Top URL Shorteners

Column 2 of 5

Value scores

Twenty-five points for what the first paid plan costs and what it includes. Price alone is not value; a $5 plan with 500 links and a $9 plan with unlimited links are scored on both numbers.

Reviewed 8 November 2026Weight 25 of 100
Answer in brief. ReSlug scores highest on value at 9.5 of 10. Linkly scores lowest at 5.0.

The rule

Three parts, ten points in total, all taken from the cheapest paid plan.

  1. Entry price, up to 5. $5 a month or less earns 5. Up to $10 earns 4.5. Up to $16 earns 3.5. Up to $27 earns 2.5. Up to $47 earns 1. Above that earns 0. A plan sold only on annual billing loses 0.5, because the real entry cost is twelve months up front.
  2. Links on that plan, up to 3. Unlimited earns 3. 2,000 or more earns 2.5. 500 or more earns 2. 250 or more earns 1.5. 100 or more earns 1. Less earns 0.5.
  3. Custom domains on that plan, up to 2. Ten or more earns 2. Five or more earns 1.5. Two or more earns 1. One earns 0.5. None, or not published, earns 0.

Value scores, ranked

RankToolValue scoreHow it was reached
1 ReSlug 9.5 / 10 Entry price $9/mo: 4.5 of 5
Links on that plan (Unlimited): 3 of 3
Custom domains on that plan (10): 2 of 2
2 Short.io 9.0 / 10 Entry price $5/mo: 5 of 5
Links on that plan (2,500 (lifetime)): 2.5 of 3
Custom domains on that plan (7): 1.5 of 2
3 TinyURL 7.5 / 10 Entry price $9.99/mo: 4.5 of 5
Links on that plan (500 active links): 2 of 3
Custom domains on that plan (Up to 3 branded domains): 1 of 2
4 T.LY 7.5 / 10 Entry price $5/mo: 5 of 5
Links on that plan (500/mo): 2 of 3
Custom domains on that plan (1): 0.5 of 2
5 Dub 6.5 / 10 Entry price $27/mo: 2.5 of 5
Links on that plan (1,000/mo (12,000/yr)): 2 of 3
Custom domains on that plan (10): 2 of 2
6 Rebrandly 6.0 / 10 Entry price $16/mo: 3.5 of 5
Links on that plan (250/mo): 1.5 of 3
Custom domains on that plan (2): 1 of 2
7 Cuttly 5.5 / 10 Entry price $12/mo: 3.5 of 5
Links on that plan (300/mo): 1.5 of 3
Custom domains on that plan (1): 0.5 of 2
8 Linkly 5.0 / 10 Entry price $15/mo: 3.5 of 5
Links on that plan (250/mo): 1.5 of 3
Custom domains on that plan (Not documented): 0 of 2
9 Bitly 5.0 / 10 Entry price $10/mo, annual billing only: 4 of 5
Links on that plan (100/mo): 1 of 3
Custom domains on that plan (0 (Growth plan and up)): 0 of 2
10 Switchy 5.0 / 10 Entry price $47/mo: 1 of 5
Links on that plan (Unlimited): 3 of 3
Custom domains on that plan (2): 1 of 2

What the column shows

The column rewards plans that remove limits early. ReSlug leads because its cheapest plan combines a low price with a high or unlimited link count and several domains. At the other end, Linkly pairs a higher price with tighter limits, or omits a custom domain from the entry plan altogether.

Monthly prices are used throughout so that tools are compared on the same basis. Where a vendor publishes only an annual rate, that rate is used and the annual-only penalty applies. Where both are published, the monthly rate is scored and the annual rate appears in the hub's tables.

One limitation: the rule does not look at the second paid tier. A tool whose cheapest plan is weak but whose next plan is excellent will score lower here than it deserves for a buyer with a bigger budget. The hub's marketers ranking covers the mid tiers.

Questions & answers

Why penalise annual-only billing?

Because a $10 a month plan that must be paid as $120 up front is a different purchase from one you can cancel next month. Half a point reflects that without dominating the column.

Does a free plan affect the value score?

No. Free plans are scored in their own column. Value looks only at the cheapest paid plan.

What if a vendor's prices could not be verified?

The best available secondary figure is used and the transparency column deducts for it. The sources page names the secondary source.

Sources for this entry

Checked 8 November 2026. Vendor pages change; the date is the claim.

Cite this entry

Top URL Shorteners. "Value scores". Reviewed 8 November 2026. https://topurlshorteners.com/value-scores/