Bitly vs Linktree Comparison 2026
Bitly shortens and brands links, prints editable QR codes and builds a link-in-bio page from one account, but its free plan is five links a month with advertising attached, so it behaves like a paid tool starting at $10 a month. Linktree is a link-in-bio page first: free and unlimited on links, recognised by almost any audience on sight, with paid tiers starting around $5 a month for deeper customisation. The choice is what the link is for. A single bio link favours Linktree's price and recognition, while the same link going onto a flyer, a video description and a campaign report favours Bitly's tracking across all three.
Short links, QR codes and a bio page
The link in bio page most people already recognise
At a glance
- Linktree starts cheaper, at $5.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Bitly | Linktree | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $10 | From $5 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | None | None |
| API |
Bitly
Short links, QR codes and a bio page
Bitly shortens and brands links, makes QR codes that stay editable after they have been printed, and builds a link-in-bio page from the same account, with click data under all three. The free plan is five links a month and carries advertising. What the money buys is the branded domain and the reporting behind it.
Our note
For a bio link alone this is expensive next to Linktree or Zaap. It earns the money when the same links are going onto packaging and into a campaign report, which is the job the cheaper ones do not do.
Linktree
The link in bio page most people already recognise
Linktree is fast to set up and understood by every audience, which is most of its value. Payments, email capture and basic analytics are all there now. Customization is limited unless you pay.
Our note
Fine, and rarely the best answer. Beacons does more for the same money and beehiiv or Kit do the audience part properly; Linktree wins on the one thing that is hard to buy, which is that your followers already know what it is.
Why people weigh these two
- Linktree instead of Bitly
- The recognised link in bio page from $5 with a free tier, if the bio page is the part of Bitly you actually use.
- Bitly instead of Linktree
- Bitly leads with short links and QR codes, with a bio page attached, suited to somebody who already tracks click data and wants it in one place.
Which one should you pick
Choose Bitly when the same link needs to work in more than one place: a printed flyer, a video description and a bio, with click data reported for each separately. Core is $10 a month for custom back-halves, and Growth at $29 adds landing pages and an AI assistant. It is wrong for a bio link alone, since the free plan allows only five links a month with advertising attached.
Choose Linktree for a bio link that has to work today and be understood instantly, since almost every audience already recognises it. The free plan gives unlimited links with basic analytics, and paid tiers start around $5 a month for deeper customisation. It is wrong for anybody selling seriously through the page itself, since Bitly's tracking, QR codes and campaign tools go further once a link's job is more than living in a bio.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper, Bitly or Linktree?
- Linktree, in almost every case. Its free plan gives unlimited links, while Bitly's free plan allows only five links a month with adverts attached. Linktree's paid tiers start around $5 a month; Bitly's start at $10.
- Can Linktree track clicks the way Bitly does?
- Only at a basic level. Linktree's free plan includes simple click analytics, but Bitly adds device and time data, a UTM builder for campaigns, and reporting that spans QR codes and printed links as well as the bio page.
- Does Bitly's free plan work for a simple bio link?
- Barely. It allows five links a month and carries advertising, which is too small for an ongoing bio page. Linktree's free plan has no such cap on links, which is why it is the more practical free choice for that single job.
- Why would anybody pay $10 a month for Bitly instead of $5 for Linktree?
- Because the link is not only going into a bio. Bitly's price buys a branded domain, QR codes that stay editable after printing, and a UTM builder, so the same short link can be tracked on packaging, in a video description and in a campaign report at once, which Linktree does not do.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.