ShortHow It Works
Three steps. Nothing to install, nothing to configure.
Paste your URL
Drop in any link — long product pages, Google Docs, articles, whatever you've got.
Get a short link
We generate a compact URL that redirects to your original page. Takes about a second.
Share it
Copy and paste it into a chat, email, document, social post — wherever you need it.
When Short Links Come in Handy
Some URLs are just too long. Here's where a shorter version helps.
Social posts
Character limits on Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and other platforms mean every character counts. Short links leave more room for your actual message.
Presentations and slides
Nobody in your meeting is going to type out a 200-character URL from a slide. Give them something short enough to remember.
Printed materials
Business cards, flyers, menus, posters. If someone has to type the URL by hand, it needs to be short.
Text messages
SMS has character limits and long URLs wrap awkwardly. A short link keeps things clean and clickable.
Tracking campaigns
UTM parameters make URLs massive. Shorten the whole thing so the tracking stays hidden from the person clicking.
Internal sharing
Sharing a link to a doc, ticket, or dashboard with your team? A short link in Slack is a lot cleaner than a wall of text.
Free Shortener vs. Full Platform
This tool gives you short links with flexible expiration. Here's what the full URL Unicorn platform adds on top.
| Feature | Short Links (here) | URL Unicorn |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free tier + paid plans |
| Account required | No | Yes (Google sign-in) |
| Link lifespan | 1hr to forever | Permanent |
| Edit destination later | No | Yes |
| Click analytics | No | Yes |
| Custom aliases | No | Yes |
| QR codes | No | Included |
| Bulk shortening | No | Yes |
Questions People Ask
You pick. Choose anywhere from 1 hour to 1 year, or select "Never" and the link sticks around indefinitely. If you also need to edit where a link points or track who's clicking it, URL Unicorn has that built in.
Not with temporary links — the destination is locked in when you create it. Dynamic short links on URL Unicorn let you swap the destination anytime. The URL people have doesn't change, but where it takes them does. Handy for printed QR codes or links you've already sent out.
Nope. Just paste a URL and hit shorten. There's nothing to sign up for here. You only need an account if you use URL Unicorn for the full set of features.
Not on temporary links. If you want to know how many clicks a link gets, where the clicks come from, and what devices people are using, that's part of the analytics on URL Unicorn.
No hard limit. Create as many as you need. Links with an expiration date clean themselves up automatically when they expire.
This is a simpler, no-account tool for quick throwaway links. Bitly is a full link management platform. If you want something in between — permanent links with analytics but without Bitly's pricing — URL Unicorn starts free and paid plans are a fraction of the cost.