Comparison · Updated May 2026
Both shorten links. One gives you a custom domain on the free plan, the other gives you QR codes. Neither lets the visitor stay in your funnel after the click. Here is the honest breakdown.
Independent comparison · No affiliate links
The household-name shortener with QR codes.
Branded short links with custom domains as the headline feature.
| Plan tier | Bitly | Rebrandly |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 10 links/mo, no custom domain | 500 links/mo, 1 custom domain |
| Entry paid | $8/mo (Core) — 1,500 links | $13/mo (Starter) — 5,000 links |
| Team tier | $29/mo per user (Growth) | $39/mo (Pro) — flat for 3 users, then per seat |
| Custom domains | Paid only | Free plan ships 1 |
| QR codes | All plans (incl. free) | Paid plans only |
| CTA overlays | Not available | Not available |
Pricing pulled from each vendor's public site, May 2026. Tiers may change.
Pick: Rebrandly
Rebrandly's free tier already gives you a branded domain and 500 links. Bitly forces a paid plan for any custom domain at all.
Pick: Bitly
Bitly bundles QR generation on every plan, including free. Rebrandly gates QRs behind paid tiers.
Pick: Neither (see below)
Both Bitly Growth and Rebrandly Pro+ scale per user. A 3-person team pays 3x. Flat-pricing alternatives exist.
Pick: Neither (see below)
Bitly and Rebrandly are pure redirectors. The visitor lands on the destination site and you lose them. Neither tool adds a CTA on top of the link.
The third option
Bitly and Rebrandly shorten and brand the link, then the visitor lands on someone else's site and the click is gone. Visib keeps a small overlay on top of the destination, with your message and your call to action, so traffic can flow back to your site, signup, or product.
Depends on what you need. Rebrandly wins on branded short links and gives you a custom domain on the free plan. Bitly wins on QR codes and brand recognition with end users. Neither adds a CTA overlay to drive traffic back to your funnel, so if conversion matters, look further.
Bitly: free for 10 links/mo, then $8/mo (Core), $29/mo per user (Growth), $199/mo (Premium). Rebrandly: free for 500 branded links, then $13/mo (Starter), $39/mo (Pro), $99/mo (Premium). Rebrandly is cheaper for branded links; Bitly is cheaper as a basic shortener if you stay under the link cap.
Marketers usually need three things Bitly does not give: a branded short domain on the free plan, a CTA overlay that drives the click back to their funnel, and flat pricing that does not punish team growth. A tool like Visib covers all three.
If you want branded short links without per-user pricing, Visib gives you the same custom-domain setup plus CTA overlays on every plan. Bitly, Short.io, BL.INK, and Dub are other Rebrandly alternatives, each with trade-offs we cover on the comparison pages linked below.
Bitly links stay live as long as your account exists; deleted accounts kill the redirect. Rebrandly free-tier links stay live too, but downgrading from a paid plan can disable links above the new tier's cap. We wrote a dedicated page on this: How long do Rebrandly links last.
Yes. Both let you export your link list (CSV). You can recreate the short links on a new tool in minutes. The only catch is the custom domain: you point the CNAME to the new provider, and the live links cut over once DNS propagates.