As developers we share links constantly: a repo, a deploy preview, a doc, a demo in a tweet. Most URL shorteners make that harder than it needs to be. They want an account, they hide click stats behind a plan, and the link you create lives forever whether you want it to or not.
I have been using Pixellize's URL shortener because it fixes all three, and it is free. Sharing it here in case it saves you the same friction.
What it does
- Shortens any link, with an optional custom name like
/s/demoinstead of a random code. - Shows real click analytics: total clicks, a 7-day chart, top referrers, and a device breakdown.
- Lets links expire in 24 hours, 2 days, or 5 days, then deletes them automatically.
- Needs no account, no email, and no credit card.
Why it is worth using
Click analytics are free. This is the part almost every other tool charges for. You paste your short link into the tracker and see how it performed, no login, no upgrade prompt.
It does not track the people who click. It stores a click count, the referring site, and a device type. No IP addresses, no profiles, no cookies. Good for you, and fair to whoever clicks your link.
Links expire on purpose. A preview link or a one-off share should not outlive its use. You pick a lifetime and the link cleans up after itself. Handy for temporary shares you do not want indexed or lingering.
No signup. Paste, shorten, share. That is the whole flow.
How it compares
| Feature | Pixellize | Typical free tier |
|---|---|---|
| Click analytics | Free, built in | Often paid |
| Custom link name | Free | Varies |
| Expiring links | Yes | Rare |
| Account required | No | Usually yes for stats |
| Tracks the clicker | No | Often yes |
Honest caveat: for a permanent link you will reuse for years, a bigger paid service still makes sense. This shines for the links you share this week.
How to use it
1. Paste your link and set the details.
2. Get your short link and copy it.
3. Track the clicks any time.
Try it
Free, no signup: pixellize.io/url-shortener. If you share links anywhere and want to know what actually gets clicked, it is worth a look.
Originally published at pixellize.io.
Top comments (1)
Nice constraint set. On the Cloudflare point, one more trap: if the redirects are 301s, browsers cache them too, so repeat visitors never hit your server and the click counts drift low even with the CDN bypassed. A 302 plus Cache-Control: no-store on /s/* keeps the analytics honest.
Also worth checking that expired or disabled codes return a 404 or 410 instead of redirecting to the homepage, so link checkers and crawlers see them as dead. How are you keeping bots out of the click counts?