15 TinyURL Alternatives – Shorten your URLS
The past week or so there have been some snags with the once steady TinyURL and URLtea. The two services have started to take on heavy loads with services like Twitter using the APIs and creating a ginormous amount of links.
*Jan 2009 Update* - Scroll down and see the full 17+ list of services. My pick for best service is Zi.ma and a new one (I will be trying out) that is a build your own is URLShrink.
*Aug 2009 Update* - Alot has changed and I have deleted a few and updated some (it appears I had a wrong link for one as well). I will review more and updated the list shortly as services like is.gd, bit.ly, kl.am, and tr.im are all strong services now.
Below are some alternatives to TinyURL and URLtea:
A Firefox add-on that shows up in your Tools bar but upon trying it tonight it didnt work. I was unable to get the site to come up either. Not sure if I hit it at the wrong time but its still not a good sign.
2. SI9
A simple site that again - doesnt seem to work. Whats with these services, are they all down?
3. AQQZ
Well is the 3rd time the charm? Yes it is. This service seems to be up and working. Has a quick link to add it as a Search Engine within Firefox for quicker conversions.
4. Metamark
The most interesting service thus far. It asks for the URL, your Nickname, and a Secret ?. It allows you to log back in and see stats on the link. Note that you have to register with Bitcard to get the stats.
5. Notlong
Taking a different tact, this service has you select a subdomain. I created http://tinyalternative.notlong.com and it of course works. However what if someone else wants to use that? They cant. As time goes by and more users begin to use the service you will have to guess and guess and guess what to use. It would be nicer if the service suggested something for you and gave you the option to type something in. It does automatically create a password so you can get stats. A nice feature if I do say so (better then having to create a login)
6. Xaddr
Interesting service that was inspired by TinyURL and the desire to create his own. The service works quickly and offers a test link. Also are directions on how to add Xaddr to your browser toolbar or in your windows task bar.
7. Snipurl
A nice clean site with the option to create a login, private key, and a title. You can go and look at your old snips as well as others. I think I will create an account and start using this service from now on. Very nice indeed.
8. Doiop
A simple service that lets you select your keyword. As I stated before this is a nice feature but also can be annoying when you start to get repeats of keywords.
9. dwarfURL
Plug and play with a Firefox extension. You can also add an optional password to see the stats at a later date.
10. memurl
Simple and to the point. Shortens your URL.
11. shorl
Go simple or go complicated. If you want you can login and get stats or just do one off shorlifys.
12. qurlyq
No frills service. Gives you up to 1500 characters.
13. lilurl.us
Allows for simple shortening or the type that you can track. If you choose to track it you have to create your own text (back to the duplicate issue) and a password. So if you need to password protect a URL I suggest this service.
14. is.gd
Another simple TinyURL alternative. Plug and go.
15. traceurl
Another above the call of duty type of service. Create an account and you can track and monitor your URLs. If you are the type that needs to shorten URLs alot - this is the service for you.
After digging into this list I personally will start to try Traceurl and Snipurl. If anything, I have learned that just using TinyURL isnt a good idea.
Did I miss any services? Let me know.
*update*
Hop2 appears to be a very old service and very easy to use. You can set the "hopword" or just let it create one for you - why couldnt any of the others do that?
*Jan 2009 Update*
17.Zi.ma by Martin Bowling
When the site is up (its a pretty busy site it seems) it is my choice for best URL shortening service. It can do what TinyURL and others do but the options, control and stats are great.
18. UrlShrink
You can see the code and create your own here. Its simple but if you know ColdFusion it will be a snap.
SEO Consultant says:
Here's one more - http://www.tiny9.com
It lets you specify tags to use in your URLs instead of auto-generating random ones.
shorten url says:
there are many more, soch:
http://tubeurl.com
http://shortio.com
http://shorturl.ws
and so on
Peter says:
and there's http://piko.la
Dan says:
I've used http://turl.ca
Nice clean interface, non-obtrusive ads, and you can provide tags of your choice.
John Moore says:
I think http://XedURL.com is faster and easy to use.
I like to keep things simple.
fff.to says:
New alternative tinyurl
Referral links hiding
Full statistics of your redirect link using
Traffic distribution system
Easy link management
Completely free of charge
hans smith says:
super easy to use. They also offer a toolbar so you can shorten your urls without actually going to their webpage. it is so helpfull i use it everyday! The site is just like all the others but the toolbar is priceless!
andy matthews says:
Just wanted to let you know about a project I've authored called "shrinkURL". It's not a URL shortening service by itself, but it DOES aggregate multiple services into one easy to use API.
http://snurl.com/adxsh
It currently supports:
Snurl
IsGD
TinyURL
BitLy
Twurl
Hexio
POPrl
I've got plans to add more, as long as they have an open API.
Louis says:
thanks Dave - I like the Is.gd
gesf says:
Here is another one - http://urlms.com
Jeff says:
Two more:
http://clockurl.com
http://qurlyq.com
Shaunak De says:
One more: http://bit.ly/
This one is pretty neat.
AdamPhoto says:
Hi all- Does anyone know of a service or an SQL database that runs off your own server that uses aliases to mask long urls to your own domain name?
http.../animations.html?utm_source=Reachmail&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=3DModels&utm_campaign=Dealer_3DAnimationsIs my URL with link tracking from analytics, but in a text only email that is a rather intimidatingly long link. I'd love to see a url like..
url.a3bs.com/animations
where /animations is a unique name that refers back to the long url.
Anyone? Anything?
wil says:
Two more: http://krtr.nl (for the Dutch people) and http://dmnt.es/ (for Spanish)
Bill Gates says:
Here's one that looks cool when posting links on Twitter (but will work just for any other purpose):
twlinx.com
Dot com domains in general look less awkward and suspicous to viewers not familiar with things like bit.ly is.gd and friends ;-)
You can choose whatever will appear after the domain (i.e. the suffix after the slash)
_VB says:
here's http://3RL.me for web addresses and
here's http://dwnld.it for torrent shortening
Anon says:
http://protect.skiplife.com
an even better one with password protection. I think I saw you on SU :O
Damo says:
http://b00.me (B-TwoZero) is the SHORTEST one. The full length of a link including the http is only 15 characters! Also has a programmers API for automatic link creation.
Arnold98 says:
U can use http://www.3wlli.com for generate url 3wl.li