On their own, most URLs are long and unwieldy—and when you add parameters that track things like what website the person clicking the link is coming from or what ad they've seen, they can get downright ludicrous. One way to get around this problem is with a URL shortener that can take your long link and turn it into something a lot more manageable.
For years, the Google URL Shortener was a simple and free way to shorten them to something more manageable, but it was shut down back in 2019. The good news is, there are still plenty of alternatives out there.
With over a decade of experience reviewing tech and web apps, I can tell you there's almost never one perfect solution to any given problem. (The only exception to this is takeout: the best answer is always pizza.) The best URL shortening service depends on what you need and want it to do. There are simple, fast, and free URL shortening apps, marketing- and analytics-focused ones aimed at multinational enterprises, and everything in between.
I've been updating this article for several years. This year, to help you find the right URL shortener, I tested more than 45 different options. These are the best—and what makes them great.
Looking to shorten Google Drive or Google Docs links? Our tutorial shows you how to do this automatically, using Zapier.
