebrandly.
How to choose
| If you need | Pick |
|---|---|
| A free link that never expires | TinyURL |
| Detailed free stats on your own domain | Short.io |
| A free bio page plus a branded link | Cuttly |
| Passwords and self-chosen expiry dates for free | Kutt |
| A free plan with an API | Dub |
| Permanent links with no vendor at all | YOURLS |
| Branded QR codes for print | Rebrandly |
When to stay with ShortURL
Keep using shorturl.at for throwaway links that get clicked within days, such as a link in a chat or a one-time form. It needs no setup, it counts clicks, and it costs nothing. Do not use it for anything printed or archived, because a quiet month can disable the link and hand the slug to someone else.
Frequently asked questions
Do shorturl.at links expire?
In effect, yes. The terms say a short URL without at least one click in a month is disabled. A link that keeps getting clicks stays active, but there is no date you can rely on.
Is shorturl.at safe to use?
The terms say the team analyzes every URL created, and they list banned content from phishing and malware to pop-ups and redirect chains, and say reported links are deleted without notice. The bigger risk is reuse, since a disabled slug can be given to another user.
What is the best free alternative to ShortURL?
Does shorturl.at have a paid plan?
Yes, the homepage advertises premium features such as custom short links, a dashboard, an API, a UTM builder and app integrations, but it does not show a price there.
