A Bitly alternative you buy once.
If you are here, you have probably already decided to leave. The question is where to go. Kortli is the option where the bill stops — it runs on your own server, costs one payment, and comes with the complete source code.
The maths, over five years
Renting from Bitly
$29 a month
$348 a year. $1,740 over five years. And the day you stop paying, every link you ever printed, posted or emailed stops working.
Owning Kortli
$199 once
Paid once, never again. You keep $1,541 over the same five years — and the links keep working whether or not we do.
Based on Bitly’s $29 a month plan at the time of writing. Add a small server — around $6 a month — to the Kortli side and it is still not close.
The part that is not about money
A short link is not like other software you rent. When you stop paying for a spreadsheet, you still have the spreadsheet. When you stop paying for a hosted shortener, every link you ever put into the world stops working at once.
On business cards. On packaging. In emails you sent three years ago. In a QR code on a van. You cannot go back and edit printed things — which is what makes a subscription an odd shape for this particular job.
Side by side
| Bitly | Kortli | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay | Every month, forever | Once |
| If you stop paying | Links stop working | Nothing happens |
| Where links run | Their servers | Yours |
| Who has the click data | They do | Only you |
| Your own domains | Usually priced per domain | As many as you like, no extra fee |
| Password-protected links | No | Yes |
| A/B split testing on a link | No | Yes, up to four destinations |
| Styled QR codes with your logo | On higher plans | Included, as vector artwork |
| Works with an AI assistant | API only | API and an MCP server |
| Source code | No | All of it |
| Setup | None — sign up and go | One command on a Linux server |
Where Bitly is still the better answer
We would rather you bought the right thing than bought ours. Stay with Bitly if nobody at your company will go near a server and you do not want us to run it either; if you need their integrations with tools you already pay for; or if you need somebody contractually on the hook for uptime at a scale we are not pretending to serve.
Kortli is also built on Shlink, an open-source shortener under the MIT licence that you could download for nothing tomorrow. We would rather say so plainly. What Shlink has not got is password-protected links, A/B testing or QR codes — those, the interface, the one-command install and the support are what you are paying for.
Questions people ask
Can I keep my existing bit.ly links working?
No, and nor can anyone else. Links on the bit.ly domain belong to whoever owns that domain. What you can do is import your list so the same endings work on your domain from now on. It is the strongest argument for moving sooner rather than later — every month you wait is more printed links you cannot take with you.
What about the links I have already printed?
If they are on a domain you own, they carry on working — point the domain at Kortli and import the list. If they are on bit.ly, they stop when your account does. Nothing can change that, which is worth knowing before the next print run.
Do I lose my click history?
Export it from Bitly before you close the account and keep the file. Kortli starts counting from the day you switch — on your own server, where it stays. That is what a self-hosted URL shortener buys you.
What do I actually need to run it?
Any Linux server with Docker — a $6-a-month box is plenty — and a short branded domain. The install is one command, and HTTPS sets itself up. If you would rather not, we will install it for you for $199 + $499 — licence and setup together, paid once — or host it for you for $199 once and then $79 a month.
Is this really cheaper, once I count the server?
Yes. $199 once plus roughly $6 a month for a small server is about $559 over five years, against $1,740 renting. And the server is usually one you already have.
Talk to a person
Thinking of moving and want to know what it would involve? Write to us and a person answers — usually the same working day. We will tell you honestly if it is not worth it for you.
Would rather just email? hello@kortli.com. Either way we read every message ourselves, and a person writes back, not a chatbot.
Stop renting your own links.
One payment. Full source code. Your server, your data.