Dub.co launched in late 2022 and quickly became the go-to Bitly alternative for developers and modern marketing teams. The platform combines link shortening, real-time analytics, and affiliate program management in one open-source package.

Companies like Vercel, Perplexity, Raycast, and Cal.com use Dub for their link infrastructure. Here’s why.

What is Dub.co?

Dub describes itself as “the modern link attribution platform.” It handles:

  • Short link creation and management
  • Real-time click analytics
  • QR code generation
  • Custom domain management
  • Conversion tracking
  • Affiliate/partner program management (Dub Partners)

The platform takes a developer-first approach with API-driven workflows, native SDKs, and open-source transparency.

Pricing Breakdown

Free Plan ($0/month)

  • 1,000 tracked clicks per month
  • 25 new links per month
  • 30-day analytics retention
  • 1 user
  • 3 custom domains
  • API access
  • Link tags
  • QR codes
  • UTM templates

Dub’s free tier is genuinely useful. Three custom domains on free—something Bitly charges $29/month for—signals the platform’s value proposition clearly.

Pro Plan ($25/month)

  • 50,000 tracked clicks per month
  • 1,000 new links per month
  • 1-year analytics retention
  • 3 users
  • 10 custom domains
  • Advanced link features
  • Free .link domain
  • Link folders
  • Deep links

At $25/month (billed annually), you get a full year of analytics retention. For context, Bitly charges $199/month for the same analytics depth.

Business Plan ($75/month)

  • 250,000 tracked clicks per month
  • 10,000 new links per month
  • 3-year analytics retention
  • 10 users
  • 100 custom domains
  • Conversion tracking
  • A/B testing
  • Customer insights
  • Event webhooks
  • Dub Partners included

The Business tier adds conversion tracking and A/B testing—features essential for optimizing marketing funnels. Three years of analytics history provides serious longitudinal data.

Advanced Plan ($250/month)

  • 1,000,000 tracked clicks per month
  • 50,000 new links per month
  • 5-year analytics retention
  • 20 users
  • 250 custom domains
  • Priority Slack support
  • Dub Partners included

For high-volume operations, Advanced provides the headroom without jumping to custom Enterprise pricing.

Enterprise (Custom)

  • Unlimited tracked clicks
  • Unlimited new links
  • Unlimited analytics retention
  • Unlimited users
  • SSO/SAML
  • Audit logs
  • Custom SLA
  • Dedicated support

Enterprise adds compliance features (SSO, audit logs) and removes all limits.

Key Features

Real-Time Analytics

Unlike Bitly’s delayed reporting, Dub analytics update instantly. Post a link on social media and watch clicks appear immediately. Geographic, device, browser, and referrer data available on all plans.

Custom Domains

Connect your own domains with automatic SSL certificates. The free tier includes 3 custom domains—a feature competitors lock behind paid plans.

Beyond basic shortening:

  • Password protection - Require password to access destination
  • Link expiration - Auto-disable after date/time
  • Geo-targeting - Different destinations by country
  • Device targeting - Different destinations by device type
  • Deep links - Open mobile apps directly

A/B Testing

On Business plans, test different destinations for the same short link. Dub splits traffic and reports which variation performs better.

Conversion Tracking

Track what happens after the click. Connect conversions to specific links and campaigns. Essential for measuring actual business impact, not just clicks.

Dub Partners

Built-in affiliate and partner management:

  • Create referral programs
  • Track partner-driven conversions
  • Automate global payouts
  • Detect fraud automatically
  • First-party tracking (no cookie blockers)

Dub Partners competes with dedicated affiliate platforms, bundled into Business tier and above.

Open Source

Dub’s codebase is publicly available. Self-host if you want complete control, or use the managed platform. Transparency builds trust—you can audit exactly what the platform does.

Developer Experience

  • Comprehensive API documentation
  • Native SDKs (TypeScript, Python, Go)
  • Webhooks for real-time events
  • Keyboard shortcuts throughout UI
  • AI-powered URL slug suggestions

Who Should Use Dub?

Ideal for:

  • Developer and technical teams
  • Startups wanting modern infrastructure
  • Marketing teams needing conversion tracking
  • Companies building affiliate programs
  • Anyone frustrated with Bitly’s pricing
  • Organizations valuing open-source transparency

Less ideal for:

  • Non-technical teams wanting drag-and-drop simplicity
  • Organizations requiring extensive QR code customization
  • Teams already deeply invested in Bitly ecosystem
  • Companies needing link-in-bio landing pages (Dub doesn’t offer this)

Dub vs Bitly

The comparison matters because Dub explicitly positions against Bitly:

FeatureDubBitly
Custom domains on free30
1-year analytics$25/mo$199/mo
Real-time analyticsYesNo
A/B testing$75/moNot available
Conversion tracking$75/moEnterprise only
Open sourceYesNo
Partner/affiliate toolsBuilt-inNot available

Dub wins on price, features, and developer experience. Bitly wins on brand recognition, QR code features, and non-technical user friendliness.

The Value Proposition

Dub’s pricing makes the value obvious:

Scenario: Marketing team needs branded links with 1-year analytics

  • Bitly: $199/month = $2,388/year
  • Dub: $25/month = $300/year
  • Savings: $2,088/year

Scenario: Startup needs conversion tracking and A/B testing

  • Bitly: Enterprise pricing (likely $500+/month)
  • Dub: $75/month = $900/year

The math is hard to argue with. Unless you specifically need Bitly’s features (extensive QR customization, link-in-bio), Dub delivers more for less.

Limitations

Dub isn’t perfect:

No link-in-bio feature - If you need Instagram/TikTok landing pages, Dub doesn’t offer them. Use a dedicated tool.

Developer-oriented UI - The interface assumes technical comfort. Non-technical marketing teams may find Bitly more approachable.

Newer platform - Launched 2022 vs Bitly’s 2008. Less battle-tested, though the companies using it (Vercel, Perplexity) suggest enterprise readiness.

Fewer integrations - Bitly has years of integration partnerships. Dub’s integration ecosystem is still growing.

The Bottom Line

Dub represents what happens when developers build the tool they wished existed. It’s modern, fast, reasonably priced, and packed with features that matter (conversion tracking, A/B testing, partner management).

For technical teams and modern marketing operations, Dub is the obvious choice. The generous free tier lets you evaluate properly, and paid plans deliver genuine value at prices that make Bitly look expensive.

If you’re currently paying Bitly $199/month for analytics, switching to Dub at $25/month is a 87% cost reduction for equivalent (or better) functionality.

The link shortener category needed disruption. Dub delivers it.