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9 top picks · 1 audience ranking

Best open source URL shorteners

The best open source URL shortener is Dub, with 24,864 GitHub stars, the AGPL-3.0 license and a Docker image; YOURLS and Shlink are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Dub leads for freelancers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 9 apps in the URL shorteners category of the appsgit catalog.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Dub

    dubinc/dub

    Open-source link management and short links with conversion analytics.

    URL ShortenersTypeScriptDocker

    Dub has 24,864 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,652 commits in the last year.

  2. Rank 2:

    YOURLS

    YOURLS/YOURLS

    YOURLS is a set of PHP scripts that will allow you to run Your Own URL Shortener. Features include password protection, URL customization, bookmarklets, statistics, API, plugins, jsonp.

    URL ShortenersPHP

    YOURLS has 12,253 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 114 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitly.

  3. Rank 3:

    Shlink

    shlinkio/shlink

    URL shortener with REST API and command line interface. Includes official progressive web application and docker images.

    URL ShortenersPHPDocker

    Shlink has 5,316 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 246 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitly.

1 of 2 · 9 picks

Top picks

9 of the 9 apps in the URL shorteners category, ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Dub

    Open-source link management and short links with conversion analytics.

    Dub has 24,864 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,652 commits in the last year.

  2. 2

    YOURLS

    YOURLS is a set of PHP scripts that will allow you to run Your Own URL Shortener. Features include password protection, URL customization, bookmarklets, statistics, API, plugins, jsonp.

    YOURLS has 12,253 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 114 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitly.

  3. 3

    Shlink

    URL shortener with REST API and command line interface. Includes official progressive web application and docker images.

    Shlink has 5,316 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 246 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitly.

  4. 4

    Kutt

    Modern URL shortener with support for custom domains and custom URLs.

    Kutt has 11,138 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 21 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitly.

  5. 5

    Chhoto URL

    Simple, lightning-fast URL shortener with no bloat (fork of simply-shorten).

    Chhoto URL has 980 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 319 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitly.

  6. 6

    Flare

    A nonbloated, modern, and highly configurable file/screenshot vault server with support for ShareX, Flameshot, and Spectacle. Offers OCR search and more.

    Flare has 136 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 102 commits in the last year.

  7. 7

    snowshare

    File and link sharing platform with URL shortening, code snippet sharing, and file uploads, featuring customizable expiration, privacy settings, and QR codes.

    snowshare has 87 GitHub stars, uses the CC0-1.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 269 commits in the last year.

  8. 8

    bit

    Fast, lightweight, resource-efficient, compiled URL shortener.

    bit has 107 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 45 commits in the last year.

  9. 9

    Simple-URL-Shortener

    KISS URL shortener, public or private (with account). Minimalist and lightweight. No dependencies.

    Simple-URL-Shortener has 60 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and was last updated in August 2025; it replaces Bitly.

2 of 2 · 5 picks

Best for freelancers

Ranked for freelancers on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Dub

    Open-source link management and short links with conversion analytics.

    Dub has 24,864 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,652 commits in the last year. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Shlink

    URL shortener with REST API and command line interface. Includes official progressive web application and docker images.

    Shlink has 5,316 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 246 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitly. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    Kutt

    Modern URL shortener with support for custom domains and custom URLs.

    Kutt has 11,138 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 21 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitly. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    YOURLS

    YOURLS is a set of PHP scripts that will allow you to run Your Own URL Shortener. Features include password protection, URL customization, bookmarklets, statistics, API, plugins, jsonp.

    YOURLS has 12,253 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 114 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitly. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    Chhoto URL

    Simple, lightning-fast URL shortener with no bloat (fork of simply-shorten).

    Chhoto URL has 980 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 319 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitly. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

What is the best open source URL shortener?

The best open source URL shortener is Dub, with 24,864 GitHub stars, the AGPL-3.0 license and a Docker image; YOURLS and Shlink are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Dub leads for freelancers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 9 apps in the URL shorteners category of the appsgit catalog.

Is Dub free?

Yes. Dub is open-source software released under the AGPL-3.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Which open source URL shortener is best for a freelancer?

Dub ranks first for freelancers, with 24,864 GitHub stars, the AGPL-3.0 license and a Docker image; Shlink and Kutt follow. The freelancers ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits on top of stars and activity.

Can I self-host these URL shorteners with Docker?

Yes, 7 of the 9 picks. Dub, Shlink and Kutt publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.

Are all of these URL shorteners open source?

All 9 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.

Which of these URL shorteners is the most actively developed?

Dub, with 5,652 commits in the last 12 months. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

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