Bitly's free plan in 2026: 5 links, ads, and what each tier really costs

You make your sixth Bitly link of the month for a newsletter that goes out at 9am, and Bitly asks you to upgrade. It's the 4th.

That's the free plan in 2026. Before you pay, it's worth knowing exactly what each tier gives you, because the jump between them is bigger than the headline prices suggest.

All figures below are from Bitly's pricing page, checked on 9 October 2026. Bitly changes its plans often, so check the page before you buy.

What does Bitly's free plan include in 2026?

The free tier is called Free With Ads.

It gives you 5 short links a month, 2 QR codes a month, 2 landing pages and 3 custom back-halves a month (the word after the slash). Clicks and scans on those links are unlimited.

What it doesn't give you is the ability to change a link once it's made. Bitly calls that a custom redirect, and the free plan has none. Link expiry, branded links and bulk creation aren't on Free either.

For a one-off link you'll never touch again, that's fine. For anything printed, it's a risk.

Bitly Core: $10 a month, annual only

Core costs $10 a month and is only sold on an annual plan, so you pay $120 up front. You get 100 links a month, 5 QR codes, 5 landing pages and 100 custom back-halves.

It also adds 30 days of click and scan data, a UTM builder and 5 custom redirects a month.

That last number is worth reading twice: you can change where a link points, but only five times a month across your whole account.

Bitly Growth: $29 a month

Growth is $29 a month on annual billing ($348 a year).

It raises you to 500 links and 10 QR codes a month and adds branded links on a custom domain, which Bitly marks as complimentary with an asterisk, so read the terms.

You also get 4 months of click data, 20 custom redirects a month and bulk creation of up to 100 links per upload.

This is the plan Bitly recommends, and for most small businesses it's the first one that does what they expected the free plan to do.

Bitly Premium and Enterprise

Premium is $199 a month on annual billing ($2,388 a year). It gives 3,000 links and 200 QR codes a month, a year of click data, city-level and device data, mobile deep links and 110 custom redirects a month.

Enterprise is priced by quote and adds multiple users, SSO and high-volume API and webhook access.

Annual versus monthly billing

Bitly's headline prices are annual. Core can't be bought monthly at all, and Bitly says annual plans save up to 34% compared with monthly billing.

If you want to pay month to month, expect to pay more than the figures above.

What the tiers mean in practice

The pattern is that Bitly meters the things you do often. Links, QR codes and especially destination changes are all counted per month.

If you make 20 links a month and fix a couple of them, Free is too small and Core's 5 redirects will feel tight.

If you make 200 links a month for campaigns on your own domain, Growth is the honest fit, and Bitly's integrations may be worth the money to you.

How TinyX compares, briefly

This is our product, so weigh it accordingly. On the TinyX free plan you get 25 short links a month, a QR code for every link, basic analytics, and password and expiry on links.

You can change a link's destination on every plan, including Free.

Pro is $9 a month ($90 a year) for 1,000 links a month and full analytics. Max is $29 a month for unlimited links. The same account also sends files on expiring links, which Bitly doesn't do.

Where Bitly wins: it gives you custom back-halves for free, and Growth includes a custom domain. On TinyX, choosing your own short code is Pro and Max only, and a custom domain only comes with the White Label plan.

We compared the free plans of Bitly, Dub, Short.io, Rebrandly and TinyX side by side in Bitly alternatives in 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bitly free?

Yes, with limits. Free With Ads gives 5 links and 2 QR codes a month, as of October 2026.

How much does Bitly cost per month?

Core is $10 a month (annual only), Growth $29 and Premium $199 a month on annual billing. Enterprise is by quote.

Can you edit a Bitly link on the free plan?

No. Changing a link's destination starts on Core, with 5 changes a month.

Do Bitly links expire on the free plan?

Bitly doesn't offer scheduled link expiry on Free or Core. Free links don't have an expiry date set by you.

What's the cheapest way to get more short links than Bitly Free?

For short links alone, several tools have larger free plans. TinyX Free gives 25 links a month with destination edits included, and Pro gives 1,000 for $9 a month.

If 5 links a month isn't enough, try the free plan on your next campaign, or see what else a link can do on the features page.