Some shorteners pay for their free plan by showing your audience an ad before the destination loads. This page lists the ones that do not, ranked by what else you get free.
Updated 8 November 20268 tools comparedPrices in USD
Quick answer. Every tool here except Bitly's free plan sends clicks straight to the destination. Among the ad-free options, ReSlug gives the most for free: 500 active links, a custom domain and 30 days of analytics, and the paid plan is $9/mo. Bitly's free plan is labelled "With Ads" on its own pricing page.
Best ad-freeReSlugNo ads on any plan, 500 free links
Ad-free, many domainsShort.io5 free domains, clean redirects
Ad-free, no accountTinyURLUnlimited basic links, no interstitial
An interstitial ad on a short link costs you twice. It delays the destination, which drops conversion, and it tells the person clicking that you used a free tool. Monetised redirects are also more likely to be flagged by browsers and messaging apps.
Good news: in 2026, ads on short links are nearly extinct among serious tools. Of the ten we track, only Bitly's free plan is documented as showing ads. Cuttly and Rebrandly add branding labels and watermarks rather than ads. The ranking below orders the ad-free tools by how useful their free and entry plans are.
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
No ads or interstitials on any ReSlug plan, including free. Combined with 500 active links, a custom domain and QR codes at no cost, it is the clear ad-free pick. Pro at $9/mo keeps it that way with unlimited links.
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: Power users who want many custom domains cheaply
Free: 1,000 links (lifetime)Paid from $5/moCustom domains: freeAnalytics: Not documentedAPIBio pagesBot filtering
Clean redirects on every plan, five free domains and 1,000 lifetime links. Short.io does not document analytics retention, but it does not monetise your clicks either.
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
No interstitial ads, but free links carry a "Cutt.ly branded" label in the dashboard and QR codes use a single fixed style. Paid plans remove the branding.
Pros
Free plan includes a branded domain, 30 days of analytics and a bio page
Bot-click chart on Single and up
Clear, published pricing with annual discounts
Link-in-bio and UTM builder on every tier
Cons
Only 30 links a month on free
Starter is $12 a month for just 300 links and still 30 days of analytics
Best for: One-off links where you do not need analytics or branding
Free: Unlimited basic linksPaid from $9.99/moCustom domains: Up to 3 branded domains on paidAnalytics: NoneAPIBot filtering
No ads on the redirect, even without an account. An optional preview page exists but is off by default. The absence of analytics on free is the trade-off.
Pros
Free basic shortening with no account and no limit on link count
No ads or interstitials on free links
Twenty-plus years of uptime; links from 2002 still resolve
Custom aliases and QR codes on free
Cons
No analytics at all on the free plan and no editing of destinations
Custom domains, analytics and the API all require Pro, from about $10 a month
Pro caps you at 500 active links, fewer than ReSlug's free plan
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
Bitly's free plan is labelled "With Ads" on bitly.com/pages/pricing. Paid plans remove them, starting at $10 a month billed annually. If you are on Bitly free and sharing links with customers, this is the reason to move.
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