If you only need a shorter, branded URL with a QR code, Bitly is built for that. If you run paid app installs and need attribution, Branch is built for that job. If you need one link that sends each visitor to the right app store, both 1LINK.IO and 1Link® do it at a fraction of the attribution price; 1Link adds Mac, Windows and Fire tablets, a QR code on every link, and agency plans priced by links rather than seats.
That is the short answer. The rest of this page is the detail behind it, with every price taken from each vendor’s own pricing page on 20 October 2026.
Three different jobs that all get called “a link”
Most comparisons go wrong because they line up tools that solve different problems. There are three jobs here, and each tool is built around one of them.
- Shorten and brand. Turn a long URL into a short one on your own domain, count the clicks, attach a QR code. Every visitor goes to the same destination.
- Route. Work out what device the visitor is holding and send them to the destination that works on it: the App Store on an iPhone, Google Play on Android, a web page on a laptop.
- Attribute. Prove which campaign, ad network or partner produced an install, inside the app, after the store. This needs code in the app itself.
Bitly is a shortener that has added routing on its top self-serve tier. Branch is an attribution platform that does routing as part of the job. 1LINK.IO and 1Link are routing tools that also shorten. Knowing which job you actually have decides most of the choice before price comes into it.
Side by side
| 1Link® | 1LINK.IO | Bitly | Branch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Routing, QR codes, multi-client link management | Routing app links | Branded short links, QR codes, landing pages | Mobile attribution and deep linking |
| Sends each device to the right store | iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Fire | iOS and Android; desktop to a web page | Mobile deep linking on Premium | Yes |
| QR codes | Free on every link, dynamic | Promoted for offline use | 2 to 200 a month, by plan | Not its focus |
| Code in your app | None | None for routing | None for links | SDK for install attribution |
| Where you manage it | iPhone and Android app | Web dashboard, API, Zapier | Web dashboard, API | Web dashboard, SDK |
| Published entry price | About CAD $3.99 for 28 links a month (Advanced, via the App Store or Google Play) | Free for 5 links and 100 clicks a month; Startup €7.66 a month | Free for 5 links a month; Core US$10 a month billed annually | Not published; free trial on Basics |
| Free trial | 30 days, one activated link | 14 days on Startup and Pro | Free plan | Basics |
Prices and tiers change. Check each vendor’s current page before you commit, and read the notes below for what each price actually buys.
Bitly: the best-known shortener
Bitly’s free plan gives you 5 links and 2 QR codes a month, with ads. Core is US$10 a month billed annually for 100 links. Growth, at US$29 a month billed annually, adds a complimentary custom domain and 500 links. Premium is US$199 a month billed annually for 3,000 links and 200 QR codes, and it is the plan where Bitly lists mobile deep linking and device-type data. Enterprise is quoted.
Choose it when your destinations are web pages, your team already lives in Bitly, and you want landing pages and link management in one browser dashboard. Look elsewhere when routing to app stores is the main job, because on Bitly that means the US$2,388-a-year tier.
Branch: attribution first
Branch sells mobile measurement: which partner, network or campaign produced an install, how those users retain, and help with Apple’s SKAdNetwork. Deep linking is part of that platform. Its pricing page shows three tiers, Basics, Essentials and Enterprise, publishes no prices, offers a free trial on Basics and a demo for the rest.
Choose it when you spend on paid user acquisition across several networks and need install-level attribution you can defend to finance. Look elsewhere when you do not have an app engineering team to integrate an SDK, or when what you need is simply the right store for each visitor. Paying for attribution you do not use is the most common mismatch in this category.
1LINK.IO: low-cost routing in the browser
1LINK.IO, which says it has been in business since 2017, does one thing well: a single link that opens the App Store on an iPhone, Google Play on Android, and a website or landing page on desktop. Its free tier covers 5 links and 100 clicks a month. Startup is €7.66 a month, Pro €20.06 and Enterprise €49.85, VAT included, with 10% off yearly billing and a 14-day trial on Startup and Pro. It offers an API, Zapier and a connection for AI agents.
Choose it when you want routing from a browser dashboard, your audience is on iPhone and Android, and you want to automate link creation. Look elsewhere when your product ships on the Mac App Store, the Microsoft Store or Amazon’s Fire tablets, or when you manage links for many clients.
1LINK.IO is a separate company with no connection to TAPQUAD®. The names are close enough to confuse people, which is why we spell it out.
1Link®: routing for five platforms, run from your phone
1Link® shortens any URL, gives it a dynamic QR code and real-time analytics, and for apps and games sends each visitor to the correct store for the device they are holding: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows and Fire. Links resolve through two domains we own and monitor, 1Link.app and 1lk.io, and nothing is installed in your app or website.
It is a subscription purchased in the App Store or Google Play, so prices are set by each store and vary by country. Advanced covers 28 to 528 links a month, starting at about CAD $3.99. Pro covers 1,028 to 8,128 links a month (6,188 on Android). Agency plans keep each client’s campaigns separate in one account. A 30-day trial activates one link with its QR code and analytics.
Choose it when your app or game is on more than iPhone and Android, you print QR codes on packaging, signage or equipment and need to repoint them without reprinting, or you run links for several clients. Look elsewhere when you need install-level attribution across ad networks, or when your team wants to manage links only from a desktop browser or through an API.
Five questions that settle it
- Is the destination a web page or an app? Web only: a shortener is enough.
- Which stores is the product in? If the answer includes the Mac App Store, the Microsoft Store or Amazon, check that the tool routes there, not just to iOS and Android.
- Do you need to know which ad produced an install? If yes, you need attribution and an SDK. If you need to know which campaign produced a click or a scan, you do not.
- Will the link be printed? A printed QR code has to stay valid for years. Ask whether the code is dynamic and whose domain it resolves through.
- How many clients or brands? Per-seat pricing punishes agencies. Pricing by links activated does not.
Where we stand
We make 1Link®, so read this with that in mind. We have tried to price every tool from its own page and to say plainly where each of the others is the better choice, because the quickest way to lose a customer is to sell them the wrong category. If attribution is your job, use an attribution platform. If routing is your job, you should not be paying attribution prices for it.
Want to see it on your own link? Start the 30-day 1Link trial, or read what replaced Firebase Dynamic Links if that is how you got here.
Sources, checked 20 October 2026: Bitly pricing, Branch pricing, 1LINK.IO, 1Link.