Dub.coOpen-source link management for short links, QR codes, and real-time click analytics, with conversion and affiliate tracking layered on top.
Repo
Dub.co
Open-source link management for short links, QR codes, and real-time click analytics, with conversion and affiliate tracking layered on top.
The best-looking open-source link platform in the category, built by an ex-Vercel team and run in production by Framer, Perplexity, and Twilio. The catch for self-hosters: the free build leans on hosted services like Tinybird and Upstash, so running it yourself is real infrastructure work, and the r/selfhosted crowd still reaches for lighter tools.
Great for
Marketing and growth teams that want branded short links with event-level analytics and an API-first workflow, either on the free hosted tier or on their own infrastructure.
The catch
Self-hosting is not a one-container job. The stack expects Tinybird, Upstash, PlanetScale, and Resend wired up first, so most teams land on the hosted plans, and SSO stays in the commercial Enterprise edition.
Bottom line
Backed by a funded company that ships constantly, so support and roadmap are real. The product moved upmarket toward affiliate and partner payouts, which pushed cloud pricing well past a plain shortener.
Self-hostYes, but heavy (Tinybird, Upstash, PlanetScale, Resend)
Managed cloudYes (dub.co, free tier plus paid plans)
LicenseAGPL-3.0 copyleft; enterprise (ee) files commercial
LanguageTypeScript
Maintained byDub Technologies, Inc. (funded company, founder Steven Tey)
Watch out forSelf-host depends on external SaaS; SSO and email campaigns are paid
Custom domainsYes
Branded short linksBulk and single creation
Real-time click analyticsEvent-level: country, city, device, browser, referrer
QR code generationFree, styled, downloadable
UTM builderYes
Device & geo targetingRoute a link by country, city, or device
Conversion trackingClick to lead to sale, with revenue attribution
Affiliate / partner programsRecruit partners and handle payouts
REST API + SDKsTypeScript, Python, Go, Ruby, PHP
WebhooksYes
SSO / SAMLEnterprise edition only
Single-container self-hostReference setup needs Tinybird, Upstash, PlanetScale, Resend
What it does
- Create branded short links on your own custom domains, in bulk or one at a time, from a fast keyboard-driven dashboard
- Track clicks in real time with event-level analytics down to country, city, device, browser, and referrer
- Generate free QR codes for any short link, styled and downloadable for print and campaigns
- Attribute conversions from click to signup to sale, so you see which links drive revenue and not only traffic
- Run affiliate and partner programs, recruiting partners and handling payouts inside the same platform
- Expose everything through a REST API with official SDKs in TypeScript, Python, Go, Ruby, and PHP, plus webhooks
What it can’t do
- Self-host as a single Docker container; the free build expects Tinybird, Upstash, PlanetScale, and Resend to be set up first
- Give you SSO and SAML on the open build; single sign-on is reserved for the commercial Enterprise edition
- Match lightweight self-host shorteners on ops simplicity, which is why r/selfhosted threads still name Yourls, Shlink, and Kutt
- Stay cheap at the top; cloud business plans now start at 90 dollars a month as the platform chases affiliate and partner payouts
- Run fully offline or air-gapped, since the reference self-host setup leans on third-party hosted services
Pros & cons
Pros
- Genuinely polished, fast interface that marketers enjoy using, closer to a modern SaaS than a hobby shortener
- Event-level analytics and conversion tracking that go well past click counts, with revenue attribution built in
- API-first with official SDKs in five languages, so it slots into developer workflows and internal tools
- Real AGPL-3.0 open source with a public, active repo and a funded company driving the roadmap
- Free hosted tier plus custom domains and QR codes, enough for solo users and small teams to start at zero cost
Cons
- Self-hosting depends on external SaaS (Tinybird, Upstash, PlanetScale, Resend), so it is not the drop-in container the self-host crowd wants
- SSO, SAML, and email campaigns sit behind the paid Advanced and Enterprise tiers
- Cloud pricing climbed as the product chased affiliate and partner payouts, with business plans at 90 dollars a month
- Free plan link caps (community reports of 25 new links a month) frustrate light users who expected more headroom
- For teams that only want a URL shortener, the affiliate and partner surface area is weight they will never use
2 positive1 mixed1 critical
What the community says
dub.sh, a link shortener, open source, built by Steven Tey formerly of Vercel.
If you're moving real volume today, Dub or self-hosted Shlink are the safer picks.
Dub looks decent, but honestly the free version of Bitly handles 90% of what most people actually need. The only features that matter are custom domains if you're doing serious campaigns and basic click tracking. All the geo targeting and A/B testing stuff is usually overkill unless you're running massive campaigns.
I was under the impression that the free version gets you 25 new links per month, and once you use the 25 it resets the next billing cycle. I've used the 25 allowed links for the month. The pro plan for Dub.co is $30 per month, and out of my budget right now.
9 sourcesWhere this page’s facts came from. Open the receipts.
- 1GitHub - dubinc/dub repo
- 2GitHub API - repo metadata (stars, language, activity)
- 3Dub LICENSE (AGPL-3.0 + enterprise ee carve-out)
- 4Dub pricing (Business $90, Advanced $300, Enterprise)
- 5Dub self-hosting guide (Tinybird, Upstash, PlanetScale, Resend)
- 6Reddit r/b2bmarketing - smart/short link tool comparison
- 7Reddit r/webhosting - Bitly alternatives, Dub discussed
- 8Reddit r/selfhosted - self-hosted URL shorteners in 2026 (Dub notably absent)
- 9SyntaxGTM (Tom Granot) - Dub endorsed inside a Postiz walkthrough
Watch it work
Real tutorials and reviews from YouTube, not ours.