Tool profile
Bitly: cost, fit and limits
Bitly is a link management platform made by Bitly Inc. that shortens web addresses, builds QR codes and landing pages, and tracks clicks, with an AI assistant called Bitly Assist and AI-written back-halves on paid plans.
What to know first
Bitly sells a free plan, three annual-style paid tiers and a quoted Enterprise tier. The free plan is ad-supported and allows 5 new links a month, so real use starts at Core, $10 a month with an annual charge of $120. Bitly Assist arrives at that tier. Higher plans add branded links, a complimentary custom domain, longer click history and mobile deep linking. Hosting region is not stated, and the privacy policy mentions transfers to the United States.
Bitly at a glance
| Maker | Bitly Inc. (New York) and Bitly Europe GmbH (Berlin), United States |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Entry price | Free, then $10 per month (Core, annual charge $120) |
| API access | Yes |
| Category | Best AI Link Shortener Software in 2026, rank 1 of 12 |
| Website | bitly.com |
Who Bitly is best for
Marketers testing AI help
Core, at $10 a month, already includes Bitly Assist, so a small marketing team can try the AI helper before moving to the $29 Growth plan.
Teams sending links through chat assistants
Bitly lists integrations for ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Perplexity plus an MCP option, which suits people who create links from inside an assistant window.
Campaign managers needing city and device data
Premium, at $199 a month, adds campaign-level tracking, city and device data and one year of click history, which a lower tier does not carry.
Bitly plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 per month | 5 links a month, 2 QR codes a month, 2 custom landing pages, 3 custom back-halves a month and unlimited clicks and scans, supported by ads. |
| Core | $10 per month (annual charge of $120) | 100 links and 5 QR codes a month, 5 landing pages, 30 days of click data, the UTM Builder and Bitly Assist. |
| Growth | $29 per month (annual charge of $348) | 500 links and 10 QR codes a month, 10 landing pages, branded links, one complimentary custom domain, 4 months of data and bulk creation. |
| Premium | $199 per month (annual charge of $2,388) | 3,000 links and 200 QR codes a month, 20 landing pages, 1 year of data, campaign-level tracking, city and device data and mobile deep linking. |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | Multiple users with group permissions, advanced tracking, a dedicated customer success manager, 99.99% uptime and SSO. |
Checked November 2026.
What Bitly does
- Bitly Assist
- An AI helper offered from the Core plan upward. The pricing page lists it without describing every task, so test what it drafts on a real campaign before counting on it.
- AI back-halves and domain ideas
- The vendor names AI-powered automated back-halves and an AI Custom Domain Generator, which suggest the readable end of a link and a domain to attach it to.
- Assistant integrations
- Bitly lists MCP and LLM integrations, with AI assistant connections for ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Perplexity, so links can be created without opening the dashboard.
- QR codes and landing pages
- Every plan includes a monthly allowance of QR codes and custom landing pages, rising from 2 each on Free to 200 codes and 20 pages on Premium.
- Tracking depth by tier
- Core keeps 30 days of click data, Growth 4 months and Premium a year, with campaign-level tracking and city and device detail starting at Premium.
How Bitly handles your data
The privacy policy names Bitly Inc. in New York and Bitly Europe GmbH in Berlin. It says subscription and product usage data is anonymized or erased three years after an account is deactivated, and that tracking pixel data stays on devices for up to 12 months. Hosting region is not stated, and the policy mentions transfers to the United States and other locations. An EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certification is stated; SOC 2 appears only as a badge image on the footer. Whether customer content trains AI models was not stated, so the vendor's policy was not checked for that point.
Where Bitly falls short in practice
- Small monthly link allowances. Free stops at 5 links, Core at 100 and Growth at 500 a month. A team that publishes links in bulk reaches those numbers quickly and must jump a tier.
- Annual billing on Core. Core is sold with annual billing only, a $120 charge up front, so a team cannot test the Core plan for a single month at the advertised $10 monthly rate.
- Short click history on cheaper tiers. Core keeps 30 days of click data and Growth four months, so seasonal comparisons need Premium or an export taken before older data disappears from reports.
Alternatives to Bitly
Bitly: common questions
What does Bitly Assist do on the Core plan?
The pricing page lists Bitly Assist as a Core feature and does not describe each task in the text we read. The vendor also names AI-powered back-halves and an AI domain generator. Ask for a trial seat, give it one live campaign, and check whether its answers match your raw click report before paying.
Can Bitly links work inside ChatGPT or Claude?
Bitly lists integrations for ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Perplexity, plus MCP and LLM options. The pages we read did not detail which plan unlocks each connection or what permissions it needs, so confirm both with the vendor before wiring an assistant to a company account.
How many links does Bitly allow on each plan?
Free allows 5 links a month, Core 100, Growth 500 and Premium 3,000, each with a smaller monthly count of QR codes. Enterprise has custom volumes. Because these are monthly counts, a bulk campaign month can use a whole year's allowance on the free tier.
Is the Bitly free plan really free?
Yes, at $0 a month, with unlimited clicks and scans and 3 custom back-halves a month. The cost is volume and ads: 5 links, 2 QR codes and 2 landing pages a month, and the plan is ad-supported. Custom domains are not listed there.
Where does Bitly store click data?
The privacy policy does not name a hosting region and mentions transfers to the United States and other locations. It names an EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certification and a Berlin entity, Bitly Europe GmbH. Data residency requirements should be raised with the vendor in writing.