Bitly is the most recognised link shortener in the world, and for a lot of teams it is still the right answer.
This comparison exists because of one number: Bitly’s Free plan gives you 5 short links a month.
That single limit sends more people looking for an alternative than any missing feature ever will.
Below is an honest side-by-side of Linko and Bitly, using prices and limits taken from Bitly’s own pricing page on 23 September 2026, including the places where Bitly is genuinely the better buy.
Key Takeaways
- Bitly Free allows 5 links a month. Linko Free allows 50, plus a Bio Page.
- At the same $29 price point, Bitly Growth gives 500 links and 10 QR codes while Linko Pro gives 1,000 links and 25 QR codes.
- Bitly’s entry paid plan is annual only, so there is no month-to-month option at $10.
- Bitly wins on clicks. Every Bitly plan allows unlimited clicks and scans, while Linko caps clicks per plan.
- Bitly wins on AI tooling with assistant integrations and an MCP connector that Linko does not offer.
- Linko covers link shortening, QR codes, Bio Pages and file sharing in one subscription, which suits creators and agencies more than enterprise marketing teams.
What does Bitly actually cost?
Bitly’s pricing is easy to misread because two tiers quote a monthly figure that is only available if you pay for a year.
| Plan | Price | Short links | QR codes | Clicks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 5/mo | 2/mo | Unlimited |
| Core | $10/mo, annual only ($120/yr) | 100/mo | 5/mo | Unlimited |
| Growth | $29/mo annual ($348/yr), or $35 monthly | 500/mo | 10/mo | Unlimited |
| Premium | $199/mo annual ($2,388/yr), or $300 monthly | 3,000/mo | 200/mo | Unlimited |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Custom | Custom | Unlimited |
Why the entry plan is annual only
Bitly’s $10 Core tier cannot be paid monthly, so the real entry commitment is $120 up front.
Worth knowing if you wanted to trial a paid tier for a single campaign.
How does that compare with Linko?
| Plan | Price | Short links | QR codes | Clicks | Branded domains |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 | 2 | 1K | 0 |
| Starter | $12/mo | 250/mo | 7/mo | 20K/mo | 2 |
| Pro | $29/mo | 1,000/mo | 25/mo | 50K/mo | 5 |
| Business | $79/mo | 5,000/mo | 100/mo | 250K/mo | 20 |
| Agency | $149/mo | 25,000/mo | 250/mo | 1M/mo | 50 |
Where the gap is widest
- Free tier: 50 links against 5.
- At $29: 1,000 links and 25 QR codes against 500 links and 10 QR codes.
- At the top: Linko Agency is $149/mo for 25,000 links, while Bitly Premium is $199/mo annual or $300 monthly for 3,000.
- Branded links: Linko includes 2 branded domains on the $12 plan, while Bitly’s branded links require Growth.
Volume is not the whole story though, and analytics history is where the tiers diverge again.
How long does each tool keep your click history?
This is the comparison almost nobody checks before subscribing, and it is the one people regret.
Bitly’s Free plan stores no historical performance data at all.
| Spend | Bitly history | Linko history |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | None | 1 month |
| ~$10 to $12 | 30 days (Core) | 6 months (Starter) |
| $29 | 120 days (Growth) | 1 year (Pro) |
| $79 to $199 | 1 year (Premium, $199) | 2 years (Business, $79) |
If you run seasonal campaigns, a 120 day window cannot show you last year’s performance for the same period.
Export your data on either platform if the comparison matters to you, because retention limits apply to the dashboard, not to spreadsheets you keep yourself.
Where is Bitly genuinely better?
Any comparison that claims the competitor has no advantages is selling, not helping.
Unlimited clicks on every plan
This is the clearest Bitly win and it is not close.
Bitly allows unlimited clicks and unlimited QR scans on every tier including Free, while Linko meters clicks from 1,000 on Free up to 1 million on Agency.
Bitly’s model fits you better, and Linko’s does not, if you are:
- Running one link in a television or outdoor campaign.
- Putting a QR code on retail packaging at scale.
- Sending high-volume transactional SMS from a handful of links.
AI assistant integrations
Bitly lists integrations with ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Perplexity, an in-product assistant, AI-generated custom back-halves, and a Model Context Protocol connector.
Linko has an API, a Chrome extension and a Telegram bot, but no equivalent AI assistant layer.
Domain tooling
Bitly bundles more domain tooling than Linko does:
- A complimentary custom domain on paid tiers.
- A domain finder and one-step setup inside the product.
- A root router, so a bare domain still sends visitors somewhere.
- A 404 fixer for mistyped links.
With Linko you connect a domain you already own, which is cheaper if you have one and more work if you do not.
Named integrations
Bitly publishes direct integrations including Shopify and Canva, which is useful if your links are created inside those tools.
Recognition and procurement
A bit.ly link is instantly familiar to almost every internet user, and that familiarity affects whether people click.
Bitly also has an Enterprise tier with custom terms, which matters when a procurement team is involved.
What do both tools do equally well?
These are parity features, so they should not decide your choice.
Link basics
- Custom back-halves, so
bit.ly/2ZonlUzorlinko.me/x9kbecomes a readable path. - Branded custom domains on paid plans.
- Editable destinations, so a printed link can be repointed later.
- Bulk creation by CSV upload.
- Link expiration and scheduling.
Tracking and targeting
- Click analytics with location, device and referrer data.
- UTM parameters for campaign tracking.
- Country and device based routing.
QR codes and pages
- QR codes with logos, colours, frames and SVG export.
- A landing page builder, called Custom Landing Pages by Bitly and Bio Pages by Linko.
Older versions of this article claimed Bitly had no link expiration and no geographic or device targeting, and that was wrong.
Bitly lists Link Expiration and Dynamic Routing by country, platform, region and device on its pricing page, so we have corrected it here.
Where is Linko better?
Volume for the money
Covered in the tables above, and volume for the money is the main reason people switch.
Redirect behaviour you control
Linko offers direct redirects, link cloaking, promo pages and CTA overlays, plus 301, 302 and 307 header codes from the Starter plan.
You can also hide the referrer, password protect a link, cap it by click count, and set an expiry redirect.
Bot filtering built into analytics
Linko runs a nine layer bot detection system before a click is counted, automatically, on every plan including Free.
That matters more than it sounds, because more than half of web traffic is automated, and our guide to bot traffic in link analytics explains how to read the difference.
Bio Pages with real widgets
Linko includes 48+ widgets and 35+ themes, with age restriction, sensitive content notices, subscriber gates, and country and language targeting per widget on every plan.
Bitly’s Custom Landing Pages are capped at 2 to 20 pages and are a lighter tool, so if the bio page is central to your work, start with our complete link in bio guide.
Built for client and agency work
- Campaigns and channels for organising client work, covered in managing and organising short links.
- Reusable UTM templates, explained in our UTM tag guide.
- Client portal and team access scoped by domain.
- A/B testing and link rotation on the Business plan.
Protection and upkeep
- Shield Protection, which shows crawlers and datacenter traffic a neutral page instead of your destination.
- Broken link detection with daily digest emails.
- File sharing with a branded download page.
Which one should you choose?
| If you are | Pick | Because |
|---|---|---|
| A few links with very high traffic | Bitly | Unlimited clicks on every plan |
| An enterprise with procurement and SSO requirements | Bitly | Enterprise tier and custom terms |
| Running link work through AI assistants | Bitly | Assistant integrations and MCP |
| A creator or affiliate on a tight budget | Linko | 50 free links, branded domain at $12 |
| An agency managing many clients | Linko | 25,000 links at $149, campaigns, client portal |
| Needing bio pages and QR codes too | Linko | One subscription covers all three |
| Sharing links on strict social platforms | Linko | Shield Protection and cloaking controls |
The three numbers that decide it
- Links per month. Under 5 and Bitly Free works. Over 100 and Linko is cheaper at every tier.
- Clicks per month. Above roughly 1 million, Bitly’s unlimited model wins outright.
- History you need. If you compare year on year, Bitly requires Premium at $199 while Linko covers it at $29.
If you only need a handful of links and never hit the 5 per month ceiling, Bitly Free is a perfectly sensible choice and you do not need to switch.
Bitly is rarely the only tool on the shortlist, so it is worth reading the two closest rivals with the same method.
- Rebrandly also allows unlimited clicks, and matches Linko on links at entry level.
- Replug offers unlimited link counts, though its click ceilings stop at 250,000.
How do you move your links off Bitly?
What does not move
Be realistic about one thing first.
Existing bit.ly links cannot be transferred.
They live on Bitly’s domain, so anything already printed or posted keeps pointing there.
What you can move is your own branded domain, which is exactly why one is worth having before you need it.
The five step move
- Export your Bitly links and click data while your plan is still active.
- Connect your custom domain to the new account.
- Recreate active links with the same back-halves so the paths match.
- Update the links you still control, such as bios, email footers and website buttons.
- Keep the Bitly plan running until the old links stop receiving meaningful traffic.
For bulk recreation, see how to shorten links in bulk, and for the branding case, read branded links versus generic links.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a free alternative to Bitly?
Yes, and the free tiers differ a lot.
Linko’s free plan includes 50 short links, 2 QR codes and 1 Bio Page, against Bitly’s 5 links and 2 QR codes.
Why did Bitly reduce its free plan?
Bitly moved its free tier toward a trial of the paid product rather than a long-term free tool.
Five links a month is enough to evaluate it and not enough to run a campaign on.
Can I keep my bit.ly links if I switch?
No, because those links use Bitly’s domain.
Links on your own branded domain can follow you to any provider, which is the strongest practical argument for using one.
Is Bitly still worth paying for?
For high-traffic links, enterprise buyers and AI-assisted workflows, yes.
For creators and agencies who need volume, bio pages and QR codes in one place, the value is harder to justify.
Does Linko limit clicks?
Yes, and this is the honest tradeoff against Bitly.
Plans run from 1,000 clicks on Free to 1 million a month on Agency, so check your traffic against the tier before switching.
Does Bitly Free include analytics history?
No, historical performance data is not included on the Free plan.
Core gives 30 days and Growth gives 120 days, while Linko’s Free plan keeps 1 month and Pro keeps a year.
Which is better for QR codes?
Both support logos, colours, frames and SVG export, with unlimited scans on Bitly and 14 QR types on Linko.
The deciding factor is usually volume, where Linko gives 25 a month at $29 against Bitly’s 10.
The short version
Bitly is a mature product with unlimited clicks, strong domain tooling and an AI layer Linko has not matched.
Linko gives you far more links, QR codes and bio pages for the same money, plus redirect and protection controls that creators actually use.
Pick on the constraint that will bite you first, which is clicks for Bitly and link volume for everyone else.
You can create a free Linko account and test 50 links against your current Bitly usage before deciding anything.
Comments