In the digital world, URL and Link Shorteners help businesses build their brands and simplify communication. They are an efficient way to shorten long URLs into shorter versions that are easier to share across different platforms such as social media, email, SMS, and printed material. With the right link shortener, you can boost click-through rates, track clicks and measure performance, create custom-branded links, reduce broken links, and make URLs more memorable for your audience.
What are Link Shortener and URL Shortener?
URL and Link Shorteners are services that take a long URL and shorten it into a shorter, more manageable version. They can also help you track clicks and measure performance, create custom shortened links with branding, reduce broken links, and make URLs more memorable for your audience.
Top 12+ Best URL and Link Shorteners of 2023
- Bitly
- Rebrandly
- Short.io
- Clkim
- Ow.ly
- Shorby
- Tiny.cc
- Sniply
- BL.INK
- T2M
- Zapier
- Chl.li
Bitly
Bitly is an easy-to-use and reliable link shortener that comes with both free and paid versions. Not only does it allow you to quickly shorten long links, but it also enables marketers to track and optimize their campaigns by measuring performance.
The free account of Bitly allows users the ability to create custom URLs for branding purposes. Additionally, users can share their shortened links on social media platforms to increase traffic and engagement.
The paid version of Bitly takes things a step further by providing a detailed dashboard that allows you to monitor link performance. You can view detailed analytics such as user location, clicks, and shares for each hour in order to gain insights
Price
- Free
- Basic: $29 per month with annual billing
- Premium: Starts at $199 per month with annual billing
- Enterprise: Custom Pricing
- Free Trial: Yes | 30 days
Key Feature
- Custom URL shortener for branding purposes
- Measure campaign performance to track and optimize digital marketing efforts
- Detailed dashboard to monitor link performance, including user location, clicks, and shares on social media platforms
- Ability to drill down on data by the hour.
- Customizable slugs and domain.
- Unlimited branded links for the paid versions.
- Free version to create and share shortened links on social media platforms.
Rebrandly
Rebrandly is a powerful and flexible link customization tool that enables users to create customized, branded short links. This tool has numerous features that make it an excellent choice for anyone looking to create branded links.
One of the best things about Rebrandly is that it allows users to customize the entire short URL. This means that users can choose a custom domain name and create a short link that is entirely unique to their brand. Customizing the entire URL is essential because it enables users to create memorable, easy-to-remember short links that are more likely to be clicked.
Another benefit of Rebrandly is that it offers advanced branded link management features. These features include QR code generation and link analytics. With QR code generation, users can create QR codes that can be scanned by mobile devices.
Price
- Free
- Starter: $24 per month with annual billing
- Pro: $75 per month with annual billing
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Key Feature
- 301 redirects that pass the short links’ SEO value to the target URL
- Easy-to-use dashboard for monitoring and analyzing short links
- Integration with popular tools like Zapier, Bitly, and Google Analytics
- Collaboration tools for teams to manage and create branded links together
- Best Google URL shortener alternatives.
Short.io
Short.io is a powerful URL-shortening tool that offers several useful features for businesses and individuals who want to create customized and trackable links. One of the most significant advantages of this tool is that it allows users to send different links based on the location or device of the user. This feature is beneficial for businesses that want to create personalized links for specific groups of users.
Another advantage of Short.io is that it allows users to select the default domain for shortened links. This is particularly useful for businesses that want to maintain brand consistency across all of their links.
Price
- Free
- Personal: $16.66 per month with annual billing
- Team: $41.66 per month with annual billing
Key Feature
- Customized links based on the location or device of the user
- Default domain selection for shortened links
- Vital statistics tracking for link performance
- Campaign tracking to monitor marketing campaign performance
Clkim
Clkim is a powerful URL platform that offers several useful features for affiliate marketers. One of the main advantages of this tool is that it allows users to monetize links through custom-branded links. This is a useful feature for those who want to create links that are easily recognizable and branded with their own company name or logo.
Another significant advantage of Clkim is that it enables users to segment users and re-target them to monetize traffic. This is a useful feature for affiliate marketers who want to target specific groups of users with customized links and advertisements.
Price
- Analyze: $10 per month with annual billing
- Optimize: $70 per month with annual billing
Key Feature
- Custom-branded links for monetization
- User segmentation and retargeting for traffic monetization
- Analysis of traffic by location and device
- Smart geo-specific redirects
Ow.ly
Ow.ly is a powerful URL shortener tool that is a part of the Hootsuite suite of social media management tools. This platform enables users to shorten their URLs quickly and easily, making it a useful tool for social media marketing campaigns.
One of the main advantages of Ow.ly is its ability to measure the traffic and social ROI of the links. This feature is essential for those who want to track the performance of their campaigns and optimize their marketing efforts. The tool provides detailed analytics that help users to understand how their links are performing and make data-driven decisions to improve their results.
Price
- Professional: $49 per month with annual billing
- Team: $129 per month with annual billing
Key Feature
- URL shortening for social media marketing
- Ability to measure traffic and social ROI of links
- Detailed link analytics and performance tracking
- Intuitive dashboard screen for easy link performance viewing
Shorby
Shorby is a user-friendly and easy-to-use URL shortening tool that is used for anyone who needs to share links on other platforms. One unique feature of this tool is its tracking pixels, which allow you to monitor the performance of your links in real-time.
With Shorby, you can easily create short links that are easy to share and remember. You can also customize the links with your own domain and aliases to make them more brandable. The tool is also optimized for mobile, making it easy to use on the go.
Price
- Rocket: $12 per month with annual billing
- Rocket: $24 per month with annual billing
Key Feature
- Easy-to-use URL shortening tool
- Tracking pixels for real-time link performance monitoring
- Customizable links with own domain and alias
- Optimized for mobile
- Copy links to clipboard for easy sharing
Tiny.cc
Tiny.cc is a simple and straightforward URL shortening tool that provides basic features to shorten links. One of its key features is the ability to customize the text of the shortened link, which can be useful for branding purposes or for making the link more memorable.
The tool has a premium version that provides additional benefits, such as increased click limits and link analysis. This can be helpful for those who need to track the performance of their shortened links more closely.
Price
- Free
- Basic: 4.58 per month with annual billing
- Business: $22.91 per month with annual billing
Key Feature
- Basic URL shortening: Tiny.cc allows you to quickly and easily shorten long URLs.
- Customizable link text: You can customize the text that appears in the shortened link.
- Premium version: The premium version of Tiny.cc includes higher click limits and link analysis.
Sniply
Sniply is a URL customization tool that allows users to add a unique Call To Action to their links. This feature is especially useful for digital marketers who want to leverage the power of shared links to drive traffic and conversions. With Sniply, users can create a customized CTA that will appear on top of the shared link, prompting the viewer to take a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter, downloading an ebook, or registering for a webinar.
In addition to CTAs, Sniply also provides link-tracking features that allow users to monitor and analyze the performance of their shared links.
Price
- Basic: $25 per month with annual billing
- Pro: $66 per month with annual billing
- Business: $125 per month with annual billing
Key Feature
- Adds customizable CTA to any link
- Link tracking to analyze user interaction
- Social media integration
- Customizable branding and design
- URL shortening and link management
BL.INK
BL.INK is a powerful URL-shortening tool that is ideal for small business owners. It provides a full suite of features to create shortened links, monitor link performance, and analyze user engagement. One of the key features of BL.INK is the ability to customize your links with your own branded domain name, which adds credibility to your brand and ensures that your links are easily recognizable to your audience.
Another important feature of BL.INK is the link-tracking functionality. This feature allows you to track user interactions with your links and gather data about the performance of your campaigns. The tool provides detailed reports on clicks, geographic locations, and devices used to access your links.
Price
- Expert+: 48 per month
- SMB: $99 per month
- Team: $299 per month
Key Feature
- Link shortening: BL.INK allows you to shorten long and complex URLs to make them easier to share.
- Custom domains: You can use your own custom domain name to create branded short links, which can help increase brand recognition and credibility.
- Link tracking and analytics: BL.INK provides detailed analytics and reports that help you track link performance, including clicks, referrers, and more.
T2M
T2M is a URL-shortening tool that simplifies the process of creating shortened links. It offers a quick and efficient way of converting long and complex URLs into shortened links. This tool is especially useful for businesses and individuals who want to share links on social media platforms, emails, or other online channels, but don’t want to use lengthy and cumbersome links.
Price
- Basic: $5 one-time fee
- Standard: $7.49 per month with annual billing
Key Feature
- Custom URLs: T2M allows you to create custom and branded URLs for your links.
- QR codes: You can generate QR codes for your shortened links to share easily.
- Geo-targeting: T2M allows you to geo-target your links to ensure they are reaching the intended audience.
Zapier
URL shortener by Zapier is a powerful tool that allows you to automate the process of creating shortened links. This can save you a lot of time if you need to frequently post links to your social media accounts or other platforms.
One of the standout features of the URL shortener by Zapier is its ability to create a “Zap” that triggers whenever you upload a product or take any other specific action.
Price
- Starter: 19.99 per month with annual billing
- Professional: $49 per month with annual billing
Key Feature
- Automation of link shortening process
- Integration with other apps for seamless link sharing
- Customizable triggers for link creation
- Ability to create Zaps for various actions and events
Chl.li
Chl.li is a simple yet efficient URL-shortening tool. The tool is designed to provide users with a safe and fast link-shortening experience. One of the unique features of Chl.li is that it allows users to shorten links using their API key. This provides a high level of security for users who need to keep their links private.
The tool used to be free, but the company now only offers paid plans.
Price
- Personal: $1 per month with annual billing
- Medium: $12 per month
Key Feature
- Fast URL shortening
- Ability to use API key for URL shortening
- Safe and secure service
- Affordable pricing plans
Conclusion
Overall, URL-shortening tools have become essential for digital marketers, social media managers, and anyone who needs to share links frequently. These tools provide a variety of features, including custom-branded links, link tracking, retargeting, and more. Each tool has its own unique features and pricing plans, so it’s important to research and choose the best option based on individual needs.
FAQS
What are the best link shorteners of 2023?
Some of the best URL and link shorteners of 2023 include Bitly, Rebrandly, ClickMeter, Ow.ly, among others.
Is there a free URL shortener available?
Yes, there are several free URL shorteners available, including Bitly, and Tiny.cc.
What are URL shorteners used for?
URL shorteners are used to shorten long URLs, making them more manageable and easier to share on social media platforms, emails, or any other platform where space is limited.
How do URL shorteners work?
URL shorteners work by taking a long URL and creating a shortened URL that redirects to the original URL when clicked.
Do I need to create an account to use a free URL shortener?
In most cases, creating an account is not required to use a free URL shortener. However, some best URL shorteners offer additional features and benefits to users who create an account.
What are some benefits of using a custom URL slug?
Custom URL slugs allow you to create unique and memorable shortened URLs that are easy for your audience to remember and recognize. This can help with brand recognition and make it easier for people to share your links.
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