# Shlink vs Short.io

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Short.io

| Attribute | Shlink | Short.io |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 41.6 (36% (low)) | 71.9 (69% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 15 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 0 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 5,339 | - |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"An open-source URL shortening tool that lets you create and manage shortened links served from your own domains, with built-in visitor analytics, geographic tracking, and tag organization. It is indexed under URL Shorteners.","source":"https://shlink.io","question":"What is Shlink?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Shlink is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://shlink.io","question":"Is Shlink free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Shlink supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://shlink.io","question":"What platforms does Shlink support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Shlink can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://shlink.io","question":"Can Shlink be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 4 integrations for Shlink, including Mercure, Matomo, bit.ly and YOURLS. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://shlink.io","question":"What does Shlink integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for Shlink. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Shlink not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://shlink.io","question":"What security certifications does Shlink have?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Shlink is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink","question":"Is Shlink open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"A URL shortening service that lets you create branded links using custom domains, monitor click activity in real-time with detailed analytics, and work with team members through permission controls and shared dashboards. It is indexed under URL Shorteners.","source":"https://short.io/pricing","question":"What is Short.io?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Short.io offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $1 per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://short.io/pricing","question":"Is Short.io free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Short.io supports the web, iOS and Android. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://short.io/pricing","question":"What platforms does Short.io support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Short.io, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://short.io","question":"Can Short.io be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 18 integrations for Short.io, including Zapier, Make, Segment, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Meta Pixel, AdRoll and Slack, plus 10 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://short.io","question":"What does Short.io integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, ISO 27001 and GDPR for Short.io. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Short.io not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://short.io/pricing","question":"What security certifications does Short.io have?","confidence":0.6}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A PHP application that creates shortened URLs hosted on your own infrastructure, with both command-line and REST API interfaces for managing links. | A URL shortening service that lets you create branded links using custom domains, monitor click activity in real-time with detailed analytics, and work with team members through permission controls and shared dashboards. |
| features.capabilities | `{"custom_vanity_domain_hosting":true}` | `{"deployment_model":"cloud_managed_saas","custom_vanity_domain_hosting":true,"click_analytics_and_referrer_tracking":true}` |
| integrations.count | 3 | 1,000 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Mercure"},{"name":"Matomo"},{"name":"bit.ly"},{"name":"YOURLS"},{"name":"RabbitMQ","native":true}]` | `[{"name":"Zapier"},{"name":"Make"},{"name":"Segment"},{"name":"Google Analytics"},{"name":"Google Tag Manager"},{"name":"Meta Pixel"},{"name":"AdRoll"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"WordPress"},{"name":"Shopify"},{"name":"Twitter"},{"name":"Facebook"},{"name":"Amplitude"},{"name":"Intercom"},{"name":"Google Chrome"},{"name":"Firefox"},{"name":"Microsoft Edge"},{"name":"Google Gemini","native":true,"category":"ai"}]` |
| language.primary | PHP | - |
| license.spdx | MIT | - |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true}` | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://shlink.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-20T14:05:56.029Z"}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free forever plan","features":["Link automation","Custom domains","Click analytics","QR codes","API access","Chat support","Link tagging","Browser extensions","GDPR compliance","URL slug customization","SSL certificate"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Starter tier with core features","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"branded_links":"1,000","tracked_clicks":"50,000/mo"}},{"free":false,"name":"Starter","summary":"$1/mo","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":1,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"tracked_clicks":"100,000/mo"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$14/mo","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":14,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"click_expiration_limit":"10,000/year"}},{"free":false,"name":"Large","summary":"$35/mo","features":["City/region targeting","End-to-end encryption","99.9% SLA","S3 data export","AI-powered analytics"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":35,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"redirects_visible":"100,000/year"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"$100/mo for SSO","features":["Single sign-on (SSO)"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false}],"summary":"Free plan. Paid plans from $1–$35/mo. 17% discount for annual billing. 7-day free trial on paid plans.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://short.io/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-19T22:22:34.601Z","freeTrialDays":7,"startingPrice":{"amount":1,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.starting_price | - | `{"amount":1,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 18 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v5.1.7","date":"2026-09-21T15:57:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.1.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v5.1.6","date":"2026-09-06T08:13:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.1.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v5.1.5","date":"2026-06-22T14:46:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.1.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v5.1.4","date":"2026-06-18T15:03:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.1.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v5.1.3","date":"2026-06-16T08:58:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v5.1.2","date":"2026-06-14T08:46:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v5.1.1","date":"2026-06-11T16:36:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v5.1.0","date":"2026-06-11T10:49:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v5.0.2","date":"2026-04-16T15:53:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v5.0.1","date":"2026-03-04T17:10:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v5.0.0","date":"2026-01-09T16:27:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v4.6.0","date":"2025-11-01T11:50:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v4.5.3","date":"2025-10-10T08:40:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.5.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v4.5.2","date":"2025-08-27T07:47:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v4.5.1","date":"2025-08-24T09:29:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v4.5.0","date":"2025-07-24T18:02:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v4.4.6","date":"2025-03-20T08:25:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.4.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v4.4.5","date":"2025-03-01T08:43:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.4.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v4.4.4","date":"2025-02-19T18:41:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.4.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/shlinkio/shlink/releases/tag/v4.4.3","date":"2025-02-15T10:29:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.4.3"}]` | - |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.9 |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 4.5 | - |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=helm&package_name=christianhuth%2Fshlink-backend&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (URL Shorteners)

| Capability | Shlink | Short.io |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Deployment model | - | Cloud managed saas |
| Custom vanity domain hosting | ✓ | ✓ |
| Utm parameter automation builder | - | - |
| Mobile deep linking app support | - | - |
| Geo and device based conditional routing | - | - |
| Click analytics and referrer tracking | - | ✓ |
| Link retargeting pixel injection | - | - |
| Custom slug editing | - | - |
| Bulk CSV link generation | - | - |
| SMS marketing API integrations | - | - |
| SOC2 type ii | - | - |
| ISO 27001 | - | - |
| Pricing model | - | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:56:20.607Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*