the catalog · 📈 SEO & marketing
Shlink
★ 4kURL shortener on your own domain with visit stats, QR codes, and a REST API.
Shlink does the job of Bitly, self-hosted. It is MIT-licensed, so you can do essentially what you like with it, and it installs in about one command. Bitly bills $29 for it.
Open-source replacement for Bitly.
- Licence
- MIT
- Self-hosting
- Easy
- The paid one costs
- $29
- GitHub stars
- 4k
Is it actually a replacement?
We have written a verdict on what it replaces — what you lose, and why people still pay:
How Shlink runs
Where it runs
Shlink runs on your server.
Installing it
Run the official Docker image, or unpack the PHP distribution and connect SQLite, MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL or SQL Server.
Where your data lives
Short links, domains, tags, visits and geolocation records live in the configured relational database; cache files live in Shlink's writable `data` directory, and the separate web client talks to the server through an API key.
What setup takes
The first hurdle is operating two pieces, a Shlink API plus its web client, and supplying a public domain, HTTPS, database persistence and an API key; built-in QR generation is deprecated.
The catch compared with Bitly
Shlink supplies the shortening API and analytics, but the user must host a separate web client, operate the server, and accept that its built-in QR endpoint is being deprecated.
Shlink questions
Is Shlink open source?
Yes — it is released under MIT.
Can Shlink replace Bitly?
Our verdict on Bitly is YES. PostHog (30k stars), Umami (28k stars), Dub (24k stars) are mature open-source replacements for Bitly — self-host with real ops work and stop paying $35/mo.
Can I self-host Shlink?
Yes — we rate it easy to self-host, and it runs on your server. Run the official Docker image, or unpack the PHP distribution and connect SQLite, MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL or SQL Server.