Dub

Dub is the modern, open-source link attribution platform that bundles short links, real-time analytics, conversion tracking, and an affiliate program builder into one product. We rate it 87/100 — the strongest Bitly alternative on the market for growth and marketing teams that want one tool to handle the full link-to-revenue journey.

What is Dub?

Dub is a link attribution platform built by Steven Tey, a former designer at Vercel who started Dub as a side project in July 2022 to give his team a faster way to share links with rich Open Graph previews. After the project hit #1 on Hacker News and crossed 14,000 GitHub stars, Tey turned it into a full-time company and incorporated Dub Inc. The repo (github.com/dubinc/dub) now sits at roughly 18,000 stars and is used in production by teams at Framer, Perplexity, Raycast, Twilio, Buffer, and Superhuman.

The pitch: Bitly and Rebrandly only solve half the problem. They shorten and track clicks, but the moment that click becomes a sign-up or a sale, the attribution chain breaks. Dub closes the loop with first-party conversion tracking and a built-in partner program — all in an open-source product you can self-host. That combination of clean DX, modern UI, and revenue attribution is what sets Dub apart.

Key Features of Dub

• Short links with custom domains: Create branded short links on your own domain in seconds. Free plans get 25 links/month; Pro lifts that to 1,000 with link cloaking, password protection, expiration dates, and country/device-level geo targeting.
• Real-time analytics powered by Tinybird: After migrating from Redis to Tinybird, Dub's analytics pipeline is ~100× faster and uses ~100× less bandwidth — you see clicks live with breakdowns by location, device, browser, OS, and referrer.
• Conversion tracking: Server-side events tie a click to a Stripe checkout, Shopify order, or any custom conversion. This turns vanity click counts into actual revenue attribution.
• Dub Partners — affiliate program builder: Recruit, manage, and pay out affiliates, influencers, and creator partners from the same dashboard. A/B test landing pages, set per-partner commission rules, and pay out via Stripe Connect.
• Open source & self-hostable: The full app is MIT-licensed Next.js / TypeScript on GitHub. You can host it on Vercel + PlanetScale + Tinybird for a fully owned stack.
• Developer SDKs: Official TypeScript, Python, Ruby, Go, and PHP SDKs, plus a REST API and webhooks for every event.

What Users Say About Dub

Sentiment is exceptionally strong. Dub holds a 5.0/5 on G2 and 4.6/5 on Trustpilot, with reviewers consistently calling out the cleanest DX and UX in the link-shortener category. The most upvoted G2 review notes setup takes "about 2 minutes" and that the team frequently fixes reported issues in under 12 minutes — a level of support speed that competitors rarely match. On Hacker News, the original Show HN thread stayed at the #1 spot for a full day; commenters specifically praised the modern UI and the fact that destination links are editable after creation, something Bitly still gates behind paid plans.

The recurring complaints are pricing-related rather than product-related. Several G2 and Trustpilot reviewers note that Dub Partners' 3–5% payout processing fee on top of the $75/month base feels steep at higher volumes, and the Pro plan at $25/month is more expensive than Rebrandly's entry tier for users who only need basic shortening. A second theme: power users want deeper segment-level analytics — Dub's funnel views are functional but not yet at Mixpanel-level granularity.

Dub Pricing

Dub uses tiered SaaS pricing with a generous free plan. Dub Partners (the affiliate platform) is a separate add-on that starts at $75/month.

Plan	Price	Key Limits
Free	$0/month	25 links/mo, 1K tracked events, 30-day analytics, 1 user
Pro	$25/month	1K links/mo, 50K events, 1-year analytics, link cloaking, geo/device targeting
Business	$75/month	10K links/mo, 250K events, conversion tracking, Stripe/Shopify integrations, A/B testing, webhooks
Advanced	$250/month	50K links/mo, 1M events, 5-year analytics, advanced workspace controls
Enterprise	Custom	SSO/SAML, audit logs, custom SLA, dedicated support

Who Should Use Dub?

Best for: Marketing, growth, and developer-relations teams at SaaS companies who need branded short links, conversion attribution, and an affiliate program in one tool. Solo creators on the free plan, agencies running multi-client campaigns, and engineering teams that want an open-source stack they can self-host.

Not ideal for: Users who only need a free, minimal URL shortener — Bitly's free tier is enough, and Dub's free 25-link cap is restrictive. Also a poor fit if you need product-analytics-grade segmentation; pair Dub with Mixpanel or PostHog instead.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Cleanest DX and UX in the category — multiple G2 reviewers cite a 2-minute setup and 12-minute support response times.
• Real-time, Tinybird-powered analytics measurably outperform Redis-era Bitly alternatives.
• Open source under MIT, ~18K GitHub stars, and a healthy contributor community.
• Conversion tracking + affiliate platform under one roof — no need to bolt on Rewardful or PartnerStack.
• First-class TypeScript, Python, Ruby, Go, and PHP SDKs; webhooks for every event.
• Used by Framer, Raycast, Perplexity, Twilio, Buffer, and Superhuman — production-grade reliability.

Cons:

• Pro plan at $25/month is a step up from cheaper shorteners if you do not need attribution.
• Dub Partners adds a 3–5% payout processing fee on top of the monthly subscription.
• Funnel and cohort analytics are basic compared with dedicated product-analytics tools.
• Self-hosting works but requires Tinybird, PlanetScale, and Vercel — not a one-click deploy.

Alternatives to Dub

The closest direct competitors are Bitly (older, more enterprise features but slower UI and no first-party conversion tracking), Rebrandly (cheaper at the entry tier but no affiliate platform), and Short.io (good simple shortener, weaker on attribution). For affiliate management on its own, Rewardful and PartnerStack are alternatives — but neither bundles short links and analytics into the same product. If you want a fully open-source minimal shortener with no SaaS layer, YOURLS remains the classic self-hosted option.

Verdict: Is Dub Worth It?

Yes — if your team uses short links for anything beyond casual sharing, Dub is the most modern and complete option in the category right now. The combination of polished UX, real-time analytics, conversion tracking, an affiliate program, and an MIT-licensed codebase is unique. Pro at $25/month pays for itself the first time you correctly attribute a paid sign-up to a campaign URL, and the free tier is enough to evaluate end to end. We'd skip it only if you genuinely just need a free URL shortener with no analytics depth. Final rating: 87/100.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dub free?

Yes. Dub has a free plan that includes 25 short links per month, 1,000 tracked events, and 30-day analytics retention. Paid plans start at $25/month for Pro and $75/month for Business (which unlocks conversion tracking and integrations).

Is Dub open source?

Yes. Dub is fully open source under the MIT license. The codebase lives at github.com/dubinc/dub and has approximately 18,000 stars. You can self-host it on Vercel + PlanetScale + Tinybird.

How does Dub compare to Bitly?

Dub offers a more modern UI, faster real-time analytics (Tinybird-powered), built-in conversion tracking, and an integrated affiliate program — all of which Bitly either lacks or charges enterprise pricing for. Bitly still wins on raw scale, brand recognition, and longer-tenured enterprise integrations.

Does Dub support custom domains?

Yes. Custom domains are supported on every paid plan from Pro upward, and the free plan supports the default dub.sh and dub.link domains.

Does Dub have an affiliate program?

Two answers. Dub itself runs a referral program that pays 30% recurring revenue for one year on referred customers, who get 20% off their first three months. Separately, Dub Partners is a product that lets your company build and operate its own affiliate program — starting at $75/month plus payout processing fees.