Remember When Bitly Was Actually Free?

There was a time when you could create unlimited short links on Bitly for free. Good analytics, clean redirects, simple interface. It was the default recommendation in every “best tools for marketers” article.

Those days are gone.

Bitly’s free plan in 2026 is a shadow of what it used to be. And unless you’ve checked recently, you might be surprised at just how limited it’s become. Let’s break it down.

What Bitly’s Free Plan Actually Includes

Here’s the current free tier, no sugar-coating:

Feature	Free Plan Limit
Short links	5 per month
QR codes	2 per month
Link-in-bio pages	1
Custom back-halves	No
Custom branded domain	No
Link redirects	With interstitial ads
Click analytics	Basic (30-day history)
Link tags & filtering	No
Bulk link creation	No
API access	No

Five links. Per month. That’s not a typo.

The Interstitial Ad Problem

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Every link you create on Bitly’s free plan now includes an interstitial ad page. When someone clicks your bit.ly link, they see this:

1. A full Bitly-branded page loads
2. An advertisement is displayed
3. The user can then click through to your actual destination

This isn’t a subtle banner ad. It’s a full-page interruption between the click and your content.

What this looks like in practice:

You: “Hey, check out our new product launch! bit.ly/our-launch”

Your customer clicks, and sees: A page they didn’t expect, with someone else’s ad, and a “Continue to your destination” button.

What your customer thinks: “Is this spam? Did I click the wrong thing?”

Not exactly the seamless experience you were going for.

What Changed (and When)

The changes didn’t happen overnight. Here’s the rough timeline:

• 2023-2024: Bitly started reducing free plan limits, previously unlimited links became capped
• Early 2025: Free plan cut to 10 links/month, QR codes added to paid tiers
• Mid 2025: Interstitial ad pages introduced for free-tier links
• Late 2025: Free plan reduced to 5 links/month, 2 QR codes/month
• 2026: Current state — the free plan is essentially a trial, not a usable tool

The most controversial part? Existing links were retroactively affected. Links you created years ago when the plan was generous now show ads too.

The Math Doesn’t Work

Let’s say you’re a small business owner. You need links for:

• Your Instagram bio (1 link)
• A QR code for your business card (1 QR code)
• A link in your email signature (1 link)
• A link for this month’s promotion (1 link)
• A link for a blog post you shared (1 link)
• A QR code for your storefront (1 QR code)

That’s 4 links and 2 QR codes. You’re at your monthly limit, and it’s only the first week of the month. Any links for social posts, customer communications, or tracking campaigns? You’re out of luck until next month.

And every one of those links shows an ad to your customers.

What Do the Paid Plans Cost?

If you want to escape the ads and limits, here’s what Bitly charges:

Plan	Price	Links/month	QR Codes
Core	$10/month	100	20
Growth	$29/month	500	100
Premium	$199/month	3,000	500
Enterprise	Custom	Unlimited	Unlimited

So the jump from free to “no ads” is $10/month — $120/year for 100 links. That’s not terrible on its own, but it’s $120/year for what used to be free. And if you need more than 100 links, you’re at $29/month ($348/year) pretty quickly.

How Other Platforms Compare

Here’s where it gets interesting. Bitly’s pricing isn’t the only game in town anymore:

Platform	Free Links	Free QR Codes	Ads?	Smart Routing?
Bitly	5/month	2/month	Yes	No
Short.io	1,000	Included	No	Basic
TinyURL	Unlimited*	No	No	No
Rebrandly	10/month	Limited	No	Paid
301.Pro	Included	Included	No	Yes

*TinyURL’s free tier has limited analytics and no custom domains.

The gap is real. While Bitly is charging $10/month to remove ads from 100 links, other platforms are offering hundreds or thousands of links — with QR codes, without ads — on their free or entry-level plans.

The Features You’re Missing on Free Bitly

Beyond the link and QR limits, here’s what you don’t get:

• Custom branded domains — Your links will always say bit.ly, not yourbrand.link
• Advanced analytics — No geographic data, no device breakdown, no referrer tracking
• Link editing — Can’t change where a link points after creation
• Campaign organization — No tags, no groups, no filtering
• API access — Can’t automate link creation
• Bot filtering — No way to separate real clicks from bot traffic

That last one is sneaky. Without bot filtering, your click numbers include every scanner, crawler, and automated checker that hits your link. Your “500 clicks” might really be 200 real humans and 300 bots.

When Free Bitly Still Makes Sense

Let’s be fair. There are scenarios where Bitly’s free plan is fine:

• You need 1-2 links per month, rarely
• You don’t care about analytics
• The links are for personal use, not business
• You’re OK with ads appearing before your content

If none of those describe you, it’s time to look elsewhere.

Making the Switch

If you’ve decided the free plan isn’t cutting it, you’ve got two paths:

Pay for Bitly

Upgrade to Core ($10/month) or higher. You get more links, no ads, and better analytics. It’s the path of least resistance.

Switch platforms

Move to a platform that gives you more for less. If you’re going to pay for link management, you might as well get smart routing (geo-targeting, time-based redirects, A/B testing) included instead of paying extra for what should be table stakes.

The Takeaway

Bitly’s free plan went from “the default tool everyone uses” to “a trial that shows ads to your customers.” Five links a month with interstitial ads isn’t a free plan — it’s a billboard for Bitly that you’re paying for with your audience’s trust.

Your links deserve better. So do the people clicking them.