The 5 best URL shorteners in 2025

If you’ve been online for more than, say, a week, you know what a long, messy URL looks like—strings of random letters, numbers, and punctuation marks that do little more than confuse users. Whether you’re a digital marketer trying to track campaigns or just someone who appreciates a clean link, a good URL shortener is worth its weight in gold. Fast-forward to 2025, and we’ve got a handful of standout options that not only tidy up your links but also offer some seriously advanced features.

Sure, you can just pick the first tool you find on Google, but it pays to invest a few minutes to explore the differences. Some platforms shine with analytics dashboards that feel like they’ve jumped straight out of a marketing textbook; others focus on simplicity or unique integrations. Below, we’ve rounded up the five best URL shorteners you should consider this year—along with their pros and cons—so you can choose the one that matches your needs.

1. T.LY URL Shortener

Best for: Marketers, small businesses, and freelancers who want an all-in-one URL management tool without losing their sanity or breaking the bank.

It’s not just because you’re reading this on the T.LY blog that we’re putting T.LY at the top of the list. Over the last few years, T.LY has evolved from a simple link shortener into a robust platform. Think custom domains, in-depth analytics, and easy QR code generation. It’s all designed to help you better understand who’s clicking and why, so you can make smarter marketing decisions. T.LY also has a remarkably user-friendly browser extension, now trusted by more than 500,000 users. With just a single click, it transforms even the longest URLs into short links you can share anywhere.

Key features:

• Simple, intuitive dashboard: Even if you’re new to URL shorteners, you’ll be up and running in no time.
• Robust analytics: Get the numbers you need—click counts, geographic data, referral sources—and actually understand them.
• Custom domains: Keep your branding consistent and your links memorable.
• Reliable uptime: No one wants their link to break at the worst time. T.LY’s infrastructure puts reliability front and center.

Where it could improve:

• Enterprise-level integrations: While T.LY does offer integrations, there’s always room for deeper connections with large-scale marketing and CRM tools.
• Advanced team management features: For big teams, a few more granular permission controls would be a welcome addition.

Bottom line: T.LY strikes the perfect balance between straightforward usability and advanced functionality, making it a top contender in the URL-shortening landscape.

2. Bitly

Best for: Established brands and enterprise-level marketers who want tried-and-true features and a name everyone recognizes.

Bitly was founded in 2008 as a simple solution to a common internet problem: sharing overly long, complicated URLs. Originally developed under the wing of New York-based incubator Betaworks, it quickly gained traction thanks to its reliability and ease of use. By 2009, Bitly links had become a staple on Twitter feeds, thanks in part to the platform briefly adopting Bitly as its default URL shortener. Over time, Bitly introduced analytics, branded links, and additional paid features, transforming it from a humble link-shrinking service into a robust marketing tool. Today, it remains one of the most recognizable names in link management, trusted by both casual users and major brands worldwide.

If you’ve ever clicked a shortened link on social media, chances are, you’ve landed on a Bitly at some point. Over the years, the platform has added features like branded links, campaign tracking, and analytics dashboards. By 2025, Bitly’s a well-oiled machine—but be prepared to pay if you want all the bells and whistles. Compare T.LY and Bit.ly

Key features:

• Brand recognition: Everyone knows Bitly.
• Solid analytics: Get a good overview of who’s clicking and where.
• Scalability: With enterprise packages, it can handle huge link volumes and complicated workflows.

Where it could improve:

• Pricing for small users: Bitly’s pricing can feel steep if you’re not using every feature.
• User experience: The interface feels a bit dated compared to more modern options.

3. Rebrandly

Best for: Businesses serious about brand consistency and advanced analytics.

Rebrandly emerged in the mid-2010s as a next-generation URL shortening service designed with branding and marketing in mind. Founded by a team with deep experience in the tech and SaaS world, it set out to differentiate itself from older players by putting brand identity at the forefront. Rather than simply shrinking links, Rebrandly focused on custom domains and branded short links as a way to help businesses maintain trust and recognition with their audiences. Early adopters appreciated the platform’s smooth integration with marketing tools and its user-friendly interface. Over the years, it has steadily expanded its feature set with rich analytics, advanced link routing options, and seamless third-party integrations, cementing Rebrandly’s place as one of the go-to tools for forward-thinking digital marketers who understand that every click tells a story.

Rebrandly focuses on custom branded links—so if uniformity and brand trust matter to you, this might be the one. It offers a wide variety of custom domain options, link routing, and detailed analytics. By 2025, Rebrandly’s integration game is strong, playing nicely with popular marketing tools, making it an easy fit for teams with complex tech stacks. Compare T.LY and Rebrandly

Key features:

• Serious branding tools: Multiple custom domains, link customization, and even tracking parameters.
• Integrations: Works with a wide range of third-party platforms.
• Team collaboration: Manage user roles, permissions, and multiple workspaces.

Where it could improve:

• Learning curve: All those features can feel overwhelming at first.
• Cost: Similar to Bitly, advanced features come with a higher price tag.

4. TinyURL

Best for: Casual users who just want something quick, easy, and free.

TinyURL has been around forever—long before URL shorteners became a must-have tool for marketers and businesses. Back then, it was revolutionary, turning long, clunky links into something much more manageable. But fast forward to 2025, and TinyURL’s age is starting to show.

One big issue? The links it generates aren’t all that short anymore. The “tinyurl.com” domain itself is already pretty long, and because the service has been around for so many years, it’s running out of short character combinations to use for new links. As a result, TinyURL has had to generate longer and longer URLs over time to keep up with demand.

For casual users, this might not seem like a big deal. But in today’s world—where every character counts in social media posts, and clean, branded links are essential for marketing—a “short” link that’s not actually that short just doesn’t cut it. While TinyURL deserves credit for paving the way, there are now better, more efficient options available. Compare T.LY and Tinyurl

Key features:

• Simplicity: No login required, no complicated dashboards.
• Reliability: It’s been around forever and still works just fine.

Where it could improve:

• Lack of analytics: If you’re serious about tracking clicks, look elsewhere.
• Branding limitations: You can’t do much more than shorten a link.
• Length of Links: The length of the domain and limited short character combinations cause the urls to be long

5. Ow.ly (Hootsuite)

Best for: Social media managers and teams already living in the Hootsuite ecosystem.

Ow.ly began as the built-in URL shortener developed by Hootsuite, the popular social media management platform. It was introduced to streamline the process of sharing links across multiple social profiles without leaving the Hootsuite dashboard. From the start, it was positioned as a way to keep all social publishing and analytics under one roof, eliminating the need to jump between different tools. Over time, Ow.ly integrated more tightly with Hootsuite’s scheduling, monitoring, and analytics features, turning what was once a simple link shortener into a seamless part of the platform’s social media workflow. Its evolution has mirrored the changing landscape of social marketing—moving beyond basic shortening to help businesses measure and refine their online presence more effectively.

If your life revolves around scheduled posts, social analytics, and engagement metrics, Ow.ly just slips right into your workflow, making it easy to keep track of how all those tweets and posts are performing.

Key features:

• Seamless integration: If you’re using Hootsuite, it’s right there—no extra logins or tabs.
• Social-focused analytics: See how your links perform across different platforms and campaigns.

Where it could improve:

• Limited standalone functionality: Outside of Hootsuite, Ow.ly doesn’t bring much to the table.
• Less flexibility: Custom domains and advanced analytics aren’t as robust as some competitors.

How to Choose the Right URL Shortener

In 2025, the URL shortener you pick should fit your exact workflow. If you’re just a casual user, a quick and free tool like TinyURL might be all you need. For serious marketers and business owners, T.LY and Rebrandly provide the kind of in-depth analytics, branding features, and integrations that deliver real value. And if you’re embedded in a social media management platform, Ow.ly might be the simplest option.

Your links do more than just lead people somewhere; they set the tone for how your brand is perceived, how you measure success, and how easily you can adapt your marketing strategies. While all five of these tools have their merits, T.LY is a standout choice for its balance of features, ease of use, and affordability. Plus, it’s constantly evolving, adding new functionalities to help you stay ahead of the curve.

In a world where every click counts, choosing the right URL shortener can make all the difference. T.LY is ready to show you just how powerful a simple, shortened link can be.