You know branded links beat long, messy URLs. Now you need the right platform to power those links across all your campaigns, teams, and channels. Bitly and Rebrandly help marketers create branded short links. They’re sophisticated URL shorteners that support digital marketing by connecting custom domains, generating QR Codes, editing destinations, tracking engagement, routing traffic, collaborating in workspaces, and connecting through APIs and integrations.
The key difference comes down to product focus. Rebrandly, which shares a lineage with ClickMeter, centers on domain flexibility, Link Galleries, AI scheduling suggestions, and routing for affiliate marketing, multi-brand, or social-first teams. Bitly connects branded links, Dynamic QR Codes, landing pages, and centralized analytics into a single ecosystem for teams that market across digital and physical touchpoints.
Note: The brands and examples discussed below were found during our online research for this article.
Key takeaways
- Bitly and Rebrandly are genuinely close competitors. If you’re choosing between them, the decision is about which platform’s features connect in the right way for how your team actually works.
- Rebrandly’s strength is domain-first flexibility: It makes branded domains available earlier in the pricing ladder, gives agencies and multi-brand teams room to scale across clients, and wraps social-first workflows like link galleries and AI scheduling into the platform natively.
- Bitly’s strength is platform connectivity: Links, Dynamic QR Codes, and landing pages are all managed and measured together, which matters most for teams running campaigns across print and digital, where unified engagement data drives decisions.
- Pricing structures reflect these priorities. Rebrandly scales by link and QR Code volume, with routing and team features unlocking at higher tiers. Bitly scales by plan tier with increasing platform depth at each level.
Rebrandly vs. Bitly at a glance
Both platforms provide marketers with a strong foundation, offering intuitive interfaces that are accessible even to beginners.
| Decision point | Rebrandly | Bitly |
| Best fit | Multi-domain teams, agencies, creators, and social-first marketers | Teams connecting links, QR Codes, landing pages, and analytics |
| Core focus | Branded links, custom domains, Link Galleries, routing, and AI scheduling | Bitly Links, Bitly Codes, Bitly Pages, and engagement analytics |
| Free plan | 10 links, 10 QR Codes, 1 custom domain, 1 Link Gallery | 5 links, 2 QR Codes, 2 landing pages, 3 custom back-halves |
| Dynamic QR Codes | Yes | Yes |
| Branded domains | Starts on Free tier and expands by tier | Starts on Growth tier with a complimentary custom domain |
| Post-click tools | Link Galleries for link-in-bio pages | Bitly Pages for branded campaign destinations |
| Dynamic routing | Yes | Yes |
| Team tools | Yes | Yes |
| API access | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise features | SSO, compliance, clickstream, custom deployment, 99.9% uptime SLA | SSO, group permissions, high-volume API, support, 99.9% SLA |
How Rebrandly and Bitly compare on core features
Branded links and custom domains
Branded links make every click feel familiar before someone lands on your site, elevating standard link shortening into a trust-building tool. They replace random-looking URLs with recognizable domains and cleaner back-halves, which can build trust across social media posts, SMS, email, print, and paid campaigns. Our deeper look at branded vs generic links explains why brand context matters so much before the click.
Rebrandly puts domain customization at the center of its ecosystem. Free users get 1 custom .bio domain plus 1 Rebrand.ly domain, while the Essentials tier includes 2 custom domains, the Professional tier includes 3, the Growth tier includes 10, and the Enterprise tier offers custom domain volume. Every plan supports custom back-halves. That gives agencies and multi-brand teams a fast start.
Bitly takes a connected-platform approach. Free users can customize back-halves to bit.ly domains, while Growth tier and above unlock branded links with a complimentary custom domain. The platform then ties branded links to QR Codes, landing pages, redirects, and the Bitly Analytics dashboard, which helps when each link supports larger marketing campaigns.
Dynamic QR Codes
Dynamic QR Codes matter because campaigns change faster than print materials move. A dynamic code lets your team update the destination URL after launch, keep the same printed asset, and continue tracking scans for the same published copy. Our examination of Static vs Dynamic QR Codes breaks down that difference in a practical way.
Rebrandly includes some Dynamic QR Codes with every plan. Free gives 10 QR Codes per month; Essentials gives 250; Professional gives 1,500; Growth gives 3,500; and Enterprise offers custom volume. Rebrandly also supports QR Code branding and unlimited scans, so teams can track engagement without scan caps.
Bitly connects QR Codes directly to Bitly Links and the broader campaign workflow. Teams can customize codes with colors, logos, patterns, frames, and other branded elements, then track scan performance alongside link clicks. That shared view helps you compare poster scans, email clicks, and landing page visits without bouncing between reports.
Analytics and reporting
Rebrandly gives teams real-time analytics through tracking links with location, device, referrer, click, and scan data. Paid tiers expand audience data limits, from 10,000 clicks per month on Essentials to 25,000 on Professional and 150,000 on Growth. Enterprise adds custom analytics capacity and clickstream access. Teams can also export data and connect to Google Analytics.
All Bitly plans allow unlimited clicks, with data retention timelines increasing as you move up through the various tiers. Bitly focuses on centralized engagement analytics across Bitly Links, Bitly Codes, and Bitly Pages. Depending on your plan, you can review clicks, scans, device, referrer, location, city-level data, and campaign tracking. Our analysis of Bitly analytics vs native social analytics shows how our platform-level data adds important context beyond that available from individual social apps.
Note that Bitly tracks engagement on our own touchpoints; we do not track purchases, form fills, or other off-platform conversions, but the pre-built solutions in our integrations marketplace let you automatically track these data types across a wide range of CMS suites and other popular software stacks.
Link galleries, landing pages, and post-click experiences
Rebrandly and Bitly both help teams shape what happens after the click through varied functionality, but they solve different problems.
Rebrandly Link Galleries give creators, brands, and social teams a link-in-bio hub. The Free tier includes 1 gallery; Essentials includes 3; Professional includes 4; Growth includes 11; and Enterprise offers custom volume. This feature suits social bios, creator pages, event hubs, and campaigns that need a single shareable destination.
Bitly Pages gives marketers a branded landing page builder inside the platform. Teams can create mobile-friendly pages for campaigns, products, events, downloads, social bios, digital business cards, and short-term promos. Because Bitly Pages integrates with Bitly Links and Bitly Codes, teams can track scans and clicks within a single measurement ecosystem.
Traffic routing, integrations, and collaboration
Rebrandly provides many controls for flexible teams. Its Professional tier adds traffic routing for A/B testing, link expiration, 50 destination edits per month, and 50 password-protected links. The Growth plan adds dynamic traffic routing, mobile deep linking, 150 destination edits per month, UTM tools, social previews, webhooks, app integrations, API access, and advanced roles.
Bitly gives marketers controls for live campaigns. Our Core plan includes redirects, UTM Tracking, and link and QR Code redirect capability. The Growth plan adds bulk creation, while Premium adds mobile deep linking, city-level and device-type data, and campaign-level tracking. Enterprise adds multiple users, group permission management, high-volume Bitly API and webhook access, SSO, guided onboarding, priority customer support, and a dedicated customer success manager.
How pricing and plan structure compare
Rebrandly’s tiers start with Free at $0, with 10 links, 10 QR Codes, 1 custom domain, 1 free domain, 1 Link Gallery, custom back-halves, and unlimited clicks and scans. Essentials starts at $11 per month (billed annually) with 250 links, 250 QR Codes, 2 custom domains, audience data, 3 Link Galleries, and AI scheduling suggestions.
Professional starts at $32 per month with 1,500 links and QR Codes, 3 custom domains, advanced data, password protection, workspaces, routing, and link expiration. Growth starts at $99 per month with 3,500 links and QR Codes, 10 custom domains, 11 Link Galleries, mobile deep linking, dynamic routing, advanced roles, and higher data limits. The company’s Enterprise tier uses custom pricing.
Bitly’s free tier offers 5 links, 2 QR Codes, 2 custom landing pages, 3 custom back-halves, QR Code customization, and unlimited clicks and scans. The Core tier costs $10 per month with annual billing and provides 100 links, 5 QR Codes, 5 landing pages, click and scan data, our UTM Builder, redirects, advanced QR Code customization, and Bitly Assist.
Growth tier costs $29 per month and provides 500 links, 10 QR Codes, 10 landing pages, a complimentary custom domain, branded links, 4 months of data, and bulk creation. Premium tier costs $199 per month and allows for 3,000 links, 200 QR Codes, 20 landing pages, 1 year of scan/click data retention, campaign tracking, city-level and device-type data, and mobile deep linking. The enterprise tier allows for custom pricing and usage limits.
Neither structure wins for everyone. Rebrandly fits teams that need more domains and social hubs earlier. Bitly fits teams that want links, QR Codes, pages, redirects, data history, and AI assistance to scale together. Be sure to review the current plan pages before making any purchase, as details may change.
Where each platform earns its place
Choose Rebrandly when domain flexibility and social-first workflows matter most
Choose Rebrandly when your team manages many branded domains, runs several client programs, or relies heavily on link-in-bio pages. Agencies can separate domains by client, creators can organize content in a Link Gallery, and growth teams can use routing, password protection, AI scheduling suggestions, and audience data to fine-tune campaigns.
Choose Bitly when connected link, QR Code, and landing page management matter most
Choose Bitly when your campaigns span channels and every touchpoint needs shared measurement. Retail, events, and enterprise teams can connect QR Codes, social links, landing pages, destinations, permissions, integrations, and performance from one platform.
Pick the platform that moves your marketing forward
Rebrandly gives teams a robust branded-link platform with custom-domain depth, link management, link galleries, AI scheduling suggestions, routing, and enterprise compliance. Bitly gives teams a connected platform where branded links, Dynamic QR Codes, landing pages, and centralized engagement analytics work together.
Pick Rebrandly when multi-domain flexibility and social aggregation drive the decision. Pick Bitly when your team needs one place to create, manage, and measure branded touchpoints across print and digital channels.
Ready to get the most out of your omnichannel digital marketing? Sign up for a free Bitly account today to learn how we can help you maximize your campaign ROI.
FAQs
Is Rebrandly better than Bitly?
Neither platform is universally better. They serve overlapping but distinct workflows. Rebrandly is built around branded domain flexibility, Link Galleries for social bios, and AI-assisted social optimization. Bitly is built around connecting branded links, Dynamic QR Codes, and landing pages in the Bitly Connections Platform with centralized engagement analytics. The right choice depends on whether multi-domain management and social aggregation or a connected link-and-QR workflow is the higher priority.
Do both Bitly and Rebrandly support custom domains?
Yes. Both platforms support custom-branded domains on paid plans. Rebrandly includes 1 custom domain on its free plan, with 2 on Essentials, 3 on Professional, and 10 on Growth. Bitly’s custom domain availability varies by plan tier.
Does Rebrandly support QR Codes?
Yes. Rebrandly supports QR Codes on all plans, including free (10 QR Codes/month), with custom branding available on paid plans and unlimited QR Code scans across all tiers. Bitly also supports Dynamic QR Codes with customization options, including colors, logos, patterns, and frames, and scan data flows into the same analytics dashboard as link-click data.
What is the difference between Rebrandly’s Link Galleries and Bitly Pages?
They solve related but different problems. Rebrandly’s Link Galleries are a link-in-bio tool that aggregates multiple links into a single shareable page, primarily used for social media bio management. Bitly Pages is a branded landing page builder tied directly to Bitly Links and Bitly Codes, primarily used for post-click campaign destinations. Teams focused on social bio aggregation will find Link Galleries more purpose-built; teams focused on branded campaign landing pages will find Bitly Pages a better fit.
Can both Bitly and Rebrandly support enterprise teams?
Yes. Both platforms offer enterprise plans with SSO, advanced role-based permissions, API access, and dedicated support. Rebrandly’s Enterprise plan adds HIPAA compliance, unlimited workspaces and teammates, clickstream data, workspace-level controls, a dedicated customer success manager, and custom deployment options.
