Best Dub.co Alternatives for Open-Source & Startup Link Management

The strongest Dub.co alternatives for startups and open-source teams right now are SimpleURL, Short.io, Kutt, and Rebrandly.

I tested each one against the four problems that actually send people looking for a Dub.co alternative: a tight Free plan, conversion tracking locked behind a $90/month tier, a steep jump between plans, and zero option to self-host if that's a hard requirement.

TL;DR

• Dub.co's Free plan caps you at 25 new links and 30 days of analytics retention. Paid plans now start at $30/month, up from the $25/month you'll see quoted in older reviews.
• SimpleURL sits near Dub.co Pro's price point at $29/month but holds 3 years of city and device-level analytics instead of 1.
• Short.io has the most generous free tier I found: 1,000 links and 50,000 tracked clicks, with an unlimited-links Pro plan at $18/month.
• Kutt is the only genuinely open-source, self-hosted pick here. Free forever, but you own the server.
• Rebrandly leans hardest into branded domain compliance, though every tier, paid or free, still caps tracked clicks.

Why I Started Looking for a Dub.co Alternative

Most people don't wake up wanting to switch link tools. I didn't either.

It's almost always one of three walls:

• The Free plan's limits
• The price to unlock conversion tracking
• The gap between Pro and Business

Here's a pattern I kept seeing. A lot of reviews still quote Pro at $25/month and Business at $75/month. Those numbers are outdated.

Dub.co repriced. Pro now runs $30/month. Business runs $90/month. If you're budgeting off an older review, you're budgeting wrong. A startup planning a year of tracking on the old $75/month figure is in for an unpleasant surprise at renewal.

The 25-Link, 30-Day Free Plan Ceiling

Dub.co's Free plan gives you 25 new links a month, 1,000 tracked events, and 30-day analytics retention.

• Fine for testing the product.
• Not enough for a real campaign.
• Your 30-day-old click data disappears right when a monthly report needs it.

Conversion Tracking Locked Behind $90/Month

Here's the wall that trips up most startups.

• Pro costs $30/month and gets you 1-year retention, 10 custom domains, and deep links. No conversion tracking.
• Business costs $90/month and finally unlocks conversion tracking, A/B testing, and Dub Partners, Dub's affiliate program tooling.

Pro tip: Before comparing sticker prices, compare retention windows first. A cheaper plan with a 30-day retention limit can cost you more in lost data than a pricier one ever would.

The Advanced Tier Gap

Advanced jumps again to $300/month for 5-year retention and higher API limits. That's a lot of ground to cover between "I need conversion tracking" and "I need enterprise-grade data history."

What I Actually Evaluate in a Dub.co Alternative

I run every tool through the same five checks before I trust it with a client's links:

• Pricing model: does it bill by link count, tracked clicks, or events, and does that model match how you actually use links?
• Analytics depth and retention: how far back can you pull data, and does it break down by city or device?
• Branded domain limits: how many domains does the entry paid tier actually include?
• Open source vs. managed: do you want to own the infrastructure, or hand that off?
• API access: is it available on the free tier, or gated behind a paid plan?

None of these criteria matter equally for every team.

• A solo developer building an internal tool cares about API access and self-hosting first.
• A marketing team running paid campaigns cares about retention and attribution first.

Rank these before you compare tools, not after. Otherwise you'll end up picking whichever homepage looked the cleanest.

The Best Dub.co Alternatives, Compared

Dub.co (The Baseline)

I want to give credit where it's due.

• Genuinely open source
• Ships product updates fast
• Dub Partners turns link tracking into affiliate payout management, something most competitors don't touch
• Users consistently praise how easy it is to set up and how responsive support is

The friction people report: conversion tracking feels out of reach until Business, and some users describe a learning curve once you get past the basics.

• Starting paid price: $30/month (Pro)
• Free plan: 25 links/month, 30-day retention
• Open source: Yes

1. SimpleURL - Best Dub.co Alternative

This is where I spend most of my evaluation time, since it's the tool I use day to day.

• $29/month on Pro, close to Dub.co Pro's price, but with 3 years of analytics retention instead of 1
• Breaks down clicks by city and device, not just country and browser
• Custom branded domains, dynamic QR codes, modular link-in-bio pages, and a UTM builder in one workspace
• Runs entirely in the browser, so there's nothing to install or patch on your end

SimpleURL isn't open source. I'll say that plainly here.

Here's the trade-off instead:

• A platform someone else keeps online, patched, and backed up
• No infrastructure for you to own or maintain
• That's what most startup teams actually want, even if "open source" is the term they typed into Google

The city and device breakdown is where SimpleURL pulled ahead in my testing.

• Dub.co Pro shows country and browser level data.
• SimpleURL shows which city and device a link converts on.
• That's the difference between a link report and a signal you can act on.

Want the head-to-head? See SimpleURL vs. Dub.co for the full feature and pricing breakdown.

Related: Bitly vs. TinyURL vs. SimpleURL: Best URL Shortener 2026

2. Short.io

If your priority is volume over depth, this is the one to look at.

• Free plan: 1,000 links, 50,000 tracked clicks, 5 custom domains
• Pro: $18/month for unlimited links and unlimited tracked clicks, 10 domains
• Team: $48/month, Enterprise: $148/month

The trade-off: Short.io tracks clicks well but doesn't do conversion tracking the way Dub.co's Business tier does. If attribution to actual sales matters more than raw link volume, keep that in mind. For a closer look, see SimpleURL vs. Short.io.

3. Kutt

Kutt is the honest answer to "is there a truly open-source Dub.co alternative." Yes, and this is it.

• Free, MIT-licensed, self-hosted on your own server
• Built on Node.js, PostgreSQL, and Redis, deployable via Docker
• Custom domains, password-protected links, expiration dates, private stats, a REST API

Congratulations, you're now also the sysadmin. No extra charge for that title, but no vacation from it either.

4. Rebrandly

Rebrandly's strength is branded domain management with a compliance lean, useful if security sign-off matters to your buyer.

• Free plan available, paid plans run roughly $13 to $32 a month depending on tier and billing cycle (pricing varies by source, so confirm on Rebrandly's own page before committing)
• Every tier, including paid ones, caps tracked clicks
• Strong API documentation, frequently praised by developers who've integrated it directly

If Rebrandly is the tool you're trying to move off of, see the best Rebrandly alternatives.

Feature and Pricing Comparison

Tool	Starting Paid Price	Free Plan	Analytics Retention	Open Source	Best For
Dub.co	$30/month (Pro)	25 links, 30-day retention	1 year (Pro) up to 5 years ($300/month)	Yes	Teams wanting affiliate/partner payouts built in
SimpleURL	$29/month (Pro)	Free tier available	3 years	No, managed	Startups wanting deep city/device analytics without an infra jump
Short.io	$18/month (Pro)	1,000 links, 50K clicks, 5 domains	Not published in detail	No	Teams that want unlimited links cheaply
Kutt	$0, self-hosted	Full product, self-hosted	Unlimited, it's your database	Yes	Developers who want full data control
Rebrandly	~$13 to $32/month	Varies by source	Not published in detail	No	Brands prioritizing domain compliance

Which Tool Should You Choose Based on Your Need?

• Bootstrapped or pre-revenue: start on Kutt if you're comfortable self-hosting, or Short.io's free tier if you're not.
• Funded startup scaling marketing ops: SimpleURL, for the retention window and city/device analytics without the Business-tier price jump.
• Agency managing multiple client brands: SimpleURL or Rebrandly, depending on whether your clients care more about analytics depth or domain compliance documentation.
• Open-source purist who wants to self-host: Kutt, no contest. Dub.co's own repository is also worth a look if you specifically want Dub's feature set self-hosted.

Still weighing generic link tools? Our guide to the best TinyURL alternatives covers the same tradeoffs for a different starting point.

Is There a Truly Open-Source Alternative to Dub.co?

Yes. Kutt is the only fully open-source, self-hosted option in this comparison.

Dub.co itself is open source too. If self-hosting is the actual requirement, not just a preference, Dub's own repo deserves a look before you go elsewhere.

What Self-Hosting Actually Costs You

Self-hosting isn't free, it just moves the cost.

• Server hosting, even a small instance, adds up monthly
• You patch security updates yourself
• There's no support line to call when something breaks at 2 a.m.

When a Managed Platform Makes More Sense

SimpleURL isn't open source, and that's a deliberate trade, not an oversight. You get analytics depth and support without owning infrastructure. Compare what you actually get at each tier on the SimpleURL pricing page.

Migrating from Dub.co to SimpleURL

• Export your existing links and metadata before you start the switch.
• Point your custom domain's DNS record to SimpleURL. Your branded links keep the same look.
• Historical Dub.co analytics don't carry over automatically, so pull a report before you migrate if you need that history.
• Run both tools in parallel for a week before you fully cut over. It catches broken redirects before your audience does.
• Update any hardcoded short links in email templates, ad platforms, and bio pages last, once the new domain is confirmed working end to end.

FAQs

1. Is there a free Dub.co alternative? Yes. Short.io's free plan includes 1,000 links and 50,000 tracked clicks, and Kutt is free if you self-host it yourself.

2. Does SimpleURL support self-hosting? No. SimpleURL is a managed, web-based platform. If self-hosting is a requirement, Kutt or Dub.co's own open-source repo are the fit.

3. Can I migrate my existing Dub.co links directly? Yes, in most cases. Export your links from Dub.co and import them into your new tool, then repoint your domain's DNS.

4. Which alternative has the longest analytics retention? Dub.co's Advanced tier holds data for 5 years at $300/month. SimpleURL holds 3 years starting at $29/month.

5. Is SimpleURL cheaper than Dub.co at scale? At the entry paid tier, SimpleURL and Dub.co Pro price close to each other, but SimpleURL includes 3 years of retention where Dub.co Pro gives you 1.

Final Verdict

There's no single best Dub.co alternative, only the right one for where your team actually is.

• Want to self-host? Kutt.
• Want the cheapest way to unlimited links? Short.io.
• Want Dub.co-level analytics depth with a longer retention window at a comparable price? That's the gap SimpleURL was built to close.

Try SimpleURL free and see how your existing links look with three years of history behind them instead of one.