A free shortener that tracks clicks is rarer than it sounds. Most of them either paywall the analytics or give you numbers that are inflated by bot traffic. If you want honest, free click data, here is what to look for and who actually delivers it.
Why analytics is where "free" breaks
The pattern is almost universal: a shortener offers generous "free" links, but the moment you want to know if a link is actually working, the analytics sit behind a paid plan or a dashboard login. The free tier gives you a link and nothing to measure with.
So "free URL shortener with analytics" is a harder requirement than "free URL shortener."
What honest analytics means
Two things separate honest analytics from marketing numbers:
- Bot traffic filtered out. A click from a bot is not a human reading your link. If the counter counts bots, your numbers are inflated and you will make decisions on fake data.
- Free, not paywalled. The data should be accessible without a card on file.
The candidates
Cuttly. Deep free analytics — device, referrer, geography, retention. Real value. But the free tier is capped (around 30 links a month) and requires an account.
Dub. Good analytics, but self-hosted (you run the infra) or a metered hosted tier.
Short.io. Strong analytics on a paid tier.
TinyURL / is.gd. Unlimited and free, but no real click tracking.
KooLink. Free, unlimited, no signup — and honest per-link views with bot traffic filtered out. When you do want to see which links work, the data is there, free.
What KooLink gives you
- No cap. Unlimited links, no quota to hit.
- No signup to shorten. Paste a URL, get a link.
- Honest views. Bot traffic is filtered, so the numbers reflect real readers.
- The AI-agent angle. A hosted MCP server so your agent can shorten and read stats as tools.
https://mcp.kool.ink
The bottom line
If you need deep, business-grade analytics and are happy to pay or cap yourself, Cuttly or Short.io are strong. If you want a genuinely free shortener that tracks clicks honestly, without a monthly quota or a signup wall, KooLink is the fit.