Dub vs. zus.co: Which Link Shortener Is Right for You?
Both are modern. Both are developer-friendly. But they make different trade-offs on pricing, features, and flexibility. Here's the honest comparison.
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zus.co vs. Dub: Feature Comparison
| Feature | zus.co | Dub |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | No (hosted SaaS) | Yes (AGPL)[source] |
| Click analytics | Full on all plans | Full on all plans |
| Custom domains | 1 free / 5 Pro / unlimited Team | 1 free / more on paid[source] |
| QR codes | Auto per link | Available |
| Team workspaces | Team plan ($29/mo) | Business plan[source] |
| Folders | All plans | Not available |
| Tags | All plans | All plans |
| Password protection | Pro plan | Not available |
| Link expiration | Pro plan | Available |
| REST API | All plans | All plans[source] |
| Events feed | Real-time click stream | Not available |
| Free tier links | 1,000/mo | 25/mo[source] |
| Self-hosting option | No | Yes (AGPL) |
Comparison reflects publicly available information as of July 2026. Features and pricing may have changed.
What Dub does well
Dub is one of the best-designed link management tools available. Their open-source approach (AGPL) is genuinely valuable for teams that want transparency or need to self-host. Their developer documentation is excellent, the codebase is clean, and they've built a strong community around the product.
Where zus.co wins
40x more links on the free plan
zus.co's free tier includes 1,000 links per month. Dub's free tier includes 25. For individuals, small projects, or teams evaluating a link shortener, that's a meaningful difference in how long you can run before hitting a paywall.
Password-protected links
zus.co Pro includes password-protected links — set a password during link creation, and visitors must enter it before being redirected. Dub doesn't offer this feature on any plan.
Folders + tags for organization
Dub gives you tags. zus.co gives you tags and folders. When you're managing hundreds of links across campaigns, clients, or projects, hierarchical folder organization makes a real difference.
Real-time events feed
zus.co includes an events page showing every click as it happens — the raw click stream with timestamps, referrers, and device info. It's useful for debugging campaigns or monitoring link performance in real time.
Simpler pricing, hosted reliability
zus.co is $0/$12/$29 and you're done — no infrastructure to manage, no deployment to maintain. If you don't need self-hosting, a managed SaaS with simpler pricing is less overhead.
Pricing
zus.co: Free ($0, 1,000 links/mo), Pro ($12/mo), Team ($29/mo, unlimited).
Dub offers free (25 links/mo), then paid plans for higher limits, more custom domains, and team features. Their paid plans are competitively priced, but zus.co's free tier is 40x more generous and includes features (password protection, folders, events feed) that Dub doesn't offer.
See Dub's pricing page for their current rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to self-host your link shortener or contribute to an open-source project, Dub is the better choice. If you want a hosted SaaS with a generous free tier, password protection, folder organization, and a real-time events feed, zus.co is the better fit.
Yes, Dub's codebase is on GitHub under the AGPL license. You can self-host it, though you'll need to manage your own infrastructure. zus.co is closed-source but fully managed — no servers to maintain.
zus.co: 1,000 links/mo, 10,000 clicks, full analytics, 1 custom domain. Dub: 25 links/mo, analytics, 1 custom domain. In terms of limits, zus.co's free plan is significantly more generous.
Yes. Both offer REST APIs on all plans. Both have interactive documentation. zus.co's API docs are at zus.co/docs/api; Dub's are at dub.co/docs/api-reference.
You can recreate your links on zus.co and start using the new URLs for future campaigns. Existing Dub links will continue working on Dub's infrastructure.
Not yet. Conversion tracking is on zus.co's roadmap. If server-side conversion tracking is essential for your workflow today, Dub currently has the advantage here.
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