T.LY vs Polr
Polr is self-hosted and puts infrastructure ownership on your team. T.LY is managed and includes branded links, analytics, Smart URLs, OneLinks, QR workflows, retargeting, apps, and support.
Reviewed against official product and pricing pages on September 1, 2026.
T.LY at a Glance
T.LY link management workflow and product pages.
T.LY is a link management and URL shortener platform built for branded links, QR codes, Smart URLs, OneLinks, retargeting, and private analytics. Paid plans include custom domains with SSL, unlimited clicks, API access, editable destinations, and published monthly usage limits. T.LY also offers a free online shortener and browser extension, and its redirects do not insert ad interstitials.
Plans include a free online shortener and browser extension for occasional shortening, plus paid tiers starting with Hobby at $55/year for 500 new links per month. Monthly paid plans start with Personal at $10/month for 1,000 new links per month, followed by Basic at $20/month, Pro at $50/month, and Business at $100/month for higher-volume teams. A five-day trial is available for paid plans.
Polr Snapshot
Polr official project site and self-hosted positioning.
Polr is an open-source, self-hosted URL shortener. Its homepage emphasizes self-hosting, branding, control over your data, and a REST API rather than a hosted SaaS offer.
Polr is free to self-host, but you take on the infrastructure, upgrades, abuse handling, backups, and uptime. The official project site links to documentation and GitHub releases, and the current GitHub releases page still marks 2.3.0 as the latest release, with QR code generation and bulk link creation added in that branch.
Pricing and Product Fit
T.LY
Why teams choose T.LY: Branded links, QR codes, Smart URLs, OneLinks, retargeting, private analytics, and predictable self-serve pricing in one managed platform.
Pricing
- Free online shortener and browser extension for lightweight, occasional shortening.
- T.LY has a mobile app for checking link and QR analytics from your phone or tablet.
- Hobby: $55/year for 500 new links each month.
- Personal: $10/month or $110/year for 1,000 new links each month.
- Basic: $20/month or $220/year for 4,000 new links each month.
- Pro: $50/month or $550/year for 10,000 new links each month.
- Business: $100/month for 20,000 short links, 20,000 QR codes, 500,000 stats tracked, 10 team members, 100 custom domains, and webhooks.
T.LY Strengths
- Unlimited clicks, custom domains with SSL, private stats, QR codes, and API access on every paid plan.
- Monthly plans start at $10 for 1,000 short links and 1,000 QR codes per month.
- Smart URLs, OneLinks, retargeting pixels, bulk tools, browser extensions, and iOS and Android apps.
- Direct redirects with no forced ad or preview page.
Polr
Product fit: Teams that explicitly want to self-host their shortener, own the infrastructure, and customize the stack themselves.
Pricing
- No official SaaS pricing. Polr is open source and self-hosted.
- Your actual cost depends on hosting, maintenance, monitoring, security, and support.
- Official project messaging still centers on control, branding, and API access rather than managed service convenience.
Product Focus
- You control the domain, data, and deployment model.
- REST API and self-hosted branding controls.
- Latest official releases highlight QR code generation and bulk link creation support.
Where T.LY Pulls Ahead of Polr
No infrastructure burden
T.LY removes the need to patch, monitor, back up, and secure your own shortener deployment.
Managed setup
You can start with a browser extension, use the mobile app, move to branded domains, and add Smart URLs, OneLinks, retargeting, and QR workflows without server work.
Shared managed workspace
T.LY lets marketing and operations share link workflows without exposing your infrastructure or custom deployment stack.
Feature Breakdown
Data last validated: September 1, 2026
| Feature | T.LY | Polr |
|---|---|---|
| Custom Domains | Yes (paid tiers, SSL included) | Yes (self-hosted) |
| Branded Links | Yes | Yes (your own domains) |
| Free Plan | Yes (online shortener and browser extension) | Yes (open source, self-hosted) |
| Paid Plans | Yes (Hobby $55/year, Personal $10, Basic $20, Pro $50, Business $100) | No official SaaS |
| Unlimited Clicks | Yes | Yes (depends on hosting) |
| Analytics | Yes | Yes (basic, self-managed) |
| QR Code Generation | Yes | Yes (latest official release branch) |
| Bulk Shortening | Yes | Yes (latest official release branch) |
| API Access | Yes | Yes |
| Integration | API, browser extensions, automation-friendly workflows | API / custom code |
| Link Editing | Yes | Yes |
| Link Expiration | Yes | Not built in by default |
| Password Protection | Yes | No native feature highlighted |
| Geotargeting | Yes (Smart URLs) | No native routing workflow highlighted |
| Link Retargeting | Yes | No native feature |
| Browser Extensions | Yes (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Safari) | No official extension highlighted |
| Mobile App | iOS and Android app | No |
| Team Collaboration | Yes | Basic self-managed roles |
| Enterprise Solutions | Yes | Self-hosted only |
| Uptime & Reliability | Managed platform | Depends on your hosting |
| User Interface | Web dashboard plus iOS and Android apps | Minimal |
| Support & Community | Docs + email support | Open-source community |
What to Consider with Polr
- Self-hosting means you are responsible for uptime, patching, abuse prevention, and backups.
- Official Polr releases move more slowly than hosted SaaS platforms.
- Managed support, SLA commitments, and turnkey compliance packaging are outside the project’s core promise.
Migration Game Plan
- Export your Polr links from the database into CSV.
- Normalize slugs, destinations, and any useful notes into T.LY’s import format.
- Point your short domain to T.LY and verify SSL.
- Import the links, confirm redirects, and retire the self-hosted instance once traffic is cut over.
Move from self-hosted Polr to managed T.LY
Import your Polr links and let T.LY handle the managed service, analytics, link workflows, and abuse response.
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Browser Extension
