Short.io, Dub, Replug, Linkly, Linkbreakers and Cuttly let you connect your own domain on a free plan, each with a cap on links or tracked clicks. LotsLink takes the other route: links, clicks and QR codes are free and unlimited, you get a free lots.link subdomain, and your own domain is $4 a month.
I opened each tool's own pricing page on 22 October 2026 and checked one thing first: does the free plan really let you put short links on a domain you own? Then the catches that decide whether it's usable for real work: how many links you get, how many clicks are recorded, whether HTTPS is included, and what happens when you hit a limit.
Free plans with a custom domain at a glance
| Tool | Your own domain on the free plan | Free links | Clicks recorded on free | The catch | Next step up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LotsLink | Free lots.link subdomain; your own domain $4 a month | Unlimited | Unlimited, with country, city, device and referrer | Your own domain isn't free (4,000 signup credits cover about the first month) | $9 a month for 3 domains |
| Short.io | Yes, 5 domains | 1,000 branded links in total | Stats for the first 50,000 clicks a month | Link cap is a lifetime total, not monthly | Hobby $5 a month, 7 domains |
| Dub | Yes, 3 domains | 25 new links a month | 1,000 tracked events a month, 30-day history | 1 user | Pro $30 a month, 10 domains |
| Replug | Yes, 3 domains | 100 short links | 1,000 clicks a month | 1 user; links keep working past limits | Essentials $9.50 a month billed yearly, 5 domains |
| Linkly | Yes, 1 domain | 100 a month | 500 clicks a month, country level | Free links pause when the click quota runs out | Pro $32 a month billed yearly, 3 domains |
| Linkbreakers | Yes, 1 domain | Credit based | 500 tracked journeys a month, 2 weeks of history | Linkbreakers branding on visitor-facing pages | Light $5.90 a month billed yearly, 2 domains |
| Cuttly | Yes, 1 branded domain | 30 a month | Unlimited clicks, 30 days of history | HTTPS on your domain isn't included; no branded links through the API | Starter $12 a month, 1 domain |
| Rebrandly | Lists "1 Custom Domain (Yourbrand.bio)" | 10 a month | Unlimited clicks and scans | Read what the domain line means before you plan around it | Essentials $11 a month billed yearly, 2 domains |
| Shlink, YOURLS | Yes, self-hosted | Unlimited | Unlimited | You run the server | Free software |
Checked on 22 October 2026 on each vendor's own pages. Prices in US dollars.
Not on the list because the free plan doesn't let you add a domain you own: Bitly (from Growth, $29 a month billed yearly, with one complimentary domain), TinyURL (Free shows 1 branded domain, but bringing your own domain starts on Pro, $9 a month; the Free domain is for people who downgrade), PIMMS (0 domains on Free; Tiny €9 a month for 1), T.LY (no free plan, a 5-day trial; Personal $10 a month for 2 domains) and Switchy (no free plan; Team $47 a month for 2 domains).
1. LotsLink: unlimited free links, your own domain for $4 a month
I built LotsLink so that your own domain is what you pay for. Everything you use every day stays free and unlimited, whether you add a domain or not.
- Free, no domain needed: unlimited short links on lots.link, clicks, QR codes, analytics, workspaces and team members. Each person also gets one free lots.link subdomain, ready at once with no DNS changes, so your links can carry your name before you buy anything.
- Your own domain: $4 a month per domain on pay as you go, charged daily from credits. Or a plan with a block of domains: Starter $9 a month for 3, Pro $24 for 10 and Business $59 for 30, and yearly is ten monthly payments ($90, $240, $590). Links on your domain stay unlimited.
- Your first month: new accounts get 4,000 free credits, valid 90 days, no card. One custom domain uses 4,000 credits a month, so that's about a month of your own domain before you pay anything.
- Setup: point a DNS-only CNAME to
customers.lots.link. LotsLink verifies the hostname and the HTTPS certificate, and you keep the registration with your registrar. - If funding runs out: existing links on your domain keep redirecting and your analytics stay readable. Only new links on that domain pause until you add credits or a plan.
- Click data: country, city, device and referrer when available, a daily timeline, individual click records and CSV or JSON export. Bots, link previews and prefetches aren't counted.
- Change where a link goes: any time, free. The short URL and its QR code stay the same, and LotsLink keeps a record of each destination change.
- Two ways to run it: the dashboard does the whole job, and the MCP server and REST API are on every account, so ChatGPT, Claude or your own code can create links on your domain and read the clicks.
Pick LotsLink if you'll make more links than a free plan allows, or you want every click recorded without a monthly cap, and $4 a month for your own domain is fine. The full numbers are on the pricing page and in LotsLink pricing explained.
2. Short.io: the most free domains
Short.io's pricing page says every plan includes custom domains, and its free plan has the most of any tool here.
- Free: 5 custom domains, 1,000 branded links in total, 50,000 tracked clicks a month, 1 user, and commercial use allowed.
- Click data: the FAQ says you can view detailed statistics for your first 50,000 clicks; after that Short.io keeps collecting but restricts what you can see, and links keep working.
- Next step: Hobby at $5 a month has 7 domains; Pro at $18 a month has 10 domains and unlimited branded links.
Pick it if you want several brands on their own domains for free and your link count stays under 1,000 for good.
3. Dub: three free domains for developers
Dub's free plan includes 3 custom domains, 25 new links a month, 1,000 tracked events a month, 30 days of analytics, 1 user, QR codes and API access.
- Next step: Pro at $30 a month has 10 custom domains, and Business at $90 adds conversion tracking.
Pick it if you publish a few links a month and want room to grow into conversion tracking.
4. Replug: three free domains with bio links
Replug's free plan, no card needed, includes 100 short links, 2 bio links, 10 smart QR codes, 1,000 clicks a month, 3 custom domains and 1 user. Its pricing page says your links keep working if you reach a limit.
- Next step: Essentials is $9.50 a month billed yearly ($19 month to month) with 5 custom domains and a free .link domain.
Pick it if you want bio pages and branded links in one free account.
5. Linkly: one free domain and a full API
Linkly's free plan includes 100 links and 500 clicks a month, 1 custom domain, country-level click data and full API access.
- The limit to know: Linkly's FAQ says that on the free plan, links pause until the next billing period once you pass the click quota. On paid plans, links keep redirecting.
- Next step: Starter is $15 a month (annual only) and Pro is $32 a month billed yearly with 3 custom domains.
Pick it if your links get light traffic and you want the API from day one.
6. Linkbreakers: one free domain for QR codes
Linkbreakers is QR-first. Its free plan includes 1 custom domain, 5,000 platform credits and 500 tracked journeys a month, 250 API calls, 1 team member and 2 weeks of analytics, with HTTPS on all links.
- Branding: removing Linkbreakers branding from visitor-facing pages starts on Light.
- Next step: Light is $5.90 a month billed yearly ($7.90 month to month) with 2 custom domains.
Pick it if most of your links live on printed QR codes and you want a landing page behind them.
7. Cuttly: one branded domain, bring your own HTTPS
Cuttly's free plan lists 1 branded domain, 30 short links and 3 custom back-halves a month, unlimited clicks and 30 days of analytics history.
- HTTPS: Cuttly's comparison table marks "Https included (SSL by Let's Encrypt)" from Single, not on Free or Starter. On those plans you configure the certificate yourself, for example through Cloudflare.
- API: branded-domain links through the API start on Starter.
- Next step: Starter is $12 a month ($132 a year) with 300 links a month; Single at $25 a month has 5 domains.
Pick it if you already run your domain through Cloudflare and need only a few links a month.
8. Rebrandly: read the domain line
Rebrandly's free plan lists 10 links and 10 QR codes a month, "1 Custom Domain (Yourbrand.bio)", 1 free domain on rebrand.ly, custom back-halves, 1 link gallery and unlimited clicks and scans. The pricing page doesn't say whether that domain line means a domain you already own or a .bio domain, so check it in your account before you plan a campaign around it.
- Next step: Essentials is $11 a month billed yearly ($16 month to month) with 2 custom domains.
Pick it if you want Rebrandly's link galleries and its MCP server, and 10 links a month is enough.
9. Shlink and YOURLS: free if you host it
Both are free, open-source shorteners that run on your own server and your own domain. Shlink serves several domains from one install and has visit stats, bot detection, a REST API and a Docker image. YOURLS has historical click reports, referrers, geolocation, a developer API and plugins.
Pick one if you already run servers and want full control. The software is free; the hosting and upkeep are yours.
How to choose
- More than a few dozen links a month, or clicks you can't afford to lose: LotsLink. Unlimited links and recorded clicks, and the domain is $4 a month.
- Several free domains and under 1,000 links ever: Short.io.
- A handful of links a month with room to grow: Dub or Replug.
- Mostly printed QR codes: Linkbreakers, or LotsLink if you want unlimited free codes.
- Full control and your own server: Shlink or YOURLS.
If you're moving from Bitly because of its domain price, Bitly alternatives compares the paid side too, and the best free URL shorteners with analytics goes deeper on click data.
Put your domain on LotsLink in four steps
- In the dashboard, open Settings and add your domain, for example go.example.com.
- At your DNS provider, create a CNAME to
customers.lots.linkwith the proxy off (DNS only). - Select Verify. LotsLink checks the hostname and the HTTPS certificate.
- Pick the domain when you create a link.
LotsLink works with the AI agent you already use, so you can also ask it over MCP (setup):
Add go.example.com as a custom domain to my LotsLink workspace and tell me which DNS record to create. After I add it, verify it, then shorten https://example.com/launch as go.example.com/launch-day and make a QR code for it.
Behind that the agent calls lotslink_add_custom_domain, lotslink_verify_custom_domain, lotslink_create_link and lotslink_create_qr_code. More on the domain side is on the custom domains page. To create links on your domain from your own code instead, the URL shortener API guide has curl and fetch examples.
Common questions
Is there a free URL shortener with a custom domain?
Yes. On 22 October 2026, Short.io's free plan included 5 custom domains, Dub's and Replug's 3, and Linkly's, Linkbreakers' and Cuttly's 1, each with limits on links or recorded clicks. LotsLink gives a free lots.link subdomain with unlimited links, and your own domain is $4 a month.
Which free URL shortener has the most custom domains?
Short.io, with 5 custom domains on its free plan, 1,000 branded links in total and stats for 50,000 clicks a month. Dub and Replug follow with 3.
Does Bitly's free plan include a custom domain?
No. Bitly's custom domain starts on Growth at $29 a month billed yearly, which includes one complimentary domain. Free and Core use bit.ly links.
Can I use my own domain on TinyURL for free?
Not a new one. TinyURL's pricing table shows 1 branded domain on Free, but notes it's for users who downgrade to Free, and "Bring Your Domains to TinyURL" starts on Pro at $9 a month.
What happens to my branded links when I hit a free plan's limit?
It depends on the tool. Linkly's free links pause until the next period once you pass the click quota. Replug and Short.io say links keep working. On LotsLink there's no monthly link cap or click cap, and if funding for your own domain runs out, existing links keep redirecting.
How much does a custom domain cost on LotsLink?
$4 a month per domain on pay as you go, or a plan: Starter $9 a month for 3 domains, Pro $24 for 10, Business $59 for 30. New accounts get 4,000 free credits, about one month of one domain. Links, clicks and QR codes stay free and unlimited.