Bitly vs. zus.co: An Honest Comparison
Two link shorteners, different trade-offs. Here's what each does well, where they differ, and which one fits your needs — with receipts.
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zus.co vs. Bitly: Feature Comparison
| Feature | zus.co | Bitly |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2025 | 2008 |
| Click analytics on free plan | Full (geo, device, browser) | Limited (click count only)[source] |
| Custom domains | 1 free / 5 Pro / unlimited Team | Paid plans only[source] |
| QR codes | Auto-generated per link | Paid plans |
| Team workspaces | $29/mo Team plan | Enterprise tier[source] |
| Tags & folders | All plans | Paid plans |
| UTM builder | Inline in creation flow | Available |
| Password protection | Pro plan ($12/mo) | Enterprise[source] |
| Link expiration | Pro plan ($12/mo) | Paid plans |
| REST API | All plans, full CRUD | All plans, rate-limited free[source] |
| Events feed | Real-time click stream | Not available |
| Free tier links | 1,000/mo | 10/mo[source] |
| Enterprise integrations | API + webhooks | Salesforce, Adobe, etc. |
Comparison reflects publicly available information as of July 2026. Features and pricing may have changed.
What Bitly does well
Bitly is the market leader for a reason. They handle billions of redirects, have enterprise-grade SLAs, and offer deep integrations with platforms like Salesforce, Adobe, and major social media tools. If you need SOC 2 Type II certification, dedicated account management, and seamless integration with enterprise marketing stacks, Bitly has a proven track record.
Where zus.co wins
Full analytics on every plan
zus.co doesn't gate analytics behind paid tiers. Even on the free plan, you get geographic data, device breakdowns, browser stats, unique vs. total clicks, and a real-time events feed. Bitly limits free analytics to basic click counts.
Custom domains at $12/mo, not enterprise pricing
Connecting your branded domain on zus.co is a Pro plan feature at $12/mo (up to 5 domains). On Bitly, custom domains require higher-tier paid plans. zus.co's Team plan ($29/mo) includes unlimited custom domains.
100x more links on the free tier
Bitly free: 10 links per month. zus.co free: 1,000 links per month with 10,000 tracked clicks. For solo creators, small teams, or anyone testing the waters, zus.co's free tier is dramatically more useful.
Password protection without enterprise pricing
Need to gate a link? On zus.co, password protection is available on the Pro plan ($12/mo). On Bitly, it requires their enterprise tier.
Modern UI built for speed
zus.co was built in 2025 with modern frameworks. The dashboard is fast, the link creation flow is a single screen with inline QR codes and UTM parameters, and everything is designed for quick iteration — not legacy enterprise workflows.
Pricing
zus.co: Free ($0, 1,000 links/mo), Pro ($12/mo, 25,000 links, 5 domains), Team ($29/mo, unlimited).
Bitly's free plan is very limited (10 links/mo, basic analytics). Their paid tiers escalate from Core to Growth to Premium to Enterprise. The features zus.co includes on Pro ($12/mo) — custom domains, full analytics, password protection — require Bitly's higher-tier plans. Check bitly.com/pages/pricing for current pricing.
See Bitly's pricing page for their current rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
zus.co runs on Vercel's edge network with 99.9% uptime. While Bitly has a longer track record at massive scale, zus.co's infrastructure is built on the same modern CDN technology used by companies like Vercel, Cloudflare, and AWS.
If you need SOC 2 Type II, Salesforce integration, and a dedicated account manager, Bitly's enterprise tier is purpose-built for that. If you need team workspaces, custom domains, and full analytics without enterprise pricing, zus.co's Team plan at $29/mo is the better value.
Yes. The free plan is permanent — 1,000 links/mo, full analytics, 1 custom domain, API access. No credit card needed. Use it as long as you want before deciding to upgrade.
Both offer REST APIs. Bitly's API is mature with extensive documentation. zus.co's API covers full CRUD for links, folders, tags, and analytics, with interactive docs at zus.co/docs/api. zus.co doesn't rate-limit API access on any plan.
Bitly offers a link-in-bio page builder. zus.co doesn't have this yet — it's on the roadmap. If link-in-bio is critical to your workflow right now, Bitly has the edge here.
Absolutely. Many teams use Bitly for legacy campaigns and zus.co for new ones. Short links are independent — you can run both side by side with no conflict.
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1,000 links per month, full analytics, custom domain, and API access. Free forever.