Is Bitly Free? Bitly's Free Plan and Pricing Explained (2026)
Is Bitly free? Yes, but in 2026 the free plan caps you at 5 links/month with ads on every link. Full pricing breakdown and free alternatives.
Yes, Bitly is free — there is a genuine free plan and you do not need a credit card to start. But if you are asking the question, you have probably already bumped into the catch. In 2026 the Bitly free plan is capped at 5 short links and 2 QR codes per month, it gives you no click analytics on your short links, and every free link now redirects through an interstitial ad page before reaching its destination. This guide breaks down exactly what "free" means on Bitly today, what the paid tiers cost, and which free alternatives are worth a look — every number sourced, no marketing spin.
Is Bitly free? The short answer
Bitly does offer a free plan, and it is enough to test the product or park a couple of vanity links. Here is the honest TL;DR before we go deeper:
- There is a free plan — no credit card required to sign up.
- 5 short links per month and 2 QR codes per month, per Bitly's own breakdown of its free plan.
- No click or scan analytics on short links or QR codes — that is reserved for paid plans.
- Ads on every free link — clicking a free Bitly link shows an interstitial preview page before the redirect, per Bitly's "Why are there ads on my links?" support article.
- Links never expire, including on the free plan, according to Bitly Support.
So the answer is "yes, but" — yes it is free, but the free tier in 2026 is far narrower than the Bitly many people remember from years ago. Let's look at what is actually included.
What you get on Bitly's free plan (2026)
Bitly's free plan works on monthly quotas: you get a fixed allowance of links, QR codes and other resources that resets each month. Unused allowance does not roll over.
The hard limits
According to Bitly's free-plan page, the monthly caps are:
- 5 short links per month
- 2 QR codes per month
- 3 custom back-halves per month (the editable text after the slash, e.g.
bit.ly/spring-sale) - 2 custom landing pages per month
- 1,000 API requests per month
Bitly notes that the canonical reference for these caps is its "What are my monthly limits?" support article, though the numbers above come straight from Bitly's blog, which agrees.
What's included
The free plan is not crippled on every axis. Genuinely useful inclusions:
- Unlimited clicks and scans — Bitly is explicit that "every one of those links can receive unlimited clicks," so you will never be throttled on traffic, only on how many new links you create.
- Links never expire — a free Bitly link you made years ago still resolves today.
- Custom back-halves (3/month) so your short links can carry readable text instead of random characters.
- Mobile apps, browser extensions and two-factor authentication are available to free accounts.
What's NOT included
This is where the free plan gets restrictive. On the free tier you do not get:
- Click or scan analytics for short links or QR codes. Bitly's free plan only tracks views on custom landing pages — not where your link clicks come from. If your reason for using a shortener is measurement, the free plan will not deliver it.
- A branded custom domain (e.g.
go.yourbrand.com) — that requires a paid plan. - Link redirects / editable destinations — you cannot change where a free link points after creating it.
- A UTM builder for campaign tagging.
- Bulk link creation.
The catch: ads on free Bitly links
This is the single most important — and least-covered — change for anyone deciding whether Bitly's free plan is right for them. In 2025 Bitly began showing an interstitial ad page in front of free-plan links. When someone clicks your free Bitly link, they first land on a Bitly-branded preview page that can carry an advertisement, then continue to your destination.
Bitly documents this in its own help center: "Why are there ads on my links?". Industry coverage frames it bluntly as a new revenue stream that applies to free accounts and existing links, not just new ones — see Coywolf's report.
If you share a free Bitly link in a customer email, a job-application sign-up, or a printed QR code, your audience may see an ad page with Bitly branding before they reach you. For a personal link that is a minor annoyance; for anything that touches a brand or a conversion funnel, it is a real reason to upgrade or switch.
The takeaway: "free" no longer means "clean redirect." If an ad-free, brand-safe destination matters to you, the free Bitly plan is not it — and that is exactly why the alternatives section below matters.
How Bitly's free plan shrank over time
If you remember Bitly's free plan being far more generous, you are not misremembering. Bitly has openly reduced its free link limits over the years and even publishes an explainer about it: "Why did my link limits change on my Free plan?".
We will not quote exact historical numbers we cannot source, but the documented direction is clear: the free tier moved from a much larger monthly link allowance down to the current 5 links per month, and the company has layered ads on top. The practical effect is that workflows that used to be comfortably free — tracking a handful of campaigns, sharing a dozen links a month — now hit the paywall quickly.
Bitly pricing in 2026 (full plan breakdown)
If 5 links a month is not enough, here is what Bitly charges. All figures below are from the official Bitly pricing page, cross-checked against independent 2026 roundups from RedirHub and Replug. Prices below reflect annual billing (Bitly's monthly rates are higher).
| Plan | Price (annual) | Links / month | QR codes / month | Custom domain | Data retention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 5 | 2 | No | No short-link analytics |
| Core | ~$10/mo (~$120/yr) | 100 | 5 | No | 30 days |
| Growth | $29/mo ($348/yr) | 500 | 10 | 1 complimentary | 4 months |
| Premium | $199/mo ($2,388/yr) | 3,000 | 200 | Yes | 1 year (city-level tracking) |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Yes | Custom |
A few things worth flagging honestly. First, analytics — the feature most people actually want from a shortener — starts on the paid Core tier, with only 30 days of data retention. Second, a branded custom domain only becomes "complimentary" on Growth ($29/mo). Third, the jump from Growth to Premium ($199/mo) is steep; Premium is aimed squarely at businesses running thousands of links with city-level reporting.
One common error to avoid: some third-party articles claim the free plan includes "30 days of analytics." It does not. The 30-day retention figure belongs to the paid Core tier — Bitly's own free-plan page confirms there is no click or scan analytics on the free tier at all. Don't blur the two.
Is Bitly's free plan worth it?
It depends entirely on what you need. The honest verdict:
- Worth it if you want to test Bitly, park one or two memorable vanity links, and you don't care about analytics or the ad page.
- Not worth it if you need more than 5 links a month, you want to see where your clicks come from, or you cannot accept an ad interstitial in front of your audience.
To be fair to Bitly, its strengths are real and not easily matched. Bitly has enormous brand recognition and link trust — recipients know and trust the bit.ly domain. It has a mature, well-documented API, a deep integrations ecosystem, and reliable infrastructure operating at massive scale. If you are building on top of a shortener programmatically, or you need an established vendor for a large organization, Bitly earns its place. The free plan simply is not the part of Bitly where its value lives anymore.
Free Bitly alternatives in 2026
Plenty of shorteners offer free tiers, and several beat Bitly outright on free link volume. Here is a neutral comparison — each tool listed with an honest strength and an honest limit. (Re-check live pricing pages before you commit; these tools change their plans often.)
| Tool | Free link allowance | Free analytics | Custom domain (free) | Honest note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short.io | 1,000 total (lifetime, not monthly) | Yes (up to 50k clicks/mo) | Yes (branded) | Most generous free link allowance; has an API. Free-domain branding is a real edge. Note the 1,000 cap is lifetime, not per month. |
| TinyURL | ~100 | No (on free) | 1 branded domain | Great for fast, no-friction links; free tier lacks click analytics. |
| Cuttly | 30 | Yes (clicks, device, country, referrer) | Yes (branded) | Rare free tier with real analytics and no ads; modest link cap. |
| Dub | 25 | Yes (1,000 events/mo, 30-day retention) | 3 domains | Open-source, developer-first, with free API access. Low free link cap. |
| Rebrandly | Limited (verify live) | Limited (tracked clicks cap) | 1 domain | Strong branded-link focus; free reports vary across sources — confirm on its page. |
| Minily | 5 (total, lifetime) | Yes (global: clicks, top-3 countries, last 10 clicks) | No (Pro only) | 5-link lifetime cap (vs Bitly's 5/month), but ad-free with unlimited free QR codes + password protection. No public API. |
Reading this table honestly: if raw free link volume is your priority, Short.io (1,000 lifetime), TinyURL (~100/mo), Cuttly (30/mo) and Dub (25/mo) all beat both Bitly's 5 per month and Minily's 5 total (lifetime). There is no point pretending otherwise. One caveat worth being precise about: Short.io's 1,000 is a lifetime account cap like Minily's, not a monthly reset, so it is not strictly apples-to-apples with Bitly's monthly figure — but it is still far more headroom than either.
Where Minily earns a place is a different axis. On its free tier you get unlimited QR codes (versus Bitly's 2/month), password-protected links, geo/device conditional redirects, a UTM builder, CSV export, link expiration and scheduling, and global click analytics — all with no ad interstitial, and EU/GDPR-friendly hosting. The trade-offs are equally plain: Minily's free plan caps you at 5 links total (lifetime), it has no custom domain on free (Pro only, €5/mo), and it has no public REST API and no white-label — areas where Dub and Short.io are stronger. Pick the tool that matches your actual need, not the brand you recognize.
For a broader head-to-head across more tools, see our URL shortener comparison hub, and for the most direct face-off read Minily vs TinyURL or Minily vs Bitly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bitly free to use?
Yes. Bitly has a free plan and no credit card is required to start. In 2026 it is capped at 5 short links and 2 QR codes per month (source), with an ad interstitial page shown before free links redirect (source).
How many links can I create for free on Bitly?
Five short links per month on the free plan, plus 2 QR codes and 3 custom back-halves. Existing links can receive unlimited clicks; the cap is on creating new links each month (source).
Do free Bitly links expire?
No. Bitly states that links never expire, including on the free plan — a link you made years ago still resolves today (source).
Why do Bitly links show an ad page now?
In 2025 Bitly added an interstitial preview/ad page in front of free-plan links to monetize the free tier. Visitors see a Bitly-branded page that can carry an advertisement before continuing to your destination (source).
Does the free Bitly plan include analytics?
No. The free plan has no click or scan analytics for short links or QR codes — only views on custom landing pages are tracked. Analytics start on the paid Core tier, which retains 30 days of data (source, pricing).
How much does Bitly cost?
On annual billing: Core ~$10/mo, Growth $29/mo, Premium $199/mo. Enterprise pricing is custom. Monthly billing costs more than the annual rate (source).
Can I use a custom domain on Bitly's free plan?
No. A branded custom domain requires a paid plan — the Growth tier ($29/mo annual) includes one complimentary custom domain (source, pricing).
What are the best free Bitly alternatives?
For free link allowance: Short.io (1,000 total, lifetime) leads, followed by TinyURL (~100/mo), Cuttly (30/mo) and Dub (25/mo). For free analytics: Cuttly and Dub stand out. For free QR codes plus password protection with ad-free redirects: Minily (5 links total, lifetime, EU-hosted). Choose by the feature you actually need.
The bottom line
Bitly is free in the literal sense — but in 2026 "free Bitly" means 5 links a month, no short-link analytics, and an ad page in front of every redirect. That is fine for testing or a couple of personal links, and Bitly's brand trust, mature API and infrastructure remain genuine reasons to choose its paid plans. It is not, however, a generous free tier anymore. If you need more free links, look at Short.io, TinyURL, Cuttly or Dub; if you need ad-free redirects with free QR codes and password protection on a privacy-friendly EU service, look at Minily — just know it also caps free links at 5 and has no public API. Pick the tool that fits the job, not the logo you recognize.