URL shorteners
1Namecard compared with generic URL shorteners.
In short
Choose Bitly, Rebrandly, Dub or Short.io if you manage many links and want deep link analytics, branded domains and QR codes at volume. Choose 1Namecard if the link should end in a card, a lead form with stored consent or a meeting booking, and every click, lead and meeting should be tied to a rep and a placement. It is not a bulk link platform.
Facts checked
At a glance.
| Compared on | Bitly | Rebrandly | Dub | Short.io | 1Namecard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | BitlyLinks, QR codes and landing pages in one place | RebrandlyBranded links, QR codes and an API | DubLink attribution and conversion tracking | Short.ioBranded links with an API and teams | 1NamecardLinks that end in a card, lead form or booking |
| Free plan | Bitly5 links and 2 QR codes a month | Rebrandly10 links and 100 tracked clicks a month | Dub25 new links and 1,000 tracked events a month | Short.io5 domains and 50,000 tracked clicks a month | 1Namecard10 links, 3 cards and 3 users, every feature |
| Cheapest paid plan | BitlyCore: $10 a month, annual billing only | RebrandlyEssentials: $11 or $8 a month, not labelled | DubPro: $30 a month | Short.ioHobby: $5 a month | 1NamecardTeam: EUR 88 a month for the organisation |
| Custom domains | BitlyNone on Core. One included from Growth | Rebrandly1 on Free to 10 on Growth, per its pricing page | Dub3 on Free to 100 on Business | Short.io5 on Free to 50 on Team | 1NamecardOne custom subdomain, on Business only |
| Click data collected | BitlyCity, country, device type, referrer, time series | RebrandlyClicks, locations, devices and referrers | DubCity, country, browser, OS and device type | Short.ioLocation, OS, browser, referrer and click time | 1NamecardSeries, weekday by hour, breakdowns, CSV, by card or link |
| History kept | Bitly30 days on Core, 1 year on Premium | RebrandlyNot stated for clicks | Dub30 days on Free to 5 years on Advanced | Short.ioNot stated | 1Namecard13 months on every plan |
| Device targeting and expiry | BitlyMobile deep links on Premium. Expiry not verified | RebrandlyDevice routing and expiry from Professional | DubBoth from the Pro plan | Short.ioExpiry from Pro, mobile links from Team | 1NamecardiOS and Android targets, expiry and fallback, every plan |
| QR codes | Bitly2 a month on Free, 200 on Premium | Rebrandly10 watermarked on Free, 250 or more on paid | DubOn every plan, custom styling on paid plans | Short.ioYes, with colours and logos. Plans not stated | 1NamecardPer card now. For short links: in development |
| Link-in-bio pages | BitlyLanding pages: 2 on Free to 20 on Premium | RebrandlyLink galleries: 1 on Free to 11 on Growth | DubNot stated | Short.ioListed as Posts. Plans not stated | 1NamecardNo link-in-bio builder |
| Lead capture and booking | BitlyNot seen on the pages read | RebrandlyNot seen on the pages read | DubTracks leads and sales as events. No form seen | Short.ioNot seen on the pages read | 1NamecardLead form with stored consent, meeting booking, CRM record |
Details for Bitly, Rebrandly, Dub and Short.io come from each vendor's own public pricing and feature pages, read on 15 October 2026. Where a page was thin or silent the table says so. Plans, limits and prices change, and some pages show prices without naming the currency or the billing period. Check each vendor's current pricing before you decide.
Pages read:
- Bitly pricing (bitly.com/pages/pricing)
- Bitly plans and limits (bitly.com/a/pricing)
- Bitly analytics (bitly.com/pages/products/analytics)
- Bitly link in bio (bitly.com/pages/products/link-in-bio)
- Rebrandly pricing (rebrandly.com/pricing)
- Rebrandly features (rebrandly.com/features)
- Dub pricing (dub.co/pricing)
- Dub Links pricing (dub.co/pricing/links)
- Dub analytics (dub.co/analytics)
- Dub documentation (dub.co/docs/introduction)
- Short.io pricing (short.io/pricing)
- Short.io features (short.io/features)
What the generic shorteners do well.
Bitly, Rebrandly, Dub and Short.io manage links at scale. Their own pages publish link allowances from 100 a month up to unlimited, custom domains, QR codes, UTM builders, APIs and click analytics by place, device and referrer. If you run thousands of links for a marketing team or an app, these are the right class of tool.
- Included: Bitly shows city and country, device type, referrers and engagements over time, and counts link clicks, QR scans and landing-page views in one place.
- Included: Rebrandly publishes custom domains on every plan, link galleries, an API and device and location routing from its Professional plan.
- Included: Dub publishes history from 30 days on Free to 5 years on Advanced, conversion tracking for leads and sales, and plans with up to 250 custom domains.
- Included: Short.io has the lowest published entry price of the four, $5 a month, with several branded domains on every plan and expiry by date or click count.
What the published limits look like.
| Plan | Price as published | Links | Tracked clicks or events |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitly Core | $10 a month, annual billing only | 100 a month | Not stated |
| Bitly Growth | $29 a month, $348 billed a year | 500 a month | Not stated |
| Bitly Premium | $199 a month, $2,388 billed a year | 3,000 a month | Not stated |
| Rebrandly Essentials | $11 or $8 a month | 250 a month | 10,000 a month |
| Rebrandly Professional | $32 or $22 a month | 1,500 a month | 25,000 a month |
| Dub Pro | $30 a month | 1,000 new a month | 50,000 events a month |
| Dub Business | $90 a month | 10,000 new a month | 250,000 events a month |
| Short.io Hobby | $5 a month | 2,500 branded links | 100,000 a month |
| Short.io Pro | $18 a month | Unlimited branded links | Unlimited |
| 1Namecard Team | EUR 88 a month for the organisation | 200 in total | No click cap in the published limits |
Read this table with care. The dollar figures are shown without a currency code, and Rebrandly shows two prices per plan without saying which is monthly billing. Most vendors count links created each month. 1Namecard limits the links your organisation holds, at 10, 200 or 2,000 by plan.
Where a link that ends in a lead is different.
A generic shortener ends its job at the redirect. The click is counted and the visitor lands on a page you own. On the pages we read, we did not see a lead form, a consent record or a meeting booking at any of the four. Dub tracks leads and sales as conversion events, which is attribution of something that happens on your own site.
A 1Namecard short link can end in a rep's card, a lead form that stores the exact consent wording and its version, a meeting booking and a CRM record. Every click, scan, lead and meeting is tied to a rep and a placement, so one funnel shows which badge, banner or leaflet brought back conversations.
- Included: No cookies on short links and no IP address in click records. A daily-salted hash of IP and browser counts unique visitors.
- Included: Bots, prefetchers and staff visits are left out of counts by default.
- Included: Short.io's features page says its click data includes the visitor's IP address and user agent. Check what your own privacy policy allows.
What 1Namecard does not have.
- Not included: No link-in-bio builder. A card is a page for one person, not a page of many links.
- Not included: No bulk import of short links yet. It is in development: see the roadmap. Links are made one at a time, in the app or through the REST API.
- Not included: No QR codes for short links yet. They are in development. Each card has its own branded QR code today.
- Not included: No branded short domain on Starter or Team. Custom domain is on Business only, as one subdomain.
- Not included: Link limits by plan: 10 on Starter, 200 on Team, 2,000 on Business.
- Not included: History of 13 months, not years.
- Not included: No A/B split testing of destinations and no retargeting pixels.
Which to choose.
- Included: You manage hundreds or thousands of links, need branded short domains or years of click history: choose a generic shortener.
- Included: You print QR codes for many campaigns and need them for every short link today: choose a generic shortener.
- Included: You want a link-in-bio page with many links: choose a generic shortener.
- Included: You work a stand, a roadshow or a field team and need to know which rep and which placement brought a conversation: choose 1Namecard.
- Included: You need consent stored with each lead and a booking at the end of the link: choose 1Namecard.
- Included: You want both: point a link from any shortener at a card or a 1Namecard link.
Starter is free and takes about 2 minutes to set up, so you can run it beside your current shortener at one show.
Questions people ask.
Is 1Namecard a URL shortener?
It has short links with a target, a status code, expiry and fallback, device targets for iOS and Android, and a UTM builder. It is not a bulk link platform. A link is meant to end in a card, a lead form or a booking.
Can I use my own short domain with 1Namecard?
Only on Business, which includes one custom subdomain. Starter and Team use your organisation's address on 1namecard.com.
Does 1Namecard make QR codes for short links?
Not yet. Each card has a branded QR code as SVG and PNG. QR codes for short links are in development.
Can I keep Bitly, Rebrandly, Dub or Short.io and use 1Namecard too?
Yes. A link from any shortener can point at a card or a 1Namecard link. Click counts stay in the shortener, and leads, meetings and the funnel by rep and placement sit in 1Namecard.