Whether you’re tracking social media engagement, optimizing SMS campaigns, or just making URLs more user-friendly, a good link shortener can make all the difference for marketers.
However, some link-shortening tools may be better suited for certain marketing activities than others. Picking the one that best aligns with your marketing efforts and business goals can mean smarter tracking, better branding, and more streamlined sharing.
In this post, we’ll dive into Bitly and Ow.ly, two of the best URL shorteners on the market. Read on for a complete breakdown of both platforms, comparing their link management capabilities, pricing, integrations, and more.
*Note: The brands and examples discussed below were found during our online research for this article.
Bitly vs. Ow.ly: At a glance
| Feature | Bitly | Ow.ly |
| Link customization and branding | ✓ Branded links, custom slugs available, no-code landing pages | ✓ Custom slugs, vanity links available with higher pricing plans |
| Analytics and tracking Integration with other tools | ✓ Detailed analytics, real-time data, custom reports in the Bitly dashboard | ✓ Custom analytics, integrated with Hootsuite and Google Analytics |
| Ease of use and interface | ✓ Clean, user-friendly interface | ✓ Built into Hootsuite’s intuitive dashboard |
| Integrations | ✓ Integrates with Hootsuite, Google Analytics, HubSpot, and more | ✓ Integrates with Hootsuite |
| Social media management | ✓ Through Hootsuite integration | ✓ Fully integrated with Hootsuite for social scheduling, posting, and monitoring |
| QR Code generation | ✓ Customizable QR Codes integrated with Bitly Links and analytics | x No QR Code features |
| Pricing plans | ✓ Free and paid plans (including custom Enterprise plan), scalable options | ✓ 30-day free trial, then only paid plans tied to Hootsuite’s pricing |
| Bulk link creation | ✓ Available with Growth, Premium, or Enterprise paid plans | x No bulk link creation |
| Support and customer service | ✓ Extensive knowledge base, support team access for all paid plans, designated account management for Enterprise plans | ✓ Self-service help center for all users, access to customer support (via email) during operational hours, designated account rep for Enterprise plans |
Link management capabilities
Both Bitly and Ow.ly offer ways to track links and generate metrics—but with different approaches. Let’s look at the link management capabilities for each URL-shortening service.
Bitly
Bitly is a powerhouse when it comes to link creation and management. From the Bitly Connections dashboard, you can easily generate sleek, customized short links, branded QR Codes, and no-code landing pages.
But creating these connection points is just the start. Each link, QR Code, and landing page can unlock invaluable performance data via Bitly Analytics—metrics like total scans, views, engagement, and more—that empowers you to understand exactly how your content resonates with your audience and, more importantly, replicate success.
With pre-built reports for key metrics like top referrers, locations, and top-performing links and QR Codes, you can make data-fueled decisions about your overall marketing strategy and drive business results.
Ow.ly
Ow.ly is a popular link shortener for businesses and marketing agencies that rely on Hootsuite’s social media management platform. Since it’s integrated directly into Hootsuite, you can easily create shortened links for your social media posts—as well as track engagement metrics—without leaving the platform. This tight integration makes Ow.ly convenient for those already managing their social presence through Hootsuite.
Ow.ly links are also data-driven. Every click funnels back to your Hootsuite dashboard, providing valuable insights into your post’s performance. You’ll be able to track engagement metrics like total clicks and referrers, giving you a full view of how well your social content resonates with your audience.
If your focus is primarily on social media and you’re looking for a tool that keeps link management simple and effective, Ow.ly can be a great fit. It keeps your link strategy closely aligned with your social efforts, making it easy to manage and measure your success.
Pricing plans
Now that we’ve explored each platform’s link management capabilities, let’s take a closer look at pricing.
Bitly
Bitly’s range of plans is geared toward businesses of all sizes—and you can get started completely for free. As a comprehensive connections platform, each Bitly plan includes more than link management. They also equip you with the capabilities to create beautiful, no-code landing pages, QR Codes, branded links, and UTMs—depending on the plan you opt for.
The pricing breakdown is as follows (Note: You can save up to 34% on these by paying annually versus monthly!):
- Free: 5 Bitly links per month
- Core $8/month (or $96/year) for 100 links/month
- Growth: $29/month (or $348/year) for 500 links/month
- Premium: $199/month (or $2,388/year) for 3,000 links/month
- Enterprise: Custom plans with custom pricing for more extensive needs and advanced features
Ow.ly
Ow.ly costs more, as you’ll need to purchase a Hootsuite plan to get access to Ow.ly links and link management—and there’s no free version. But it’s a solid option if you need the platform’s extensive social media management tools as well.
Pricing is as follows:
- Professional: $99/month for one user and up to 10 social accounts
- Team: $249/month for three users and up to 20 social accounts
- Enterprise: Custom pricing starting at five users and a minimum of 50 social accounts
Performance measurement and analytics
Embracing data analytics is a proven mechanism for improving marketing agility, customer relations, and resilience. So, how do these two platforms stack up when it comes to performance measurement and analytics?
Bitly
With Bitly reporting, you unlock a powerful set of tools that simplify tracking and optimizing link performance.
Bitly Analytics is your command center for all things engagement, providing an in-depth, intuitive overview of all of your clicks and scans (across all Bitly products you use—not just links). You can slice and dice this data in any way you need: by time, performance, and referrer. All this data is available in real time, too, making it easy to pivot your strategy and respond quickly to audience shifts.
But Bitly’s performance measurement features aren’t just about reacting. They empower you to be proactive too. With a wealth of insights at your fingertips, you can identify new opportunities to position your links and QR Codes for maximum impact.
And when it’s time to share your success, the Bitly Dashboard allows you to quickly download charts and graphs to create compelling reports for stakeholders.
Ow.ly
Like Bitly, Ow.ly offers a solid analytics suite, designed to help you track and optimize your content performance. Integrated directly into Hootsuite, Ow.ly’s dashboard makes it easy to monitor key metrics like total clicks, referrers, and engagement rates.
You can break down these stats by specific time periods—whether from the moment the link was created or over a custom timeframe—giving you a clear snapshot of how your content is resonating with your audience.
Ow.ly also aims to help you turn insights into measurable improvements, just like Bitly. For example, its new tool, OwlyWriter AI, identifies your top-performing posts from your analytics dashboard. With a simple selection, OwlyWriter AI replicates the tone and style of your best content, so you have a higher chance of repeat success.
Additionally, Ow.ly provides actionable insights to help grow your social presence. With its reports, you can discover the optimal times to post based on when your audience is most active.
Customization capabilities
Digital trust goes hand in hand with improved revenue. One easy way to build that trust? Customized, branded short links.
There are quite a few link management platforms out there that will let you create custom-branded links, though few are as popular as Bitly and Ow.ly.
Bitly
Bitly’s branded links give you the power to turn ordinary links into brand amplifiers.
When you shorten a URL with Bitly, you can easily replace the standard “bit.ly” domain with a custom domain of your choice. This simple upgrade makes your links instantly recognizable and reinforces your brand’s identity across touchpoints.
A consistent brand identity is an absolute must in today’s world. After all, an incredible 65% of consumers find positive experiences with a brand across channels more influential than great advertising.
On top of domain customization (Bitly offers a complimentary domain with the Growth, Premium, and Enterprise plans), Bitly also equips you with the capability to create custom back-halves (also known as “slugs”). This seemingly small customization can have a big impact. By adding personalized words to the end of your links, you give your audience a clear, engaging preview of where they’re headed.
And for a truly seamless brand experience, Bitly’s auto-branding feature ensures that any link shortened by a third party automatically incorporates your custom domain. This means that even when your links are shared or managed by others, your brand’s identity remains consistent.
Ow.ly
Ow.ly also offers the ability to create custom links. To access this feature, you’ll need to be on Hootsuite’s Team plan or higher. Additionally, you’ll need to purchase a vanity URL from a separate platform, as Ow.ly does not include integrated customization tools. This means you’ll need to pay for Hootsuite’s higher-tier plans in addition to a third-party tool for vanity URLs.
As the customization isn’t built-in, the setup process requires multiple steps within external platforms, which may feel less intuitive for some users.
Integrations
Why add to your app stack when you can integrate with existing apps? That’s one reason why integrations are important—because they let you add URL shorteners to existing apps, making it much more convenient to use them.
Bitly
The Bitly marketplace enables you to integrate with a wide variety of apps, including some of the biggest names in marketing and e-commerce, like Salesforce, Buffer, HubSpot, and even Hootsuite. You can also integrate with tools like Google Sheets and Microsoft’s Azure Logic apps.
Ow.ly
Ow.ly doesn’t directly integrate with anything since it’s a native part of Hootsuite. If you want to integrate, you’ll need to integrate Hootsuite itself with other tools you use.
However, the platform does integrate with various social media platforms, ecommerce apps like Shopify, and marketing platforms like HubSpot. It also supports integrations with creative and productivity tools like Canva, Mailchimp, and Google Drive.
Manage your links and boost your brand visibility with Bitly
Bitly and Ow.ly each excel in their unique areas: Bitly is your go-to for building stronger digital connections, offering branded links, custom domains, QR Codes, and advanced analytics. It’s perfect for businesses looking to ace the digital customer experience.
On the other hand, Ow.ly is designed for streamlined social media management. Integrated into Hootsuite, it simplifies link creation and tracking, allowing you to easily monitor engagement metrics and optimize your posting strategy.
Better yet, it doesn’t have to be a choice between the two. Bitly integrates seamlessly with Hootsuite, meaning you can leverage the strengths of both platforms for maximum impact.
Ready to take your audience engagement to new heights? Find your perfect Bitly solution today!
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