URL shorteners do just what they sound like they do — shorten links to pages on your site. Keep reading for a list of the best URL shorteners out there!
Have you ever had to manually type in a URL, only to be exasperated by how long it was? It’s easy enough to type in something short like “noldorjewelers.com/products,” but it’s a lot harder to remember a URL like “erebormining.com/blog/how-to-guides/384thk34j_3m%sdhk_uis/.”
Trying to remember or type in those long links is a nightmare, and it’s not one that you want to inflict on your target audience. When you use links in your marketing, it’s a good idea to keep them on the short side. The simplest way to do that is to just keep your website URLs shorter to start with.
Sometimes, you end up with longer URLs whether you want to or not. In those situations, what do you do? You use a URL shortening tool.
On this page, we’ll provide a list of some of the top URL shortening apps, as well as some other helpful info. In total, we’ll cover the following:
A URL shortener is a digital tool that creates shorter, simpler URLs for your website pages. These are typically tools you’ll find online offering URL shortening services at varying prices, with a few free options available.
Why use a URL shortening service?
There are various benefits to using a URL shortener. For one, they take up less space when displayed on a page, which can be nice for visual reasons. Additionally, many social media platforms have character limits. So, if you want to post a link on social media, using a a URL shortener is advantageous.
Shorter links are also better for cases where you want to memorize the link or have to type it out manually. The fewer characters you have to deal with, the less of a hassle that is.
Additionally, some URL link shortener tools offer customization or branding options for your links. This feature not only creates memorable links but also reinforces your brand identity, building trust with your audience.
Certain URL link shortener tools allow you to customize or brand your link. This leads to memorable links and reinforces brand identity which can build trust with your audience. Custom links can also be more relevant to the content they point to, making them more enticing for users to click.
Many URL shorteners offer built-in analytics which enables you to track click-through rates and assess various engagement metrics. This functionality helps you determine which links perform best and what content your audience is interested in.
All around, URL shorteners help simplify the process of dealing with links to pages on your website.
How do URL shorteners work?
URL shorteners are usually very simple. In most cases, you just plug in one of your existing URLs, and the tool will spit back out a shortened version. Sometimes, these URLs are totally different from the original. However, many of the best URL shortening apps allow you to keep the same branding.
Integrating URL shorteners with other tools
Incorporating URL shorteners into other marketing tools and platforms can contribute towards better tracking, engagement and overall user experience. Here is how URL shorteners can be effectively used across different channels:
Email Campaigns: Shortened URLs will make your emails look cleaner and less cluttered, improving readability and user experience.
Social Media Platforms: Shortened URLs are ideal for managing character limits on social media. Short custom links also provide an opportunity to align your brand’s tone and style.
Website and Landing Pages: Using shortened URLs in online ads, blog posts, or on landing pages makes these links more visually appealing compared to URLs.
The 7 best URL shorteners
With all this talk about using online URL shortening services, you’re probably ready to get to our list of the best URL shorteners out there. So, let’s jump into it. Below, we’ve listed seven different tools, including:
Here’s a summary of how the best URL shortener tools stack up against one another:
URL shortener
Price
Best for
Bitly
$35+ per month (free plan available)
Generating QR codes
TinyURL
Free (or $9.99 per month for a premium plan)
People wanting a free tool without creating an account
Rebrandly
$34+ per month (free plan available)
Ease of use
Sniply
$9+ per month
CTA creation
Owly
$99+ per month
Hootsuite users
Short.io
Free (or $19 per month for a premium version)
Audience segmentation
BL.INK
$48+ per month (free plan available)
Multiple users
Keep reading to learn more about the best URL shortening apps out there!
1. Bitly
Price: $35+ per month (free plan available)
Bitly is the best URL shortener and one of the most longstanding tools out there. And it doesn’t just generate shorter links. This URL link shortener tool also allows you to generate QR codes for those links, which can be even easier to use in some cases. Plus, you can track how those links and QR codes are performing—that is, how many people are using them.
In terms of pricing, Bitly does offer a free plan, but the features are extremely limited. You might find that it’s best used as a free trial. If you end up liking the tool enough, you’ll probably want to upgrade to the paid plan.
2. TinyURL
Price: Free (or $9.99 per month for a premium plan)
TinyURL is another of the best URL shorteners out there, and it’s also super convenient. The link shortener tool is free (although for $9.99 per month, you can get additional features like link tracking), and you don’t need to have an account to use the tool.
Although branded domains are limited to the paid account, you can still customize the second half of the URL, even with the free version.
3. Rebrandly
Price: $34+ per month (free plan available)
Rebrandly has many of the same features as the previous two URL shorteners on this list. It can generate branded links, track clicks on those links, and create QR codes. In addition, Rebrandly is very intuitive to use, so it scores big points in user experience.
Rebrandly’s paid plan starts at $34 per month, but the paid plan is nothing to turn up your nose at—it comes with 2500 clicks tracked each month, which is pretty good.
4. Sniply
Price: $9+ per month
Sniply is another of the best URL shortening apps for businesses. It has all the necessary features, and while link shortening is one of the biggest things people use it for, it can also help you create custom calls to action (CTAs) for your website.
While Sniply used to have a free plan, their cheapest option is now $9 per month. However, they do offer a free trial.
5. Owly
Price: $99+ per month
You’re probably thinking, “Woah, $99 per month is wildly expensive for a link shortening tool. Why on Earth does Owly cost that much?” The answer is that Owly is offered by Hootsuite. And while it’s technically free, that’s only the case for people who already have a Hootsuite account—and Hootsuite pricing starts at $99 per month.
If you already use Hootsuite (or plan on using it) to help you manage your social media, this is great—Owly is essentially free for you. But if not, you probably don’t want to pay $99+ each month just for a URL link shortener.
6. Short.io
Price: Free (or $19 per month for a premium plan)
Short.io is another great URL shortener and offers many of the usual features. However, the thing that really makes it stand out is the fact that it actually allows for audience segmentation. You can arrange for a single link to lead to different pages for different people based on their device or location.
Maybe you want to send people on Android to a slightly different page than people on iPhone. Or maybe you want people in Canada to see different pricing than people in the United States. In either of those scenarios, you can set it up so that’s what happens when those people click on a link.
7. BL.INK
Price: $48+ per month (free plan available)
Last on our list of best URL shortener apps is BL.INK. The standout feature of this tool is that it lets you add multiple users, which is perfect for businesses. You can give a whole team access to the tool so that all of them can shorten links.
Outside of that, it has all of the typical features. There is a free plan, but it’s rather limited, and the cheapest paid plan is still on the expensive side.
Learn more about digital marketing from Nutshell
Now that you know all of the top URL shortening apps, you can choose the best one for your business and get to work. Of course, there’s a lot more to be learned about your digital marketing campaigns.
A customer relationship management platform (CRMs) like Nutshell can supercharge your marketing efforts and help you cultivate better relationships with prospects and customers.
Nutshell Campaigns plugs directly into your CRM data, so you can create highly targeted audience segments, track the impact of your emails in real-time, and manage all your communications out of a single tool. Get started for free!
