Comparison
Shortline vs Dub, with their numbers.
Dub Links costs $30, $90 and $300 a month. Shortline costs $15 and $45 for roughly ten times the volume at each step, with no feature gating on any tier. Every Dub figure on this page is taken from Dub’s published links pricing, not estimated.
Full comparison table
| Shortline | Dub | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry paid price | $15 / month | $30 / month |
| Team tier price | $45 / month | $90 / month |
| Free links per month | 50 | 25 |
| Free tracked events | 1,500 | 1,000 |
| Free analytics history | 1 year | 30 days |
| Annual discount | 20% | 10% |
| Password protection | Every plan | From $30 |
| Link expiry and expiry URL | Every plan | From $30 |
| Geo and device targeting | Every plan | From $30 |
| Link cloaking | Every plan | From $30 |
| Custom social previews | Every plan | From $30 |
| QR codes without their logo | Every plan | From $30 |
| Folders | Every plan | From $30 |
| A/B split testing | Every plan | From $90 |
| Conversion tracking | Every plan | From $90 |
| Webhooks | Every plan | From $90 |
| Live event stream | Every plan | From $90 |
| SAML single sign-on | $45 / month | Enterprise only |
| Per-link click limits | Yes | Not available |
| Case-insensitive keys | Yes | Not available |
| Link aliases | Yes | Not available |
| Affiliate and partner payouts | Not available | From $90 |
The last row is the honest one: Dub runs a full affiliate and partner payouts product, and Shortline does not. If that is what you are buying, buy Dub.
Four things worth knowing before you renew
- 01
Dub’s free plan gives you 25 links a month
Twenty-five. It also has no folders, no password protection, no expiry, no cloaking, no geo or device targeting, no custom social previews, and it stamps Dub’s logo on every QR code you generate. Shortline’s free plan is 50 links, 1,500 tracked clicks, a full year of history, and every one of those features switched on.
- 02
There is nothing between free and $30
On Dub, every advanced link capability sits behind Pro at $30 a month. Conversion tracking, split testing, webhooks, the live event stream and role-based access all sit behind Business at $90. Shortline charges $15 and $45, and gates none of it.
- 03
Their “unlimited” Enterprise tier is not unlimited
Dub markets Enterprise as unlimited links, events, domains and users. Its own plan configuration caps that tier at 500,000 links, 5,000,000 events, 250 domains and 30 seats. When Shortline says unlimited on Enterprise, there is no number behind it.
- 04
Links is no longer the product they are building
Dub now describes itself as a link attribution and affiliate payouts platform, and every one of its recent changelog entries is a partner-programme feature. If you want an affiliate programme, Dub is genuinely the better buy. If you want a link platform, you are paying for a roadmap you are not on.
Moving over takes about ten minutes.
Export your links from Dub as CSV, import them here, then repoint your domain. Existing links keep their keys, so nothing in print breaks.
