Comparisons
Bitly's free plan in 2026, and short links without ads or caps
Bitly's free plan allows 5 links and 2 QR codes a month, and it comes with ads. Here are free options without caps or ads, checked on each vendor's own site.
Bitly's free plan, labeled "With Ads" on its pricing page, allows 5 short links and 2 QR codes a month. Its cheapest paid plan, Core, costs $10 a month, billed yearly at $120. If you want short links with no monthly cap and no ads, Links is free and needs no account.
What Bitly's free plan gives you
From Bitly's pricing page, on October 19, 2026:
- 5 short links a month.
- 2 QR codes a month.
- 3 custom back-halves (your own ending, like
/spring-menu) a month. - Ads, as the plan's name says.
For a business that lives on links, Bitly's paid plans do a lot, including branded domains and detailed analytics. For someone who needs a dozen links for a flyer, a newsletter and a few posts, the free plan runs out fast, and it comes with ads.
The free alternatives
OpenApps Links
Links is ours. It is free, with no limit on links or QR codes.
- Pick a custom ending, like
/spring-menu, or get a short random one. - Change where a link goes any time. The short link and its QR code stay the same, even after printing.
- QR codes as PNG or SVG, in your colors.
- A click count for each link.
- No ad page. Opening a short link goes straight to its destination.
- Links never expire. A link stops working only if you turn it off.
- A public API, so an AI assistant can shorten a link in one call.
There is no account. Each short link comes with a private edit link instead. Keep it, because it is how you change the link and see its clicks.
Where it falls short: no custom domain, so your links use the Links address, not yours. Click counts only, with no breakdown by country, device or referrer. No team accounts.
TinyURL
TinyURL is one of the oldest short link services. Its pricing page loads its plans in a way we could not read, so we leave its limits out rather than guess.
Rebrandly
Rebrandly focuses on branded links on your own domain. Its free plan allows 10 links a month. Worth a look if a custom domain matters most to you.
Self-hosted and open source
YOURLS, Shlink and Kutt are open source link shorteners you can run on your own server and domain. No caps and full control, and the upkeep is yours.
A quick comparison
| Tool | Free plan | Sign-up to start | Account needed for people who open the link | Open source | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Links (ours) | No limit on links or QR codes, no ads | No | No | Source is public, no license yet | Links |
| Bitly | 5 links and 2 QR codes a month, with ads | Yes | No | No | Bitly pricing |
| Rebrandly | 10 links a month | Yes | No | No | Rebrandly pricing |
Checked on October 19, 2026. Each row links to the page we read.
Switching from Bitly
- Keep any Bitly QR codes you have already printed running. Reprinting is the expensive part, and those codes depend on Bitly.
- For everything new, paste the long link into Links, pick an ending, and copy the short link or download its QR code.
- Save each edit link somewhere safe, like a password manager or a note.
If QR codes are the main reason you are here, read why "free" QR codes stop working.
Why Links can be free
A click on a short link is one tiny read from a database. OpenApps pays for it, and there is no paid plan to push you toward. More in why these apps are free.
Questions
How many links can you make on Bitly's free plan?
5 short links and 2 QR codes a month, on a plan Bitly calls "Free, With Ads", according to its pricing page on October 19, 2026. Its Core plan costs $10 a month, billed yearly.
Is there a free URL shortener without ads?
Yes. OpenApps Links is free with no ads: a short link goes straight to its destination. There is no limit on links or QR codes, no account, and links never expire.
Can I change where a short link goes after sharing it?
With OpenApps Links, yes. Open the link's private edit link and paste a new address. The short link and its QR code stay the same, so anything already shared or printed opens the new page.
Can I use my own domain with Links?
No. OpenApps Links uses its own short address for every link. If a branded domain matters, Rebrandly, Bitly's paid plans or a self-hosted shortener like YOURLS can use your domain.
Do short links from Links expire?
No. OpenApps Links never expires a link or turns it off. Only the owner can turn a link off, from its private edit link.