Dub vs Short.io: Pricing, Limits and Which one to Choose

In the Dub vs Short.io choice, pick Short.io for cheap volume: its $18/month Pro plan includes unlimited links and tracked clicks. Pick Dub to tie clicks to revenue, run an affiliate program or self-host the code.

Dub costs more for that depth. Its conversion tracking, webhooks and A/B testing start on the $90/month Business plan.

Every price below was checked on each vendor’s pricing page on November 10, 2026. Most comparisons still quote plans that changed in 2024 or 2026.

Along the way, we’ll show where ShortPen (our product) fits. The last section covers it in full for teams that hit the caps of both.

Dub vs Short.io: feature comparison at a glance

Dub is the deeper tool for attribution and developers. Short.io gives you more links and clicks per dollar. Here is how the two compare on the limits that matter most.

Prices and limits checked November 10, 2026.

Short.io fits marketers and small businesses with straightforward link management needs, especially when marketers and agencies mainly use these tools for branding with branded urls and basic analytics. Dub fits SaaS teams, developers and anyone running a partner program who need broader link management.

If you want unlimited links like Short.io and conversion tracking like Dub on one low-cost plan, ShortPen is worth a look.

Dub vs Short.io pricing

Short.io is cheaper at almost every level. Dub costs more per seat but includes more users on its first paid plan.

Dub pricing

If you see Dub at $24, $25 or $75 elsewhere, those are older prices. Dub changed its plans in January 2024, then changed yearly billing in July 2026, and the current business tier is the Business plan that gates the advanced capabilities discussed later.

Yearly plans now get 10% off and 12 months of usage upfront, so a yearly Business plan gets 3 million events for the year instead of 250,000 per month.

Short.io pricing

Annual billing saves 17%. Short.io is a straightforward url shortener in the link management space, and its old “Personal” plan is now called Pro, though Dub’s own comparison page still compares against the old name and price.

Free plan comparison

Dub’s free tier gives you 25 new links a month, 1,000 tracked events, 30 days of analytics and three custom domains.

Short.io’s free account is a generous free tier for testing branded domains and basic analytics, with 1,000 links in total, 50,000 visible clicks a month, 50 conversions and five custom domains.

The catch on Short.io: the free plan includes 1,000 branded links in total, and that cap is lifetime, not monthly.

It’s a great URL shortener for basic shortening before you outgrow the limits. Once you use them up, you have to upgrade to create more. Past 50,000 clicks, Short.io keeps collecting data but hides it until you upgrade.

For comparison, ShortPen’s free plan has no link or click cap at all. You get unlimited links, QR codes and tracked clicks, one custom domain and 100 tracked conversions a month.

There are no ads on your links. The free plan shows 30 days of analytics but keeps older data, which becomes visible when you upgrade.

What you actually pay at three team sizes

Plan names hide the real cost: what you actually pay depends on team size and raw link volume, not just the plan name. Here is the cheapest plan that fits three common setups.

The team of 3 shows the gap best. Dub Pro allows three users but no conversion tracking. Short.io tracks conversions from Pro but allows one user until Team, and most users should take the cheaper option unless they specifically need Dub’s higher-end attribution features.

The solo creator pays nothing on ShortPen, because its free plan has no monthly link cap. For straightforward link management needs, Short.io Pro is still the cheaper paid fit than Dub. For large agencies, Team is the cheapest of the three: ShortPen’s self-serve plans top out at 10 custom domains and 5 users.

Analytics and conversion tracking

Dub gives you longer, clearly defined analytics retention and deeper revenue tracking. Short.io gives you more tracked clicks for the money and basic conversion tracking on every plan.

Click analytics and retention

Dub counts every click, lead and sale as an “event” against your monthly cap, which matters if you care about analytics depth as much as raw volume. Retention is 30 days on Free, one year on Pro, three years on Business and five years on Advanced, and Dub also offers real-time click tracking with geographic breakdowns plus an analytics dashboard that makes it easier to read performance by location and device.

If you go over Dub’s cap, your links keep working and Dub keeps tracking. Go past twice the limit on a paid plan (four times on Free) and the counter stops resetting each month until you upgrade.

Short.io counts unlimited clicks from Pro. It does not publish how long it keeps analytics data, and its dashboard is often criticized as cluttered, so ask before you commit if you need multi-year history and more detailed analytics than basic click reporting.

ShortPen counts unlimited clicks on every plan and keeps unlimited analytics history on its paid plans. Each click shows the referrer, device and location, and bot clicks are filtered out of your stats.

Conversion tracking

Dub tracks the full path from click to lead to sale, and that conversion attribution beyond plain click reporting is its clearest advantage here.

It has native Stripe and Shopify integrations, handles refunds and recurring payments, and offers server-side tracking. All of this starts on the Business plan. On that plan, Dub also adds customer insights and a real-time events stream.

Short.io also tracks conversions, which several comparison pages and Google’s AI Overview get wrong. You get 50 a month on Free and unlimited from Pro, plus a live conversion stream added in February 2026.

It records outcomes, but its built-in conversion tracking is less detailed than what Dub offers on Business.

Its payment integrations are less mature than Dub’s, so revenue-heavy SaaS teams will still find Dub stronger here.

ShortPen sits between the two. You install the ShortPen Pixel on your site once, then create events from the dashboard.

URL-triggered events count a page visit, such as /thank-you, as a signup. Code-triggered events cover actions like a form submit. On Shopify, the app maps Add to Cart, Checkout and Purchase for you.

ShortPen credits the last click with no attribution window, so a purchase weeks later still counts. Conversions start on the free plan (100 a month) and reach 10,000 a month on Plus at $23. That matters for teams that need campaign attribution to connect link clicks to downstream results in marketing campaigns.

Link features and branded short links

Both tools cover core URL shortening and link shortening controls. The differences are which plan unlocks each one and how links redirect.

The redirect type matters if you move permanent links or care about SEO. Dub uses a temporary 307 redirect on every link. Short.io lets you use a permanent 301. These controls matter when you create branded links for campaigns and need a short link or shortened link that is easy to share and track.

Dub also includes link preview and custom social media cards on paid plans, while Short.io focuses more on core link controls.

ShortPen uses a 301 by default and lets you switch any link to 302, 307 or 308. It also supports password protection and link cloaking.

Every ShortPen QR code is dynamic, so you can change its destination after printing without resetting its scan data.

API, webhooks and open source

Both tools expose APIs for link management, but Dub adds a cleaner developer stack. Dub’s limit runs from 600 requests a minute on Pro to 3,000 on Advanced, with official SDKs, a clean API, and an MCP server that fits teams building AI-powered workflows.

Short.io allows 50 requests a second on all plans, with yearly caps on links created through the API (10,000 on Pro, 100,000 on Team) and a clean REST API for creating branded links programmatically.

Webhooks follow the same pattern as the rest of the pricing. Dub includes event webhooks for advanced integrations from Business, while Short.io sends click webhooks from Pro.

Dub is open source under AGPLv3, with about 1% of the code under a commercial license. That open source codebase gives developer-led teams more full control when self-hosting, but you will need accounts with Tinybird, Upstash, PlanetScale, Vercel and Cloudflare or AWS. Short.io is closed source.

ShortPen’s free plan includes 200 API calls a month to test the API. Plus and Scale include full API access, so you can create links from your own app or a Zapier workflow.

Teams, agencies and affiliate programs

Short.io is cheaper for large teams; Dub is the only one of the two with an affiliate product.

Dub allows 1, 3, 10 and 20 users across its plans, with role-based access from Business. Short.io allows one user until Team, then unlimited users.

Folders follow a similar split: Dub offers 3 on Pro and 20 on Business, while Short.io offers 10 on Pro and 100 on Team.

Dub Partners lets you run affiliate and referral programs inside Dub from the Business plan, with a 5% fee on payouts. Short.io has nothing comparable.

ShortPen organizes links in two layers. Workspaces keep each client or brand separate (4 on Plus, 10 on Scale), and folders and tags are unlimited on every plan. Plus includes 2 users and Scale includes 5, each with assignable roles.

What users say

Short.io holds 4.1 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 93 reviews (November 2026). Reviewers praise its support and generous limits. Complaints center on a dated interface and accounts banned without warning.

Dub’s reviews are mostly five-star and praise the interface and support. The common complaint is price: going from Pro to Business triples the bill.

One hands-on test by Rebrandly also found Dub counted a single Threads click as three, though that is a single test.

Dub or Short.io: which should you choose?

Choose Short.io if:

• You want a url shortener for cheap branded URLs rather than deeper attribution.

• You create many links and want unlimited clicks for $18 a month.

• You need 301 redirects or a public enterprise price.

• You want a free url shortener to test first, then scale into paid plans.

• Your team can share one login or can afford the $48 Team plan.

Choose Dub if:

• Your link management needs lean toward deeper attribution over cheap branded URLs.

• You need revenue attribution with Stripe or Shopify.

• You want to run an affiliate program from the same tool.

• You need advanced link controls and advanced analytics, not just more clicks.

• You want open-source code you can audit or self-host.

Watch for Dub’s 25-link free plan and its $90 gate for conversions. On Short.io, watch for the single seat below Team and the lifetime link cap on lower plans.

Consider ShortPen if:

• You want unlimited links and clicks without paying for them.

• You need conversion tracking on a plan under $25 a month.

• You manage several brands or clients and want workspaces and unlimited folders.

A third option if you hit the limits of both

Both tools make you pay for growth in different ways.

Dub caps new links and events on every plan below Enterprise and puts conversion tracking behind $90 a month. Short.io keeps you to one user until $48 a month and limits free links to a lifetime total.

ShortPen (our product) takes a different approach to those limits:

• Unlimited links, QR codes and tracked clicks on every plan, including free.

• One custom domain and 100 tracked conversions a month on the free plan.

• Conversion tracking through the ShortPen Pixel: install it once, then create URL-triggered or code-triggered events from the dashboard. The Shopify app maps Add to Cart, Checkout and Purchase automatically.

• Unlimited folders and tags on every plan, plus separate workspaces for clients or brands.

• 301 redirects by default, with 302, 307 and 308 available.

• Full API access on paid plans, at roughly 60 to 600 requests a minute depending on plan.

• A free .link custom domain on yearly paid plans.

Here is how ShortPen Plus compares with Dub’s entry plan and Short.io’s Team plan:

ShortPen is not the right pick for everyone. It has no built-in affiliate program, so Dub wins if you run partners, and it is not open source.

A/B testing works by duplicating a link and comparing the two copies, with no traffic split from a single link. Plus also includes fewer users and custom domains than Short.io Team, so larger teams should look at ShortPen Scale ($55/mo, 5 users, 10 domains).

If you are already on Dub or Short.io, ShortPen imports your links from either one with an API key. You can start on the free plan or try a paid plan free for 14 days, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

FAQ

Is Dub better than Short.io?

Dub is better for conversion tracking, affiliate programs and developer tooling. Short.io is better for high link volume on a budget, and for most users it’s the better pick when cheap branded links matter more than attribution. Neither is better for every team, so pick based on whether you need revenue attribution.

Is Short.io cheaper than Dub?

Yes. Short.io Pro costs $18 a month with unlimited links and clicks, while Dub Pro costs $30 a month for 1,000 new links. Short.io Team at $48 also undercuts Dub Business at $90.

Is Dub free?

Dub has a free tier with 25 new links a month, 1,000 tracked events, three custom domains and 30 days of analytics. Paid plans include a 14-day trial.

Does Short.io have conversion tracking?

Yes. Short.io tracks 50 conversions a month on its free plan and unlimited conversions from Pro. Its revenue integrations are less developed than Dub’s Stripe and Shopify tracking, and its reporting is still closer to basic analytics than Dub’s deeper attribution stack.

Can I self-host Dub?

Yes. Dub’s code is open source under AGPLv3. Self-hosting requires accounts with several services, including Tinybird, Upstash, PlanetScale and Vercel.

Can I move my links from Short.io to Dub?

Yes. Dub’s importer moves destination URLs, slugs, titles, tags and device targeting. It skips password protection, expiration dates, redirect types and cloaking, so check those links after the move. ShortPen can also import links from both tools.

Is there a good alternative to Dub and Short.io?

Yes. ShortPen (our product) offers unlimited links and clicks on every plan, conversion tracking from the free plan and workspaces for clients. It imports links from Dub and Short.io. It has no affiliate program.

Is Short.io reliable?

Short.io has run since 2015 and offers a 99.9% uptime SLA on its Team plan. Most reviews are positive, but some users report sudden account bans and slow SSL setup.

Conclusion

Dub vs Short.io comes down to one question: do you need to connect clicks to revenue?

If yes, Dub’s Business plan and affiliate tools justify the higher price. If you mainly need lots of branded links with solid click data, Short.io costs less at every team size.

Before you choose, compare your monthly link count, team size and conversion needs against the tables above. If both tools cap you too early, create a free ShortPen account and import your existing links to test it side by side.