"Free" is the most abused word in URL shorteners. We tested over a dozen to see which ones actually let you shorten a link without a credit card, a link cap, or ad-loading redirect pages — and which quietly reserve the good parts for a paywall.
And we found one thing the listicles miss entirely: almost none of these tools can be used by an AI agent. One can. That changes the ranking.
What "free" has to actually mean
A genuinely free shortener should let you shorten a link without:
- An account and email verification
- A monthly link cap that bites before lunch
- An ad interstitial on the redirect page
- Analytics locked behind a $30/month plan
Many tools advertise "free" and fail on three of the four.
The honest ranking
1. KooLink — best free, and the only MCP-native one
- Free forever, unlimited links. No monthly quota.
- No signup to shorten. Paste, get a link.
- No ad interstitial. The redirect goes straight to the reader.
- Honest views. Bot traffic filtered, so numbers reflect real readers.
- The wedge: a hosted MCP server.
https://mcp.kool.ink
Point your agent (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code with Continue) at mcp.kool.ink and it gets a shorten_url tool. Ask it to shorten any URL and it does — no browser, no copy-paste.
It also works from the terminal:
npx @koolink/koolink https://example.com/very/long/path
# → https://kool.ink/xyz
The one thing it does not do: geo/device analytics dashboards with long retention. It gives you honest per-link views, not a marketing dashboard.
2. TinyURL — most dependable no-fuss option
An old friend. Unlimited free links, no login, no expiry, basic stats. Safe, boring, reliable. Just no agent integration and no deep analytics.
3. is.gd — the only truly free one (no paid plan exists)
Unlimited, no account, custom aliases within limits. Bare-bones analytics, small team behind it. Genuinely free because there is nothing to upsell you to.
4. Cuttly — best analytics on a free tier
Deep free analytics — device, referrer, geography, retention. But capped at around 30 links a month and requires an account.
5. Short.io — best for custom-branded domains
Generous free tier with real analytics, but you need an account and it is built around branded domains.
6. Bitly — most name recognition, stingiest free plan
Five links a month. That is it. Nearly unusable for casual use; clearly pushing you toward Core at $10/month.
The free URL shortener comparison table
| Tool | Free links/mo | No login | Ads on redirect | Honest analytics | MCP / AI-agent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KooLink | Unlimited | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ (bots filtered) | ✓ |
| TinyURL | Unlimited | ✓ | ✗ | basic | ✗ |
| is.gd | Unlimited | ✓ | ✗ | basic | ✗ |
| Cuttly | ~30 | ✗ | ✗ | deep | ✗ |
| Short.io | generous | ✗ | ✗ | deep | ✗ |
| Bitly | 5 | ✗ | ✗ | 30-day | ✗ |
| ShortURL.at | Unlimited | ✓ | ✗ | basic counter | ✗ |
| Surl.li | ~30 | ✓ | ✗ ads | 30-day | ✗ |
Why the AI-agent angle changes the ranking
Every listicle in 2026 ranks these tools on link counts, analytics, QR codes, and custom domains — the same axes they ranked them on in 2022. None of them account for the fact that a growing share of "users" are now AI agents that need to shorten links as tools.
If you are a developer, an agent builder, or anyone whose workflow includes an AI assistant, "can my agent call this?" is now a first-class question. One shortener answers yes.
How to choose
- Just need a short link, no account, forever → TinyURL, is.gd, ShortURL.at.
- Need deep analytics and you are fine with a cap → Cuttly, Short.io, Rebrandly.
- Need it in a brand domain, business-grade → Short.io, Rebrandly, BL.INK.
- Need it free, unlimited, agent-ready, and no ads → KooLink.
Shorten a link → · Get the CLI → · It works from your agent →