You've probably noticed how many links float around your marketing emails, sales messages, and social posts. Long URLs are unwieldy, hard to track, and look unprofessional. A solid URL shortener turns clunky links into clean, memorable ones—and if it's worth its salt, it also tracks who clicked, where they came from, and when they engaged.
But not all URL shorteners are created equal. Some just compress links. Others layer in analytics, branded domains, QR codes, and tie everything back to your contacts and campaigns. If you're serious about outreach—whether that's cold email, content sharing, or nurturing leads—you need to know what separates a basic link shortener from a tool that actually moves the needle on conversions and insights.
This guide walks you through the best options we'd consider if you're looking to shorten links with real control, tracking, and integration into your wider outreach workflow.
# Clkly
Clkly is the simplest way to shorten links without sacrificing control or insight. It handles branded short links, link tracking, and QR codes in one place—then ties everything back to your contacts and outreach campaigns. You can be set up in 30 seconds, no card required.
- Create branded short links on your own domain (clkly.xyz/launch or yourdomain.com/launch) so clicks build trust and brand recall.
- Track every click by country, city, browser, device, and referrer—then filter that data by campaign or folder.
- Customise QR codes with your brand colours, logo, and transparent backgrounds; export as print-ready PNG or SVG.
- Group links by campaign, client, or project using folders, then bulk move, tag, or archive in one action.
- View click history paginated by 25, 50, 100, or all records—filterable by location, device, or traffic source.
- Connect Bitly or Rebrandly importers to bring existing links into Clkly in a single click.
# HubSpot
HubSpot is primarily a CRM and marketing automation platform, but it includes a URL shortener as part of its broader suite. The tool creates shortened links and tracks clicks within the context of campaigns and contact records. It's designed for teams already using HubSpot's email, landing pages, or content hub—the link tracking integrates directly with those surfaces. HubSpot's shortener isn't a standalone product, so you're paying for the entire platform even if link tracking is just one piece of what you need. It's most useful if your whole operation lives in HubSpot already.
# Bitly
Bitly is one of the oldest and most recognisable URL shortener platforms. It lets you shorten links, create generic or branded short URLs, and view click analytics organised by campaign. The free tier offers basic shortening and analytics; paid plans add features like custom domains, advanced reporting, and API access. Bitly's strength is simplicity and ubiquity—nearly everyone knows how to use it. The downside is that basic analytics are fairly shallow, and custom branding options require a paid account. Many teams have used Bitly for years, which is why Clkly includes a Bitly importer so you can bring those links over if you want to consolidate.
# Rebrandly
Rebrandly focuses on branded short links and custom domains. You can point your own domain to Rebrandly's service and create short links that look like they came from you. Analytics cover clicks, referrers, and some geographic data. Rebrandly also offers browser extensions and API access for developers. It's a good fit if branded short links are your main priority and you want a dedicated tool for that job. The pricing model is usage-based, so costs can scale if you're creating thousands of links. Like Bitly, Clkly can import your existing Rebrandly links if you decide to migrate.
# Short.io
Short.io combines link shortening, branded domains, QR codes, and basic analytics. It supports custom domains, lets you organise links into projects, and tracks clicks by country and device. Short.io also has a browser extension and offers API access for automation. The platform sits in the middle ground between simple shorteners like TinyURL and full-featured tools—it does more than a basic shortener but isn't as deep on CRM or outreach integration as some alternatives. Pricing is straightforward and starts low, making it accessible for small teams testing branded short links.
# TinyURL
TinyURL is the granddaddy of URL shorteners. It does one thing: create a short link that redirects to your long URL. There's almost no analytics—you can see a preview of where a link goes, but not much beyond that. TinyURL is free and requires no account. It's still useful for quick, throwaway links where you don't care about tracking. For anything involving customer outreach, sales campaigns, or data-driven decision-making, TinyURL falls short because it doesn't give you the visibility you need.
# Branch
Branch is a mobile deep-linking platform that also offers URL shortening and QR codes. It's designed to handle links across web, email, SMS, and app ecosystems—so if you're promoting an app or managing multi-channel campaigns, Branch can orchestrate that. It includes click analytics, but the platform's real power is in routing users to the right destination (web page, app, app store) depending on their device and context. Branch is more enterprise-focused and more expensive than basic shorteners, and it's overkill if you just need to track email and web clicks.
# ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is an email marketing and automation platform that includes link tracking and click analytics within campaigns. When you send an email, ActiveCampaign automatically shortens links and logs clicks back to the contact record. It's not a dedicated URL shortener—link tracking is built into the broader automation system. If you're already using ActiveCampaign for email sequences and nurturing, the link tracking is seamless. If you're just looking for a standalone shortener, you'd be overpaying for a full platform.
# Klaviyo
Klaviyo is an email marketing platform for ecommerce and growth marketing. It shortens links in campaigns, tracks clicks, and ties that data to customer records and revenue. The focus is on conversion tracking and customer journeys, so Klaviyo integrates click data with purchase history, segment membership, and other behavioural signals. It's purpose-built for ecommerce. If you're running SMS, email, and push campaigns to customers and need to attribute revenue back to those campaigns, Klaviyo is powerful. For B2B outreach or simple link shortening, it's oversized.
# ConvertKit
ConvertKit is a newsletter and email platform for creators. It shortens links in emails and newsletters, tracks clicks, and shows you which content resonates. The platform is designed around creator workflows—building audiences, sending regular emails, and analysing engagement. Link tracking is built in, but it's secondary to the email and subscriber management functions. ConvertKit is best if you're running a newsletter or content operation. For sales outreach or customer engagement, it's not the right fit.
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If you're building outreach campaigns that need to tie link clicks back to contacts, automate follow-ups based on engagement, and report on what actually drove conversions, Clkly fills a gap that generic shorteners leave open. You get branded short links, detailed click tracking, and a full contact and workflow layer so nothing gets lost in translation.
- Shorten links on your domain in seconds, no integration overhead.
- See exactly who clicked, where they were, what device they used, and when they engaged.
- Automate the next step—send a follow-up email, tag a contact, or move them through your pipeline—based on link clicks.
- Import links from Bitly or Rebrandly if you're migrating your existing shortener.
- Start free and scale without worrying about custom domains or QR codes being locked behind a paywall.