The era of URL shortener was begun in 2008 following the popularity of Twitter. Twitter users are used to using URL shortener to share links of news, blogs and so on since they only have space of 140 characters to share something.

Bitly is known as one of the pioneers of URL shortener. One of the reasons why people love using Bitly is that it allows users to create a custom shortened URL. Currently, most URL shortener services also offer the same feature, but Bitly remains popular as it has a professional look interface. Other reason, we don’t have to deal with ads when using it.

Like it or not, we have to admit that Bitly is the best URL shortener service. However, not all internet users are pleased to use Bitly. I don’t know about you, but anytime you want to switch from Bitly for other alternative, you can refer to the following list.

When you Googling something like “Bitly alternatives” you will see so many options. But, not all of them are really decent to use. Some URL shorteners will redirect you to an ads page first before taking you to the real URL you supposed to redirected to. Even worse, some URL shorteners will display a pop up containing ads. So annoying!

Just like you, I also hate that kind of URL shorteners. So, I bring the following best options of Bitly alternatives.

1. Bit.do

Bit.do is the first Bitly alternative I suggest since it is very simple. You are not fully free of ads, but the advertising scheme applied on this site is reasonable. You won’t be bothered by annoying pop up ads. Bit.do is also honest enough. I mean, you won’t be redirected to an ads page like, for instance, Adf.ly. Additionally, Bit.do also allows you to set a custom short URL without having to create any account. You will also be provided a QR code for every URL you shorten. Furthermore, Bit.do also offers a statistics feature to allow you tracking the performance of your URLs.

2. Tinyurl.com

Most internet users (including me) thought that Bitly is the first ever URL shortener. Unfortunately, we are wrong. Before Bitly (and even Twitter),  there has been a URL shortener, it was TinyURL. This URL shortener has been around since 2002. At that moment, internet users used the shortened URLs for newsgroup postings.

TinyURL is quiet similar to Bit.do. You will also see some ads but still reasonable enough and not too annoying. This URL shortener also allows you to set a custom short URL but there is no feature to track it.

3. Is.gd

Is.gd is a very simple URL shortener. The best think about this URL shortener is that you don’t have to deal with ads at all. Just like Goo.gl and Ow.ly. But, Is.gd comes with an option to enable you to create a custom short URL. Plus, you can also share the URL you shorten via QR code since this tool also offer it. Furthermore, this URL shortener also has an option which you can choose to log the statistics of your URLs.

4. V.gd

V.gd is presented by the same company as Is.gd. They both built with the same engine so there is no difference between them in terms of features an capabilities. The only difference is the their names. And also interface color.

5. S.id

S.id is another URL shortener that comes with an ads-free interface. This URL shortener also allows you to set a custom short URL. Additionally, you can also keep an eye of the URLs you have shorten but you need create an account and login with it before doing this.