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10 Best URL Shorteners To Shrink And Track Links In 2024 | Integrately

Abhishek Agrawal
By Abhishek A Agrawal
April 18, 2024
Table of Contents

    Long URLs with random letters and numbers are hard to remember and come off as untrustworthy. It is a best practice for marketers, business owners, bloggers, or any individual who uses and promotes links to customize URLs. Aside from shortening and making them look better, these tools help you avoid broken links, track link clicks, view your total clicks per month, and even find out your click-through rate.

    Read on to learn more about popular URL shorteners!

    RELATED: Top 10 Best Time Blocking Apps in 2024

    What Makes A Great URL Shortener?

    A basic URL shortener tool trims down lengthy links for you. A great URL shortening service, on the other hand:

    • Allows you to customize your links easily 

    • Allows easy sharing to your social media platforms

    • Provides click tracking or real-time analytics on the people who click your links

    What Are The Benefits Of Using URL Shorteners?

    Lengthy URL links can be intimidating, and they also take up more space and character count. The main benefit of using a custom URL shortener is that it creates shorter and more aesthetically pleasing links that people will actually want to click on.

    Choosing The Right URL Shortener

    Choosing the right link generator for you is all about finding what benefits stand out to you the most. Most of the time, it’s about finding the right URL shortener services that are easiest to use and come at a good price.

    Understanding URL Shortener Price Tags

    While many link shorteners are free, there are some features that can only be unlocked with a paid plan. The good news is that it’s not that expensive, considering the benefits of shortening your links.

    How We Evaluated The Best URL Shorteners

    We evaluated the best link shorteners based on the following:

    • Ease of use: How easy they are to use versus other URL shorteners

    • Benefits to the user: Features that are helpful for customizing and tracking links

    • Unique features: Unique things you can do with each app

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    Our Top Picks For The Best URL Shorteners For 2024

    Here’s our shortlist of the best URL shorteners on the market:

    Bitly

    Bitly is one of the most convenient and well-known URL shorteners in the world.. Bitly lets you shorten a link in just a few clicks without having to sign up. You can also connect Bitly with different apps on Integrately.

    Pros

    • Shorten links easily via its simple interface

    • Free version is enough for basic URL shortening and tracking needs

    Cons

    • Limited data on link tracking of up to 30 days

    • Can’t edit old links

    • Limited customer support

    Pricing

    Bitly is free but offers basic, premium, and enterprise plans. Price starts at $29/month.

    Rebrandly

    Rebrandly is a full-service link shortener that allows you to brand your links with a personalized domain name of your choosing. You can also connect Integrately with Rebrandly for dozens of automations.

    Pros

    • Very intuitive and easy to navigate even for beginners

    • In-depth analytics on top of clicks per link

    • Allows you to share the dashboard with your colleagues

    • Allows editing of shortened URLs

    Cons

    • Limited features for its free service

    Pricing

    While Rebrandly has a free service, most features can be unlocked with their Starter plan ($29/month). The Pro and Premium plans are priced at $89/month and $499/month respectively.

    TinyURL

    Similar to Bit.ly, TinyURL is very easy to use, so beginners will not have a hard time. It also lets you shorten URLs without having to sign up. 

    Pros

    • Access unlimited links even with the free account

    • Links never expire

    Cons

    • The free version is heavy on ads

    Pricing

    The Pro plan is only $9.99/month or $119.88/year.

    BL.INK

    BL.INK allows you to get in-depth tracking of your customized links, so it’s best for small businesses that want to review every stage in the customer journey. You can also automate BL.INK processes with different apps through Integrately.

    Pros

    • Variety of plans that allow you to choose the features you need

    • Manage and monitor your customer engagements

    Cons

    • Not as intuitive for some users

    Pricing

    Expert plans are priced at $48/month.

    Shorby

    Social media marketers will find Shorby very useful, as this tool leverages your social media apps to get potential customers.

    Pros

    • Can create micro pages for your social media platforms

    • Best for mobile devices

    Cons

    • No free service

    Pricing

    Shorby’s basic plan is called the Rocket plan and starts at $12/month, while the Pro plan is priced at $24/month.

    Short.io

    Short.io is a business-friendly tool that does more than just customize your links. It also provides detailed statistics that every business owner will find useful.

    Pros

    • Can generate QR codes for printed materials such as posters/flyers

    • Can set the expiry of your links

    Cons

    • Only one user for the free plan

    Pricing

    Short.io offers a personal plan for just $20/month. It also has Team and Enterprise plans for bigger groups.

    Sniply

    Sniply is a simple tool that allows you to brand your links with a personalized domain name of your choosing. Its brands your URLs after shortening them, making your links stand out. 

    Pros

    • Allow you to add a call-to-action after shortening the URL

    • Has a lot of advanced features for businesses and affiliate marketers

    Cons

    • No free service

    Pricing

    Sniplys’s pricing starts at $29/month for the Basic plan.

    Ow.ly

    Ow.ly has been the go-to link shortener since it was launched in 2008. It has since been integrated into Hootsuite to make it more secure for its users.

    Pros

    • Beginner-friendly interface

    • Can manage your social media platforms from the dashboard

    Cons

    • Need Hootsuite to access Ow.ly.

    Pricing

    The cheapest plan for Hootsuite access is $49/month.

    T2M

    T2M prides itself on having everything you need from a link management platform. If you’re looking for advanced features from your URL shortener, check out T2M’s Pro and Premium plans.

    Pros

    • Excellent customer support

    • Advanced analytics and reports

    Cons

    • Doesn’t allow redirect 404 error pages for basic accounts

    Pricing

    T2M’s Standard plan is priced at $9.99/month.

    ClickMeter

    ClickMeter is perfect for marketers who would like to have more tools at their disposal for digital work. It is also used for affiliate marketing.

    Pros

    • Web-based URL that can be accessed easily

    • Simple Analytics for reports

    Cons

    • No free version

    Pricing

    ClickMeter pricing starts at $29/month.

    What’s The Best URL Shortener For You?

    You can check out the available URL shorteners on this list to find out which app best suits your needs. As most link shorteners are pretty similar across the board in terms of features and pricing, choose one that’s easy to use and learn.

    Conclusion

    There are many benefits to customizing and branding links, so make it a habit to shorten and track your URLs with the help of URL shortener apps. You can also maximize your URLs with Integrately. It’s so easy to use, even for beginners – just set the automation for each app and let Integrately do the work for you.

    RELATED: Top 8 Best Landing Page Builders in 2024

    FAQs about URL shorteners

    How to create customized branded short links?

    To create customized branded short links, input the URL in the app and then edit the link with your custom branding.

    What happened to Google’s URL shortener goo.gl?

    Google deactivated its URL shortener goo.gl service in 2019.

    How can I shorten a URL for free?

    To shorten a URL for free, choose among the free versions of the URL shorteners available in the list.

    Is it safe to shorten a URL?

    It’s safe to shorten a URL as the URL shortener app does nothing more than shorten an already existing URL. You don’t have to provide any backend access to customize and shorten your links.
    Abhishek Agrawal
    Author - Abhishek A Agrawal
    Abhishek is the founder of Integrately, CompanyHub, and Dreamwares. He is passionate about technology and entrepreneurship. He is always looking to leverage technology for the growth of the business. He has a deep understanding of how businesses work and uses this knowledge to build products that help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

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