Bitly Free Plan Now Shows Ads? Here’s a Better Alternative (Free, No Ads)

Bitly’s free plan isn’t really free anymore. You now get just 5 short links per month, your landing pages carry Bitly branding, you can’t use your own domain, and — most notably — ads now appear on your Bitly-powered pages. Every click you send through Bitly potentially shows someone else’s advertisement.

For anyone managing more than a handful of links, this makes Bitly’s free tier essentially unusable. It’s no longer a tool — it’s a trial. And even if you upgrade to Core at $10/month, you still don’t get branded links. That requires the Growth plan at $29/month.

Why Showing Ads on Your Links Hurts Your Brand

Every link you share is a first impression. When someone clicks a Bitly free link and lands on a page with third-party ads, here’s what they actually see: your content, alongside promotions you didn’t choose, from advertisers you don’t know.

This creates three problems:

• •
  Trust erosion. Generic short links with ads look spammy. Recipients have learned to associate ad-laden pages with low-quality content.
• •
  Conversion killers. Studies consistently show branded domains boost click-through rates versus generic shorteners. An ad on the landing page adds friction exactly when you want a clean experience.
• •
  Zero control. You don’t choose which ads appear, where they sit on the page, or whether they’re relevant to your audience. Your brand experience is handed to an algorithm.

If you’re sharing links for a business, a campaign, or any professional purpose, you can’t afford to let someone else’s ads sit between you and your audience.

Bitly Free vs RedirHub Free — Side by Side

Here’s how the two free plans actually compare:

• •
  Links / Redirects: 5 per month (Bitly) vs 100 records (RedirHub) — 20x more
• •
  Custom domains: Not available on Bitly Free vs 2 hostnames on RedirHub Free
• •
  Edit destinations: Cannot change on Bitly vs Full control on RedirHub
• •
  Ads or branding: Yes on Bitly vs Zero ads, zero branding on RedirHub
• •
  HTTPS: Not included on Bitly vs Automatic on all domains with RedirHub
• •
  API access: 1,000 requests on Bitly vs MCP + REST API on RedirHub
• •
  Redirect types: Basic shortening on Bitly vs Frame, path-based, full HTTPS on RedirHub

RedirHub Free gives you 20x more redirects and custom domains — features Bitly reserves for its $29/month Growth plan.

What You Actually Get with RedirHub Free

RedirHub’s free tier is built to be genuinely usable, not just a teaser to push you into paying. Here’s what’s included:

• •
  100 redirect records — enough for a full domain migration, an entire campaign, or months of marketing links.
• •
  Custom domains with automatic HTTPS — use your own branded domain so links read yourbrand.co/offer instead of bit.ly/abc123. Certificates are provisioned and renewed automatically.
• •
  Frame and path-based redirects — go beyond simple shortening. Set up iframe redirects that keep your source URL visible, or route different paths to different destinations.
• •
  Full destination editing — change where a link points anytime. Bitly Free locks destinations after creation; RedirHub doesn’t.
• •
  REST API and MCP server — integrate redirects into your workflow or let AI agents manage them programmatically.
• •
  No ads. No third-party branding. No catch.

This is a redirect management platform, not just a link shortener. It’s built for site migrations, campaign tracking, domain parking, and everything in between.

How to Switch from Bitly to RedirHub in 2 Minutes

Moving your links is straightforward:

1. Export from Bitly. Go to your Bitly dashboard, select your links, and export as CSV.
2. Sign up for RedirHub. Create a free account at redirhub.com — no credit card required.
3. Import or add your domain. Upload your CSV for bulk import, or add your custom domain and start creating redirects.
4. Done. Your links are live, ad-free, and under your control.

If you have a large number of links, RedirHub’s bulk import handles them in one upload. No manual recreation needed.

More on Branded Links and Campaigns

If you’re running marketing campaigns, branded links aren’t just nice to have — they directly impact performance. Custom domains increase click-through because recipients recognize and trust your brand in the URL. Learn more about how RedirHub supports campaign link management on our marketing campaigns page.

For a full feature breakdown across all plans, see RedirHub pricing.

And if you’re managing domains without hosting, check out our guide on redirecting a domain without hosting — it covers exactly how to point any domain with no server required.

Stop Paying with Your Brand

Bitly chose to monetize free users with ads and aggressive limits. That’s their business model. But you don’t have to accept it.

RedirHub Free gives you 100 redirects, your own custom domain, full HTTPS, and zero ads — no credit card, no expiration, no catch. If you need more scale, paid plans start at $10/month with 1,000 records and full analytics.

Switch today and take your links back. → Start free on RedirHub