Even if a URL with seemingly random digits and letters combined is essential to access a website, nobody likes to look at long URLs. Posting long URLs on social media makes the post itself look so unattractive, losing the potential audiences. Thankfully, URL shortener software eliminates this headache by shortening long URLs into a presentable, short URL that not only looks nice for posts but can be used as a way to incorporate your brand. Here are some of the best URL shortener software available right now.

14+ URL Shortener Software

1. Zapier

zapiers

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Rating: 4.7/5

Price: FREE

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2. MEAU

meau

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Rating: 4.8/5

Price: Custom

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3. Lnnkin

lnnkin

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Rating: 5/5

Price: FREE

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4. Bitly

bitly

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Rating: 4.8/5

Price: $9/month

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5. DrumUp

drumup

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Rating: 5/5

Price: FREE

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6. Missinglettr

missinglettr

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Rating: 5/5

Price: FREE

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chit link

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Rating: 4.3/5

Price: FREE

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8. TinyURL

tinyurl

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Rating: 4.6/5

Price: Custom

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9. Amyntas

amyntas

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Rating: 4.5/5

Price: Custom

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10. Droplr

droplr

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Rating: 4.7/5

Price: FREE

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11. Tiny.cc

tiny

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Rating: 5/5

Price: Custom

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12. Rebrandly

rebrandly

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Rating: 4.7/5

Price: FREE

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13. YOURLS

yourls

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Rating: 5/5

Price: Custom

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bl

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Rating: 4.8/5

Price: $48/month

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15. ClickMeter

clickmeter

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Rating: 5/5

Price: $29/month

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What Is URL Shortener Software?

A URL shortener is an internet tool that shortens a URL link into fewer characters possible. For example, a link that has 41 characters (https://www.example.com/page/assests/etc/) can be turned into a URL with only 17 characters (https://expe.page). Short links generated by URL shorteners redirect users to the actual website with the said long URL.

Benefits

Generating short URLs from URL shorteners is much more aesthetically pleasing on a social media post than a long URL where randomly generated letters and numbers can be unpleasant to look at. Short URLs attached to a social media post will increase engagement and sharing of the URL. Shortening URLs can also help marketers to send out links in SMS marketing texts or tweets without bypassing the 160 (SMS) to 240 (Twitter) character limit. It also helps marketers to get creative with the links and incorporate their brand into the shortened URL.

  • Short URLs are more pleasing to look at
  • Drives larger engagement and sharing on social media
  • Decreases the characters, helping marketers to share them without bypassing the character limit
  • Shortened URLs can promote brands

Features

URL shorteners generate short URLs either randomly or through customizable options set by the user. The latter is useful for marketers who wish to incorporate their brand into the shortened URLs. URL shorteners should also be able to have marketing analytics insights on these short URLs with information on how many times the short links were clicked and the demographics of the users who clicked the link such as the country of origin, age, and gender. This is helpful for marketers as a way to know their potential customers. 

  • Generate short URLs
  • Customized short URLs options
  • Analytic insights on people who clicked the shortened links

Top 10 URL Shortener Software

1. Missinglettr

Missinglettr offers quick, yet smart options to generate shortened URLs that include analytics, content curation, and content scheduling. Founded in 2017, the company has 6 employees and earns $1.5 million in revenue.

2. Bitly

Bitly has been a reliable URL shortener software with its classic tools that includes customizable URLs and link management. Founded in 2008, the company has shortened 600 million links per month and has earned $12 million in revenue.

3. TinyURL

TinyURL offers easy URL shortener tools with customizable link options and generated link history. Founded in 2002, the company was the first URL shortener software.

4. Tiny.cc

Launched in 2006, Tiny.cc provides a quick and easy link shortening service for free, though their paid service offers helpful tools for marketers.

5. ClickMeter

ClickMeter is a marketing analytics-focused URL shortener that provides detailed data center management of generated links.

6. Zapier

Zapier offers the “easiest way to automate” shortened links for busy people with unique features such as third-party app integration. The company was founded in 2012 with over 250+ employees and earning annual revenue of $67.3 million. 

Chit Link offers simple, yet powerful link shortener features that cater to different groups such as content creators, artists, and businesses.

8. Rebrandly

Focusing on brand management, Rebrandly offers custom branded URL shortened links with tools that cater to marketers with marketing analytical features that can help their businesses. Founded in 2015, it has 70 employees and annual revenue of $18.5 million.

9. MEAU

MEAU.in offers maximized and organized tools for link shortening that includes customizable links, link management, link treeing.

10. DrumUp

Founded in 2015, DrumUp focuses on content management as it helps marketers to find more leads for their brand including link shortening and content scheduling.

FAQ

No. URL shorteners actually redirect users to the longer, original link. Shortened links are essential keys to access the website with the said original link. When you click on a shortened link, it tells the browser to redirect the user to the actual website they are supposed to go to. Think of the shortened links as shortcuts.

Aren’t URL shortener software dangerous to use?

It’s not necessarily dangerous but it has been known that URL shorteners are used to send out links with malicious content. Because of this, many websites would often block many shortened links to avoid exposing their users to clicking links that are potentially dangerous. Many URL shortener software provides security to their users by detecting the original link if it contains possible malicious content and blocks the generation of shortened links as a result if they find anything harmful. Some URL shortener software can inform users whether their shortened links have been blacklisted in some websites. The advantages of using URL shortener software overwhelm the cons of using it, especially for those who are paid subscribers to these software services.

No. Linktree is a landing page generator service used for social media where content creators can use it to compile their channels and other references into one single web portal and provide the link in their social media profiles. While it does generate shortened links, the shortened links only redirect to Linktree’s pages

While long URLs do tell browsers to access these websites, they are not really pleasing to look at and URL shortener software helps trim those long links down to just a few characters that can be shared everywhere. It’s this reason why many companies opt to shorten their URLs with their subscribed URL shortener software. It helps that these shortened links are just keys that don’t change the actual original link’s contents.

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