Branded short domains
Best custom domain URL shortener
A custom domain turns a generic short link into one that carries your name. Five of the ten shorteners tracked here include that for nothing. One charges $348 a year for it. This entry shows the allowance on every published plan, whether the certificate is issued for you, and what the first branded domain costs per year.
Why the domain matters more than the shortener
People decide whether to click in under a second, and the domain is most of what they see. A link that starts with your own name is recognised; a link on a shared shortener domain is not. Shared domains carry another cost. Because anyone can create links on them, some of those links are abusive, and filters in messaging apps, email gateways and ad platforms learn to distrust the whole domain. Your own domain has only your history.
There is a durability argument too. Links on your domain survive a change of provider. Point the DNS at a new shortener, recreate the links, and every printed QR code and every old social post keeps working. Links on a vendor's domain die with the subscription.
Custom domain allowances, plan by plan
The table lists what each vendor publishes. "Free" is the number of custom domains on the free plan. The next column walks up the paid tiers. The last column is the yearly cost of the cheapest plan that lets you connect a domain at all.
| Tool | Domains on free | Domains on paid tiers | SSL | Cheapest plan with a domain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ReSlug | 1 | Pro, $9/mo ($79/yr): 10 | Automatic | $0 |
| Short.io | 5 | Hobby, $5/mo: 7 Pro, $18/mo: 10 Team, $48/mo: 50 | Automatic | $0 |
| Dub | 3 | Pro, $27/mo: 10 Business, $81/mo: 100 | Automatic | $0 |
| Cuttly | 1 | Starter, $12/mo: 1 Single, $25/mo: 5 Team, $99/mo: 10 | Automatic | $0 |
| Linkly | 1 | Pro, $32/mo annual: 3 Business, $107/mo annual: 10 | Not documented | $0 |
| Rebrandly | 1 (.bio domain only) | Essentials, $16/mo ($11 annual): 2 Professional, $39/mo ($32 annual): 3 Growth, $179/mo: 10 | Not documented | $132/yr |
| T.LY | No free plan | Hobby, $5/mo: 1 Basic, $20/mo: 10 | Not documented | $60/yr |
| TinyURL | No | Pro, about $9.99/mo: Up to 3 | Not documented | $120/yr |
| Switchy | No free plan | Team, $47/mo: 2 Pro, $83/mo: 5 Business, $119/mo: 15 | Not documented | $468/yr |
| Bitly | No | Core, $10/mo annual-only: 0 Growth, $29/mo annual-only: 1 | Not documented | $348/yr |
Taken from each vendor's pricing page on 8 November 2026 and linked under sources. TinyURL, T.LY and Switchy block automated reads of their pricing pages, so those rows rest on third-party listings and are marked as such on the sources page.
How to read the table
Three patterns stand out.
- Free domains are normal now. ReSlug, Short.io, Dub, Cuttly and Linkly all connect at least one domain without a paid plan. Rebrandly's free domain is restricted to a .bio address rather than a domain you already own.
- Bitly is the outlier. Its free and Core plans allow no custom domain. The first one arrives on Growth, which is billed annually only, so the real price of a branded domain on Bitly is $348 up front.
- Domain count and link count are different purchases. Short.io gives the most domains per dollar. ReSlug gives the most links and analytics alongside a free domain: 500 active links and 30 days of click data at no cost, with ten domains on the $9 Pro plan.
Pick by what you are short of. One brand with many links points at ReSlug. Many brands with few links each points at Short.io. Links created by software points at Dub, which gives three domains free and a hundred on Business.
What to do next
If you have not registered a short domain yet, read choosing a short domain name first; a subdomain of a domain you already own is often the right answer and costs nothing. Then follow the setup guide, which covers the DNS record, certificate issuance and verification. If something does not resolve, the troubleshooting entry lists the five causes that account for almost every failure.
Questions & answers
Which URL shortener gives a free custom domain?
ReSlug (one domain, 500 links), Short.io (five domains), Dub (three domains, 25 links a month), Cuttly (one domain, 30 links a month) and Linkly (one domain, 100 links a month). Rebrandly's free plan allows a .bio domain only.
How much does a custom domain cost on Bitly?
It is included from the Growth plan, $29 a month billed annually, which is $348 a year. The free and Core plans do not allow one.
Do I need to buy a new domain for short links?
No. A subdomain such as go.yourbrand.com works on every tool here and costs nothing extra. A dedicated short domain is worth it only when the main domain is long or you want a memorable name for print.
Is SSL included with a custom short domain?
ReSlug, Short.io, Dub and Cuttly issue a certificate automatically when the DNS record is verified. The other vendors do not document certificate handling on their pricing pages; check their help centres before buying.
Sources for this entry
- ReSlug pricing reslug.com/pricing
- Short.io pricing short.io/pricing
- Dub pricing dub.co/pricing/links
- Cuttly pricing cutt.ly/pro-pricing
- Linkly pricing linklyhq.com/pricing
- Rebrandly pricing www.rebrandly.com/pricing
- T.LY pricing t.ly/pricing
- TinyURL pricing tinyurl.com/app/pricing
- Switchy pricing www.switchy.io/pricing
- Bitly pricing bitly.com/pages/pricing
Checked 8 November 2026. Vendor pages change; the date is the claim.
Cite this entry
Best Custom Domain URL Shortener. "Best custom domain URL shortener". Reviewed 8 November 2026. https://bestcustomdomainurlshortener.com/