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Jack Green
Jack Green

Posted on Originally published at tools.jackgreen.top

I Built a Free URL Shortener (Because Bitly Charges $29/Month)

#javascript #webdev #productivity #opensource

I Built a Free URL Shortener (Because Bitly Charges $29/Month)

Last year I was sharing a project link on Twitter. I used Bitly because it was the standard — everyone did. I typed in my long URL, clicked shorten, and got a nice little link. I shared it, got some engagement, moved on.

Then I checked my account a month later. My link had gotten 10 clicks. And there was a notification: "Your free trial has ended." $29 a month. For 10 clicks.

I closed the tab. Opened a text editor. Built something better that afternoon.

The Problem

URL shortening services like Bitly, Rebrandly, and others all follow the same playbook:

  1. Let you shorten a few links for free (engaging, addictive)
  2. Make you create an account (data capture)
  3. Put a hard limit at 10 links (frustration)
  4. Demand $29/month to remove it (rage quit)

It's a subscription trap disguised as a utility. And it preys on people who just want to share a link without filling out a signup form.

What I Built

URL Shortener with Analytics — a completely free, zero-signup, browser-based URL shortener with click tracking.

  • No account. Open the page, paste your URL, share.
  • No limits. Unlimited short links, forever.
  • No payment. Ever. Not a "freemium" model, not a trial, just free.
  • No data harvesting. Your links work, your clicks are counted, that's it.
  • Real-time analytics. See how many people clicked your links.

Features

  • Instant shortening. Paste your URL, get a short link in seconds.
  • Click tracking. See how many people visited your links.
  • No signup required. Just open and use.
  • Privacy-first. No cookies, no trackers, no data selling.
  • Simple API. Shorten URLs programmatically with a POST request.
  • Works everywhere. Any device, any browser, any time.

Why It Matters

Content creators, marketers, developers — we're all expected to pay for everything. A URL shortener shouldn't be a cash grab. It should be a utility — like a ruler or a calculator.

The fact that this exists at all is kind of wild. You can shorten unlimited URLs with click analytics, no strings attached, for zero dollars. No upsell. No "upgrade to premium." Just... done.

The Tech

  • Frontend: Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS — no framework needed
  • Backend: Python http.server — simple, reliable, no dependencies
  • Storage: JSON file — no database required
  • Hosting: Static files on nginx, Python HTTP server for the API
  • Deploy: One rsync, done

The whole thing is under 400 lines of code. That's it.

Open Source

It's all on GitHub — fork it, improve it, run it yourself. If you're a developer who's ever been frustrated by paywalled utilities, go build something better. It's faster than you think.

Try it: tools.jackgreen.top/url-shortener-with-analytics

Built because someone should have done this already. Now it exists.

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