I Built a Free Bitly Alternative Because Their Free Tier Is a Joke

March 2, 2026

I needed to shorten a link the other day. Nothing fancy — just wanted to share a URL without it looking like a mess.

So I went to Bitly. Created an account. Generated my link.

Then I wanted a QR code.

"Upgrade to Premium," it said. $29/month.

Okay, I thought. Maybe there's a free option elsewhere.

I tested seven different link shorteners that weekend. Here's what I found:

• Bitly: 10 links lifetime, no QR, 30-day analytics
• Rebrandly: 50 links/month, $0 for QR but limited
• TinyURL: No QR at all
• BL.INK: $10/month minimum
• Short.io: $19/month minimum

Every single one either capped you, charged you, or both.

The Problem

QR codes and link shorteners should be free. They're not hard to build. They're not expensive to host. The only reason they cost money is because companies figured out they can charge you for basic functionality and call it "premium."

Dynamic QR codes — where you can change where the QR points after printing — are the worst offender. Companies charge $20-40/month for a feature that, technically, is just a redirect. A redirect. That's it.

So I Built Something

QRPro is my answer to this:

• Unlimited link shortenings
• Free QR codes with every link
• Click tracking that actually works
• No account required
• No upsell

I didn't want to build a company. I just wanted a tool that didn't treat me like a mark.

Why Free?

Because this doesn't need to cost anything. The infrastructure is cheap. The problem isn't technical — it's that established players realized they could extract rent.

I'm not trying to get rich. I just wanted something that works.

The Plan

I ship features when I need them. Right now it's:

• Link shortener with custom codes
• QR generator (PNG, SVG, transparent)
• Click tracking
• Dynamic redirects (change destination without reprinting QR)
• Batch generation
• UTM builder

Next up: custom domains, team workspaces, maybe an API.

If you need something and it's not there — let me know. That's how this works.

Try it: qrpro.tools

No account. No catch. Just a link shortener that doesn't suck.

If you want the full breakdown of why Bitly's free tier is broken, I wrote about it on the QRPro blog: Why Bitly's Free Tier Is Basically Useless.