Short.io vs SendURL: Which Free URL Shortener Fits You?

Short.io's free plan is bigger than SendURL's in most ways: 1,000 links (a lifetime total), 5 custom domains and a long list of tools. SendURL is the simpler pick: no account to start, 100 links with every click recorded in full, and passwords and expiry on the free plan. Both have a $5 tier. Short.io details are from its pricing page, checked on 15 October 2026.

Disclosure: SendURL is our product. Short.io's free plan does more than ours in several areas, and we say so plainly.

Key takeaways

• Short.io Free: 1,000 branded links issued once for the account's lifetime, not per month; 5 custom domains; 50,000 tracked clicks a month.
• SendURL Free: 100 links at any one time per workspace, on snu.to only, with country, device, browser, OS, referrer and time on every click.
• Password protection and link expiration start on Short.io Pro ($18 a month). SendURL has both on every plan.
• Short.io needs an account first; SendURL lets you shorten as a guest and claim the link later.

At a glance

Where Short.io is stronger

On paper, Short.io's free plan is larger than ours in almost every way. The pricing page lists 1,000 branded links, 5 custom domains and 50,000 tracked clicks a month, and its FAQ says commercial use is allowed on the free plan. The 1,000 links are "issued once and can be used over the account lifetime", so they don't renew each month.

Its "included in every plan" list covers destination URL updating, slug editing, an API, QR codes, a UTM builder, A/B testing, link import and export, and tools and extensions. Paid tiers add country targeting on Hobby, and password protection and link expiration on Pro.

SendURL has some of those: QR codes, an API, expiry and passwords on every plan, and destination editing through the API only. It has no custom domains, no A/B tests and no bulk import; its UTM builder is a free web tool outside the dashboard. If you need a branded domain or any of those tools, Short.io is the better choice.

Where SendURL is stronger

SendURL's advantage is simplicity. Paste a link on the SendURL home page and you get a short snu.to link with no account. When you sign up later, the guest link you made is claimed into your dashboard with all its clicks.

There is less to set up. You don't connect a domain, configure DNS or learn a large dashboard. You make a link, share it, and open one view with clicks over time and, for every click, the country, device, browser, operating system, referrer and time. That's per-click link analytics on the free plan.

Short.io doesn't publish its analytics retention on the pricing page, so history can't be compared directly. SendURL's plans list 7 days of analytics history on Free and 30 on Pro.

Pricing compared

As of 15 October 2026, Short.io prices on monthly billing (the page says annual billing saves 17%):

At $5 a month, Short.io Hobby gives you more links and custom domains than SendURL Pro. SendURL Pro is for people who like how SendURL works and want more links and a longer history. The SendURL Free and Pro plans are on the home page.

Which should you choose?

Choose Short.io if:

• You want your own domain on your links
• You need destination edits and a UTM builder inside the dashboard, or A/B tests

Choose SendURL if:

• You want to make a tracked link right now, without an account
• You want passwords or expiry without paying
• You prefer a small, focused dashboard over a large platform

For more side-by-sides, see free Bitly alternatives and the best URL shorteners.

Checklist before you decide

• Count how many links you'll make in a year: Short.io's free 1,000 are issued once for the account's lifetime, not each month
• Decide whether you need a custom domain (SendURL has none)
• Decide whether you need passwords or expiry on the free plan
• Make one test link on the home page and read its clicks an hour later