Analytics is where shorteners differ most quietly. Some show nothing until you pay, some delete history after 30 days, and most count bot clicks as if they were people. This page ranks tools on retention, filtering and what is free.
Updated 8 November 20268 tools comparedPrices in USD
Quick answer.ReSlug gives 30 days of geo, device, referrer and real-time analytics free with bot clicks filtered, and 365 days on the $9/mo Pro plan. Dub offers a year on Pro and three years on Business with conversion tracking. Bitly's free plan keeps no history; TinyURL's has no analytics at all.
Best overallReSlug30 days free, 365 paid, bot-filtered
Longest retentionDub1 year Pro, 3 years Business, conversions
Bot managementLinklyExplicit bot and crawler controls
Two numbers decide whether shortener analytics are useful: how long data is kept, and whether bot clicks are removed. Link previews from Slack, WhatsApp, Twitter and email scanners generate a click the moment a link is pasted. Without filtering, a link shared in a busy channel can show dozens of "clicks" from nobody.
Only three tools here document bot handling: ReSlug filters on every plan, Linkly offers bot and crawler management from Starter, and Cuttly shows a bot-click chart on Single. Retention ranges from none (Bitly free, TinyURL free) to three years (Dub Business).
Limits and prices from each vendor's public pricing page, verified 8 November 2026. "Free links" is the published free-plan quota; "Ads" means interstitial or branded ads shown to people who click your links.
Best for: Anyone who wants a custom domain and real analytics without paying
Free: 500 active linksPaid from $9/moCustom domains: freeAnalytics: 30 daysAPIBio pagesBot filtering
30 days of per-link analytics free with geo, device, referrer and real-time views, and bot clicks filtered automatically on every plan. Pro extends retention to 365 days and adds routing analytics showing how clicks split across rules and A/B variants. No "upgrade to see this" walls inside the dashboard.
Pros
500 active links, a custom domain with auto-SSL and 30 days of analytics on the free plan
No ads or interstitials on any plan
Pro is $9/mo ($79/yr) for unlimited links, 10 domains and a year of analytics
Bot clicks filtered out of analytics by default
Geo, device, UTM and scheduled routing plus A/B splits on Pro
Cons
Launched in 2026, so it has a short track record compared with Bitly or TinyURL
Best for: Developers and SaaS teams who want an API, SDKs and conversion tracking
Free: 25 links/moPaid from $27/moCustom domains: freeAnalytics: 30 daysAPIBot filtering
30 days free, a year on Pro ($27/mo), three years on Business ($81/mo), five on Advanced. Business adds conversion tracking so a click can be tied to a sign-up or a sale. Bot filtering is not documented. The best choice if you need multi-year history.
Pros
Open-source codebase, typed SDKs and a well-documented REST API
3 custom domains on the free plan
Conversion tracking, webhooks and role-based access on Business
A/B testing, geo and device targeting, password and expiration on Pro
Cons
Free plan is only 25 links a month
Pro is $27 a month, three times ReSlug's Pro
No link-in-bio pages
Quotas are annual pools billed up front on yearly plans
Best for: Affiliate marketers who need click limits, rotators and bot management
Free: 100 links/moPaid from $15/moCustom domains: freeAnalytics: Country-levelAPIBot filtering
Country-level analytics free, device and OS from Starter, with explicit bot and social-crawler management. Retention is not published. Built for people who audit every click.
Pros
Free plan includes a custom domain and full API access
Explicit bot and social-crawler management from Starter
Link rotators, geo and device redirects, click- and time-limited links on Pro
Zapier, Make, n8n and webhooks on paid plans
Cons
Free plan is capped at 500 clicks a month and links pause when exceeded
Best for: Enterprises that need a well-known vendor, SSO and a sales contract
Free: 5 links/moPaid from $10/moCustom domains: 0 (Growth plan and up) on paidAnalytics: NoneAPIBio pagesBot filtering
No history on free, 30 days on Core ($10/mo annual-only), 120 days on Growth ($29/mo), a year on Premium ($199/mo), two years on Enterprise. Paying $348 a year for four months of history is a hard sell when ReSlug gives a year for $79.
Pros
The most recognised brand in link shortening, with a long uptime record
QR codes, landing pages and links in one product
Mobile deep linking and an enterprise tier with SSO and 2-year history
Integrations with almost every marketing tool
Cons
Free plan is 5 links a month, shows ads and keeps no analytics history
Custom domains only arrive on Growth at $29/mo billed annually ($348/yr)
Core plan is annual-only and still capped at 100 links a month
Link quotas are monthly, so unused links do not roll over
Best for: Marketing teams that want branded links with enterprise support
Free: 10 links/moPaid from $16/moCustom domains: 2 on paidAnalytics: Not documentedAPIBio pagesBot filtering
Engagement clicks are counted per plan (100 free, 10,000 on Essentials, 25,000 on Professional), with six months of conversion retention on Professional. Raw click-history retention is not clearly published.
Pros
Strong branded-link features: multiple domains, link galleries, UTM builder on all tiers
API on every plan including free
Teammates, password links and expiration on Professional
Enterprise tier with SSO and dedicated support
Cons
Free plan is 10 links a month with watermarked QR codes and galleries
Professional, where most features live, is $39 a month ($32 annual)
Click-history retention is not clearly published
Pricing page shows several overlapping price pairs, which is confusing
Best for: Power users who want many custom domains cheaply
Free: 1,000 links (lifetime)Paid from $5/moCustom domains: freeAnalytics: Not documentedAPIBio pagesBot filtering
50,000 tracked clicks a month free with geo and device breakdowns, but no published retention on any plan, which makes it impossible to compare properly.
Pros
5 custom domains on the free plan and 1,000 lifetime links
Hobby plan is $5 a month for 2,500 links and 7 domains
Pro at $18 a month gives unlimited links and 10 domains
API on every plan, including free, at 50 requests a second
Cons
Analytics retention is not published for any plan
Password protection and expiration need Pro
Free quota is a lifetime total, so it runs out and does not refresh
ReSlug: 30 days of geo, device, referrer and real-time analytics with bot clicks filtered. Dub also offers 30 days free; Cuttly 30 days; Short.io tracks 50,000 clicks a month free but does not publish retention.
Does Bitly free include analytics?
No history on the free plan. Core ($10/mo, annual-only) gives 30 days, Growth ($29/mo) 120 days.
Which URL shortener filters bot clicks?
ReSlug on every plan, Linkly from Starter, Cuttly from Single. Bitly, Dub, Short.io and Rebrandly do not document bot filtering.
How long does Dub keep analytics?
30 days free, 1 year on Pro, 3 years on Business, 5 years on Advanced.