URL shorteners
Clksy vs Pretty Links compared on 12 fields
- Clksy score
- 80/100 (8 of 8 criteria)
- Pretty Links score
- 67/100 (5 of 8 criteria)
- Fields won by Clksy
- 2 of 6
- Fields won by Pretty Links
- 1 of 6
Clksy
Data checked Oct 14, 2026 against the vendors' own pages. How we verify
Clksy and Pretty Links are both URL shorteners. We compared them on 12 fields read from each vendor's own pages.
On the URL shorteners scorecard Clksy scores 80/100 (8 of 8 criteria) and Pretty Links 67/100 (5 of 8 criteria) (ranks 9 and 24 in the category).
Of the 6 fields with a clear rule (lower price, higher count, yes over no), Clksy wins 2, Pretty Links wins 1 and 3 are ties.
Clksy scores clearly higher on free plan or trial.
Side by side
| Field | Clksy | Pretty Links | Winner and basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest paid plan (billed monthly) | $9/month | ✓ $8.30/month | Pretty Links |
| Free plan | ✓ Yes | No | Clksy |
| Free trial | ✓ Yes | No | Clksy |
| Trial length (days) | 7 | – | No winner: needs a value on both sides |
| Public API | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Data export | All click and conversion data as CSV | Links and the click database can be exported | No winner: no rule for this field |
| Custom domain | Yes | – | No winner: needs a value on both sides |
| QR codes | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Click analytics | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| UTM builder | – | Yes | No winner: needs a value on both sides |
| Link-in-bio page | – | Yes | No winner: needs a value on both sides |
| Team access | Yes | – | No winner: needs a value on both sides |
– = not published by the vendor, or not verified yet.
Sources: Clksy pricing page, checked Oct 14, 2026; Pretty Links pricing page, checked Oct 14, 2026. Each feature value links its own source on the tool's page.
Scorecard, criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Weight | Clksy | Pretty Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | 25% | 67$9/month billed monthly on Starter (scored on the monthly price) | 60$8.30/month billed annually on Beginner; no monthly-billed price published (scored against annual-billed prices) |
| Free plan or trial | 15% | 100Free plan (Free) | 0No free plan or free trial shown on the pricing page |
| Pricing transparency | 10% | 1003 of 3 plans have a public price | 1003 of 3 plans have a public price |
| Verified features | 15% | 1004 of 7 tracked features verified: custom domain, qr codes, click analytics, team access | 1004 of 7 tracked features verified: qr codes, click analytics, utm builder, link-in-bio page |
| API, integrations and export | 10% | 100public API, documented data export | 100public API, documented data export |
| Free plan limits | 10% | 10Free plan: 10 links | – |
| Links on paid plans | 10% | 67100 links on Starter ($9/month) | – |
| Cost per user (team of 3) | 5% | 100$3 per user per month on Starter (team of 3, billed monthly) | – |
| Total score | 100% | 80/100 (8 of 8 criteria) | 67/100 (5 of 8 criteria) |
Clksy plans
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | Charged per | Published limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free | per workspace |
|
| Starter | $9 | Not stated | per workspace |
|
| Pro | $19 | Not stated | per workspace |
|
Prices in USD per month, before tax. Read from the vendor's pricing page on Oct 14, 2026. "Not stated" means the page does not publish it.
Pretty Links plans
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | Charged per | Published limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | Not offered | $8.30 | per workspace | None stated |
| Marketer | Not offered | $12.47 | per workspace | None stated |
| Super Affiliate | Not offered | $16.63 | per workspace | None stated |
Prices in USD per month, before tax. Read from the vendor's pricing page on Oct 14, 2026. "Not stated" means the page does not publish it.
How we picked
Every one of these URL shorteners is scored by the same 8 criteria (scorecard v1). Each criterion gives 0 to 100 from the vendor's published data; the total is the weighted average. A criterion without verified data is left out and the other weights are re-normalised. A tool with under 60% of the weight covered is listed as not ranked, and so is a tool with no verified price and fewer than 2 verified features (“needs a verified price”); each score shows how many criteria it is based on. The core criteria are the same in every category; the category criteria are specific to URL shorteners. Nobody gets custom weights, including our own products.
| Criterion | Weight | Type | What we measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | 25% | Core | Price per month of the cheapest paid plan, against the prices of other URL shorteners on the same billing basis (monthly-billed prices against monthly, annual-billed against annual).Log scale. Billed monthly: $5/month or less = 100, $29 or more = 0. Only billed annually: $4/month or less = 100, $24.92 or more = 0. Only free plans = 100. Usage-priced and one-time plans are not scored. |
| Free plan or trial | 15% | Core | Whether you can use the tool before paying: a free plan, or failing that a free trial, as shown on the vendor's pricing page.Free plan = 100. No free plan but a free trial = 60. The pricing page lists plans but shows neither = 0. No plans read = not scored. |
| Pricing transparency | 10% | Core | How much of the pricing is public: the share of plans with a published price ("contact sales" counts against), and whether there are at least 3 published tiers.80 x (plans with a public price / plans listed) + 20 x (public plans, up to 3) / 3. No plans read = not scored. |
| Verified features | 15% | Core | How many of the 7 features we track for this category the vendor's own pages verifiably show (custom domain, qr codes, click analytics, utm builder, link-in-bio page, bulk shortening, team access). This counts verified features only: a tool that documents less scores lower here, and only here.Linear: verified features / 4 (half the tracked list) x 100, capped at 100. No tracked feature verified = not scored. |
| API, integrations and export | 10% | Core | Whether a public API exists, how many integrations the vendor states, and whether the vendor documents a way to export your data.Average of the parts with data: public API yes = 100, no = 0; integrations on a log scale (100 or more = 100); a documented data export = 100. None verified = not scored. |
| Free plan limits | 10% | Category | What the free plan allows: links (full marks at 100).Each stated limit linear up to its full mark (unlimited = 100), averaged. Tools without a free plan, or whose free plan states none of these limits, are not scored here. |
| Links on paid plans | 10% | Category | Links included on the cheapest paid plan that states a limit.Log scale: 1,000 or more (or unlimited) = 100. No stated limit = not scored. |
| Cost per user (team of 3) | 5% | Category | Monthly price per user for a team of 3, on the cheapest paid plan that is priced per seat or states room for at least 3 users.Log scale: $6.67 per user or less = 100, $30 or more = 0. Plans that do not state a user limit are not used. No such plan = not scored. |
Sources are vendor pricing pages, docs and changelogs, each with the date we checked it. We did not test these tools hands-on unless a listing says so. Full formulas: methodology.
Questions, answered from the data
Is Clksy cheaper than Pretty Links?
Pretty Links starts lower: $8.30 per month billed yearly on the Beginner plan, against $9 per month billed monthly on the Starter plan for Clksy. Check the unit: per-user and per-account prices scale differently.
Do Clksy and Pretty Links have free plans?
Clksy has a free plan; Pretty Links does not.
Which is better, Clksy or Pretty Links?
On our scorecard Clksy scores higher (80/100 (8 of 8 criteria) vs 67/100 (5 of 8 criteria)). The score weighs every criterion the same way for every tool; check the rows above for the ones that matter to you.