T.LY vs TinyURL: Making the Big Decision for Tiny Links

URL shorteners have been around for 25+ years. On the surface, they make long links easier to share, give you solid analytics, and help keep your branding consistent. In this comparison, I’m taking a close look at T.LY and TinyURL. We’ll cover their features, ease of use, performance, and how well they handle generating short links, so you can decide which one best fits your needs.

Introduction to URL Shorteners

In past blog posts, I've covered the history of URL shorteners, but at their core, they are tools that allow marketers to take one URL and dynamically update it to a different destination URL. Creating a short URL is usually free, but if a user needs additional features, a paid subscription is often required.

T.LY: A New URL Shortener

Relatively new to the URL-shortening space (Started in 2018), T.LY has quickly grown into one of the most widely used URL shorteners on the web. Its clean interface and affordable features make it a preferred choice for many users as a tiny link creator.

The platform provides essential features like link customization, click tracking, and QR code generation. T.LY also offers free tools, including a website screenshot tool that lets you generate high-resolution screenshots of any URL.

T.LY URLs are shorter than TinyURL ones. This is because "t.ly" has fewer letters than "tinyurl.com." On average, T.LY short links are 11 characters shorter. This is especially helpful when using a few characters, such as in a tweet or text message. It's also easier to type a T.LY because they're short.

TinyURL: The Veteran

TinyURL has been around for quite some time, and for a good reason. It was one of the pioneers in URL shortening, introducing the concept to millions of users worldwide. Its simplicity and reliability have made it a trustworthy option for many.

Despite its age, tinyurl.com has kept up with the times. It provides features such as link customization, previews for shortened URLs, and recently paid plans that add more features. However, unlike T.LY, it lacks advanced options such as a browser extension and free, detailed analytics.

Feature Comparison

Let's dive deeper into the feature set of both platforms: