Open-source alternative
Replace Bitly with Shlink / Dub
The best open-source alternative to Bitly is Shlink or Dub, self-hosted on Railway. Short links you host. Shlink is the MIT shortener; Dub is the open-source link attribution platform.
Estimated save $1,200 a year.
Open the stackStart on Railway
How Bitly compares
| Bitly | Shlink / Dub | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Link- and QR-capped plan | Open-source or fair-code license; you pay the host |
| Hosting | Vendor cloud | Self-hosted on Railway or any VPS |
| Rough monthly cost | $10/mo Core billed yearly ($120) source | Hosting only — no SaaS seat meter in this repo |
- Shlink
Self-hosted URL shortener (API, QR, custom domains)
- Dub
Open-source link attribution platform you can self-host
FAQ
- Is it free?
- The Shlink / Dub licenses are open source or fair-code. You still pay hosting (Railway or any VPS) and any APIs the stack calls. There is no Bitly seat or task bill on this path.
- Can I migrate from Bitly?
- Yes. Start with the workflows or data you actually use, then cut over. The Shlink / Dub stack page has the agent prompt and the cost table; most teams rebuild the slice that matters and leave old Bitly links until they expire.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open the Shlink / Dub stack, copy the agent prompt, and deploy on Railway (one service, PORT, and a volume when the app needs disk). Placeholder: Shlink + a database (easiest), or Dub if you need attribution dashboards. Custom domain on Railway.
- What does this replace?
- Bitly. The published small-team estimate on this stack is $1,200 a year.
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