18 years helping British businesses
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About Bitly

Link management solution that helps businesses create branded links for digital marketing campaigns through link shortening.

Learn more about Bitly

Pros:

It is easy to use and can be integrated with many other products or software. It has link clicks analytical features which help me to know the number of people that clicked my link and their country.

Cons:

My only complaint is when my personalized URL is already taken. There are a lot of schools that have the same name as mine.

Bitly ratings

Average score

Ease of Use
4.8
Customer Service
4.4
Features
4.6
Value for Money
4.6

Likelihood to recommend

9.1/ 10

Bitly has an overall rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars based on 1,292 user reviews on Capterra.

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Filter reviews (1,292)

Doyel
Doyel
graphic designer in India
Verified LinkedIn User
Design, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

A Must-Have Tool for Everyone

5.0 8 months ago

Pros:

I liked Bitly's intuitive interface and comprehensive analytics, making link management and tracking effortless and insightful, a true game-changer for online marketing.

Cons:

I wish Bitly offered more customization options for branded links, and occasionally, the interface could be more intuitive for new users.

Abhishek
Digital Marketing in India
Marketing & Advertising, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

The best and Powerful URL Shortener I ever used.

5.0 2 months ago New

Comments: I can say that Bitly is the best URL Shortener in terms of all features and integrations and easy to use.

Pros:

Bitly is the best and popular URL Shortener I ever used, It have best features, analytics, and other Integrations that make URL shortening very easy. And It is very user friendly and It allows to change the custom Alias (slug) for free that other not allow. And Its cutomer support is very good.

Cons:

All things are very good but pricing may affect the individuals and other low budget users.

Bri
Bri
Owner in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Entertainment, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Bitly Review

2.0 12 months ago

Pros:

I like the fact that I am able to shorten long links that appear to be infested full of viruses. I use this for my blog posts, because I am able to change the url to whatever I like. I do really like that feature, and how I can make my web address appear more professional by matching it up to the content.

Cons:

I do not like how the payment situation is set up. I make nothing at all from link clicks, while other shorteners online will pay you each time someone clicks the link. I like that set up better!

Walter
Cyber security Officer in Australia
Information Technology & Services, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Extremely fast and accurate performance. Recommended.

5.0 3 months ago

Comments: Remarkable experience. Everyone is appreciating the services.

Pros:

We've never made a better choice. I focused on issues like ease of use, ease of integration. Bitly has all this key values. It is also flexible, accurate and most importantly cost effective.

Cons:

This user friendly solution is great. It has not shown any major challenges in operation. I am left contented.

Eliud
SHE Manager in Germany
Consumer Services, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Bitly keeps links neat and scalable. BEST.

5.0 last year

Comments: Amazing experience. Choosing Bitly is choosing a good way to handle links and URLs. It is worth paying for.

Pros:

Bitly have a smart dashboard. Intuitive and beautiful results which are so far unquestionable. It has the best URL shortening tactics with analytics at all levels. Links are made beautiful to handle and professional to share. It has kept my posts clean and desirable. The most amazing thing about Bitly is that even on free trial, you can access the bigger part of its services. Good work.

Cons:

Absolutely love it. No cons for Bitly. It is amazing.

Tammy
Director in US
Fine Art, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Bitly - so easy to use!

5.0 11 months ago

Comments: So easy to use and manage. It is a very positive experience.

Pros:

The ease of use of Bitly keeps us using this program over and over.

Cons:

Cannot delete links you no longer use without upgrading.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Marketing & Advertising, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Tracking URLs made easy

5.0 8 months ago

Comments: I have been using for years to ensure consistancy with external utm parameter, and couldn't be more satisfied

Pros:

How easy it is to setup, manage and share links or qr codes

Cons:

Pricing is a bit on the higher end, but the functionalities pay off, specially the internal tracking system for redirects and impressions

Gianna
Contract Acquisition Specialist in US
Health, Wellness & Fitness, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

We love Bitly!

5.0 2 weeks ago New

Comments: My experience was fantastic! I learned how to navigate through quickly!

Pros:

Bitly is extremely easy to use and navigate through. It is a very straight to the point app!

Cons:

The sites processing time was longer than I expected.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Retail, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

When Longer Isn't Better Choose Bitly

4.0 5 months ago

Comments: Bitly has been a great tool! I often need to create shortened links & Bitly is my go-to platform for this purpose.

Pros:

It's very easy to use and has great new features like landing pages!

Cons:

I wish the link analytics were available for more than 30 days.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Wholesale, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

Short links made easy

5.0 last month New

Comments: Very positive. No platform makes link shortening easier than Bitly.

Pros:

Bit.ly makes it simple and easy to make condensed links and QR codes for situations where character counts are critical. The process is as easy as a few clicks.

Cons:

The QR codes/month on the basic plan are a bit restrictive, would love to see looser limits on generation.

Maria Teresa
Freelance writer in Philippines
Writing & Editing, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Bitly: Shorten your URL with Ease

4.0 12 months ago

Comments: I've been using Bitly for so long time as I am also a part of a community of volunteeers where aside from our primary service, we also create and publish contents on the web. To keep the text not that lengthy, we use bitly to shorten the URL posted in social media. It never failed me because it preserves the texts that appear in the previews of the main content despite the fact that the original link has been shortened.

Pros:

Things I like about Bitly are: -Easy to use -Accessible to screen readers (softwares used by persons with visual impairment) -Accepted in various social media -Makes the URL look professional

Cons:

Bitly's con is: -You need to pay for a higher plan if you want to maximize all its features

Heejin
Consultant in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Simple, quick, and easy

5.0 last year

Pros:

Bitly's free plan allows you to shorten a certain number of links per month (I think around 10?) This is sufficient for most people but for organizations or companies who need more links, you would need a paid plan. The paid plans start at $8 which I think is quite reasonable. In the world we live in now, you really can't live without link shorteners and bitly makes it simple to use and easy to track.

Cons:

First, I wish there was an easier way to sort the links you make in your bitly account. I believe there's a way to use tags but when you start having nearly 100 links in your account, having folders would be handy. Secondly, the paid plans of Bitly offer UTM builders, which I've never really been able to figure out. Namely, what's the difference between UTM builders and just making more and more links, especially if 100 are already covered under the smallest plant? This however is just a personal issue as I just don't understand the full potential of UTM builders.

Antonio
IT Coordinator in US
Education Management, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

A Decent Link Solution

5.0 last year

Comments: Overall I have had a good experience with Bitly. I recently upgraded to get the redirect feature but was extremely disappointed to find out that I only get 3 redirects a month. Overall, I don’t think I will paying for a plan again.

Pros:

I found Bitly to work extremely well with link customization and analysis. You are also able to redirect links if you are a paid user. It is fairly easy to use with a UI that is not difficult to manage.

Cons:

What I disliked most is the fact that the Bitly logo appears in the QR codes that are generated. Upgrading will allow you to customize the ar codes. I also don’t like the fact that there is a monthly limit on redirects.

Rohan
Cybersecurity Officer in US
Education Management, 5,001–10,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Amazing for URL Sharing

5.0 last year

Pros:

When shortening a link with random characters, it makes it very short, so any subsequent QR codes are simple and not very complex. Complex QR codes are harder to scan.

Cons:

No way to make multiple accounts part of an organization without going with the enterprise option.

Princessa
Editor in US
Publishing, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Bit.ly—best URL shorter, with ease of US

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: I have used this for many years and enjoy the analytics and ease of use.

Pros:

The free option is my first favorite feature, then comes the unique back link name where you can change into whatever name brand you have which avoids some need for domain names when starting out.

Cons:

Only one thing. It was hard to fix URLs that I created incorrectly. Had to redo the whole thing and the QRcode.

Emma
Author in UK
Writing & Editing, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Bitly is easy to use and customisable

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: I'm very happy with how I use bitly. It's easy to use, and fully customisable to my brand. I can analyse the links and monitor them easily.

Pros:

I like that bitly is customisable, and you can easily track the links. You can monitor which are working, and how many times people click on the links.

Cons:

Although it's never been a problem for me, there is a limit on how many free links you can set up and customise. So for larger scale businesses, this may be an issue

William
Content Writer and Web Designer in Kenya
Information Services, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

Easy to shorten long, ugly urls into short working links

5.0 last year

Comments: Bitly is one of the few platforms that do what they are meant to do. It solves a real problem by shortening very long urls without losing the target webpage. It is easy for anyone to use this platform and it is ever available for use. There was no time this platform was unavailable or had a downtime.

Pros:

Bitly is an intuitive platform that we use to create short or customized links to a web page. It generates a short link instantly getting rid of the long ugly links that could occupy very large spaces on our monthly reports, marketing emails, or social media posts. I also like it because I can customize the link to reflect my domain.

Cons:

The links generated by the free version look more or less alike. Therefore, some target clients might not click another link that looks like the one they had clicked earlier, thinking it leads to the same site. The paid plan allows users to generate customizable links.

Jessica
Manager in Canada
Marketing & Advertising, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: Free Trial
Reviewer Source

So Useful!

5.0 last year

Comments: Love Bitly for social media posts, and marketing campaigns, and couldn't do my job so well without it :)

Pros:

Making links shorter - working in social media, I know no one likes to see a long link. So having Bitly to make links shorter it's so important. Bitly is also well-known so people aren't afraid of clicking on the link.Click and Scan data - This info was a game changer when I had to present results to marketing directors and clients! Easy to use & Fast - Love how fast it works, and it's sooo easy!

Cons:

Sometimes, clients said the link didn't work. So improving functionality to ensure 100% success.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Leisure, Travel & Tourism, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: Free Trial
Reviewer Source

Using Bitly for Social Media Links

5.0 last year

Pros:

There are two things I like the most about Bitly: The first one is how easy it is to enter the URL and shorten it; the second is how people rely more on this shortener than others.

Cons:

Currently, there is nothing I do not like about Bitly. I will update the review if there is an issue coming up with it in the future.

Karen
Development and Marketing Manager in US
Education Management, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Bitly Helps you stay Professional easy!

5.0 2 years ago

Pros:

Bitly provides users the ability to customize links to fit your company's needs. Using a bitly link rather than a long, confusing link keeps our company on brand.

Cons:

I do not have any cons to provide about Bitly. I have only had a positive experience using Bitly.

Roger
Executive Assistant / Office Manager in Netherlands
Financial Services, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Very unique URLs

5.0 last year

Pros:

Bitly takes the credit of making very unique and short URL maker. Very easy to use.

Cons:

It has no errors or bugs that can hamper its performance.

Teny
Staff Admin in Philippines
Arts & Crafts, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Fast link shortener.

5.0 last year

Comments: My business does a lot of improvements like sending web page to the other party therefore its easy to get links with the help of bitly.

Pros:

I like bitly in shortening my link because it is accurate.

Cons:

Bitly gives me short url responses during my research in any websites.

Laura
Marketing & Designer in Spain
Computer Software, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

i really like it, it is so easy to make the links

4.0 last year

Pros:

Is super easy to make the links and get and small instead of a big url

Cons:

I like it, I think it has everything I need to make the url shorter

ToniMarie
Event Coordinator in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great website!

5.0 last year

Comments: Never had any issues using the platform. This is a great website!

Pros:

The website is extremely user-friendly and it's also great because you can create QR codes on the site as well!

Cons:

There is nothing I don't like. There is nothing I don't like.

Matthew
Matthew
Marketing Coordinator in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Financial Services, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Decluttering Your Long Links

4.0 2 years ago

Comments: Bitly works well for exactly what we need it for—shortening links (often heading towards third parties) on social media posts or tracking the effectiveness of certain print/digital campaigns. I've never had a problem with Bitly regarding broken or messed up links.

Pros:

Bitly is a quick learn, allowing you to hop in and immediately—at minimum—start to shorten links so they don't take up your entire tweet length or clutter up social posts. The real magic lies with setting up Google campaigns so you can track many elements and trace them to a specific source (very handy when purchasing web campaigns from third-parties or any campaign with tons of different digital ad sizes/sources). The QR options have come a long way, allowing you to set up custom QR codes which can track the effectiveness for print media.

Cons:

The dashboard is pretty sterile and not pleasant to look at. Many features are also locked away behind a pay wall. While most businesses can get away with using the free experience, businesses that pay will enjoy a greater degree of customization and tracking.