The best free URL shorteners, compared honestly
Free tiers differ enormously in what they meter. Here is what each actually gives you before the paywall.
By ShortFreeURL Team · 3 July 2026
What "free" usually means
Free tiers meter one of four things: links created, clicks tracked, custom domains, or feature access. Knowing which one your usage will hit first tells you how long free will last.
Generous on links
TinyURL allows unlimited anonymous links but gives you almost no analytics. ShortFreeURL's free plan allows 1,000 branded links, 5 custom domains and 50,000 tracked clicks a month, with the full editor except the Pro-gated controls.
Generous on features, tight on volume
Several platforms give near-full features on a small allowance — 25 links a month is common. Fine for personal use, painful for a real campaign.
The custom domain question
Most free tiers give you zero custom domains, which means your links carry someone else's brand. This is the single biggest practical difference between free tiers, because it determines whether your links can move with you later.
Watch the retention clock
Free analytics often expire after 30 or 90 days. If you need to compare this quarter to last, check retention before you commit — it is the limit people discover latest and regret most.
When free is genuinely enough
A personal site, a single link-in-bio page, a handful of QR codes on a menu. If you are running campaigns you report on, the $5-ish tier of any serious platform pays for itself the first time you avoid reprinting a poster.