Disclosure: Lewati is not a link shortener and is not paid by any service below. There are no affiliate links. Plan limits were checked on each provider’s pricing or help pages in October 2026 and change often.
The short answer
The best Bitly alternatives for creators in 2026 are Dub if you want a modern free plan with your own domain, Short.io if you want a large free link allowance on a custom domain, and Rebrandly if branding matters more than volume. For an Indonesian audience, s.id is the familiar local choice, and if you have a server, self-hosted YOURLS gives you full control at the cost of hosting. The main reason people are leaving Bitly’s free tier is simple: free links now show a preview page with an ad before your audience reaches you.
What changed with Bitly
Bitly’s support center says it now uses ads on free accounts, through an interstitial page that shows a preview of the link destination and an ad. If you want it gone, you need a paid plan. Links made with Bitly’s old anonymous shortener, now discontinued, also show ads and cannot be edited; Bitly’s advice is to recreate them in a paid account.
The free plan itself is small. Bitly lists 5 short links and 2 QR codes per month, 2 custom landing pages, 3 custom back-halves and 1,000 API requests. Paid plans start at Core, $10 a month billed annually, for 100 links a month.
For a creator, the ad page is the bigger problem. You worked to earn that click, and the first thing your fan sees is someone else’s ad and a countdown. It also teaches your audience to sit through interstitial pages, which is exactly the habit that scammers rely on.
What makes a short link clean and safe
Before comparing services, here is the checklist I use. A good short link for an audience should:
- Go straight to the destination, with no ad or countdown page in between.
- Use a domain people can recognise, ideally your own (go.yourname.com) so the link itself says who sent it.
- Have a readable back-half, like /spring-sale rather than /x7Kq2, so people can guess what they will get.
- Not chain through other shorteners. One hop. Every extra redirect is something your audience cannot see.
- Stay pointed where you put it. Destination editing is useful, but treat it with care: a changed link that people already trusted is a trust problem if you get it wrong.
And one rule for creators specifically: do not use pay-per-view shorteners such as exe.io or adf.ly for an audience you care about. You earn a little, and your fans get ad pages you do not control, which is why tools like ours exist in the first place.
Bitly alternatives compared
| Service | Free plan | Ad or preview page on free links | Own domain on free | Paid from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitly | 5 links and 2 QR codes a month | Yes, a preview page with an ad | No | $10/month (Core, billed annually) |
| Dub | 25 new links a month, 1,000 tracked events, 30-day analytics | Not mentioned on its pricing page | Yes, up to 3 | $30/month (Pro) |
| Short.io | 1,000 branded links in total, 50,000 tracked clicks a month | Not mentioned on its pricing page | Yes, up to 5 | $5/month (Hobby) |
| Rebrandly | 10 links and 10 QR codes a month | Not mentioned on its pricing page | Yes, a free yourbrand.bio domain | $9/month (Essentials, annual) |
| TinyURL | Free account available | Can appear; TinyURL has a help article about it | Paid plans | $9/month ($108/year) |
| s.id | Up to 8 new links a day, up to 30 days of analytics | Not mentioned | Eligible paid plans | See s.id plans |
| YOURLS (self-hosted) | Free, open source (MIT) | None, it is your server | Yes, your own | Hosting only |
“Not mentioned” means the provider’s pricing page does not list an ad or preview page for free links. Test one of your own links before you commit, because terms can change, as Bitly’s did.
Dub: the modern pick for most creators
Who it is for: creators and small teams who want a clean dashboard, their own short domain, and room to grow.
Dub’s free plan includes 25 new links a month, 1,000 tracked events, up to 3 custom domains, QR codes, UTM templates and API access, with 30 days of analytics history. The code is open source, which is reassuring if you ever want to leave or self-host. Pro is $30 a month for 1,000 new links and a year of analytics.
- Pros: custom domains on the free plan, good analytics, open-source codebase.
- Cons: 25 links a month runs out quickly for daily posters, and the jump to paid is steep for a hobbyist.
Short.io: the most links on a free plan
Who it is for: people who already own a domain and want lots of branded links without paying.
Short.io’s free plan gives you 1,000 branded links in total (a lifetime allowance, not monthly), up to 5 custom domains and 50,000 tracked clicks a month. Its FAQ says commercial use is allowed on the free plan, and that links keep working after you pass the statistics limit; only the detailed stats are restricted. The Hobby plan is $5 a month.
- Pros: generous allowance, multiple custom domains free, clear terms about what happens at the limit.
- Cons: you need your own domain and a few minutes of DNS setup, which puts some people off.
Rebrandly: branding first
Who it is for: creators who post a handful of important links a month and want them to look like their brand.
Rebrandly’s free plan includes 10 links and 10 QR codes a month, the rebrand.ly domain, and one free custom domain on .bio, plus a link-in-bio gallery that carries a Rebrandly watermark on the free tier. Essentials is $9 a month on annual billing for 250 links a month and 2 custom domains.
- Pros: strong branding tools, a free branded domain without buying one.
- Cons: 10 links a month is tight, and analytics on the free plan are limited.
TinyURL: familiar, but read the terms
TinyURL is the name most people know after Bitly. Its paid plans start at $9 a month ($108 a year) for 125 links a month, unlimited tracked clicks and 3 branded domains. Before relying on the free tier, read TinyURL’s help center: it has an article explaining why some links show an ad or a preview screen before redirecting. Some TinyURL links also sit behind bot protection, which is why tools like Lewati cannot always expand them.
s.id: the local choice for Indonesian audiences
If your audience is in Indonesia, s.id links are already familiar, and familiarity is part of trust. The free plan allows up to 8 new short links a day with custom aliases, QR codes and up to 30 days of analytics, with custom domains on eligible paid plans. For a creator posting a few links a day, that is plenty.
Self-hosting: YOURLS, Kutt and Shlink
Who it is for: people comfortable running a small server who want zero limits and full ownership.
YOURLS (“Your Own URL Shortener”) is a set of PHP scripts released under the MIT licence; you install it on your own hosting and domain and get stats, plugins and an API. Kutt is a free, open-source alternative with custom domains, password-protected links and expiry times. Shlink is another PHP option built for self-hosting. The trade-off is maintenance: updates, backups and abuse handling are on you.
Which one I would choose
- A few links a week, own domain wanted: Dub free.
- Many links, own domain already bought: Short.io free.
- Mostly Indonesian audience: s.id free.
- Brand-heavy, low volume: Rebrandly.
- Technical, wants control: YOURLS on your own domain.
- Need Bitly’s brand recognition and ecosystem: stay on Bitly, but pay for a plan so your audience does not see the ad page.
Test your link the way your audience sees it
Whatever you choose, check the finished short link before you post it. Paste it into Lewati and look at the Real URL: it should be your page, reached directly. If you see another shortener, a preview page or an unexpected domain, fix it before your followers find it for you.
It is also worth knowing how your followers check links. Our guide on how to tell whether a short link is safe is the routine careful people use, and a clean, branded, one-hop link passes it easily. For the other side of the story, how shortlink skippers work explains why ad-gated links frustrate people.
Frequently asked questions
Does Bitly’s free plan show ads?
Yes. Bitly’s support center says free accounts now get an interstitial page that shows a preview of the destination and an ad. Removing it requires a paid plan.
What is the best free Bitly alternative?
For most creators, Dub (25 links a month with up to 3 custom domains) or Short.io (1,000 branded links in total with up to 5 custom domains). For Indonesian audiences, s.id’s free plan allows up to 8 new links a day.
Can I move my existing Bitly links to another service?
Not directly. A bit.ly link always redirects through Bitly. You can recreate the links on a new service and update them where they are posted. On your own domain you avoid this problem next time, because you can point the domain at any shortener.
Should I use a paid-per-click shortener to earn from my links?
I would not for an audience you care about. Services like exe.io pay per view by putting ads and countdowns in front of your link, which annoys your followers and exposes them to ads you do not control.