Bitly and Ow.ly are usually compared as if they were two products on the same shelf. In 2026 they are not. Bitly is a link shortener you can sign up for on its own, from $0 to $199 a month. Ow.ly is a feature of Hootsuite, and the cheapest Hootsuite plan starts at $99 a month billed annually.
That changes the question. Before comparing features, check two things: whether you already run your social posts through Hootsuite, and how many of your links go out somewhere else.
This guide covers what Ow.ly is today, what each option costs, what the click reports show, how Bitly works inside Hootsuite, and what happens to old ow.ly links. Prices were checked on the official Bitly and Hootsuite pages in October 2026.
Ow.ly in 2026: what it is now
Ow.ly used to be open to anyone. Hootsuite's own Ow.ly page now says so in the past tense ("Previously, Ow.ly was available to everyone") and explains that the shortener moved inside the Hootsuite dashboard for security reasons. There is no separate Ow.ly account and no Ow.ly price list. You get it with Hootsuite or not at all.
Some articles say Hootsuite has retired Ow.ly. We could not find that in any Hootsuite source. The official page still describes it as Hootsuite's built-in URL shortener, in the present tense, with reporting inside Hootsuite Analytics and custom vanity URLs on the Advanced plan and above.
What has changed is access. Hootsuite has no free plan, only a 14-day trial, so a shortened ow.ly link now comes with a social media management subscription attached.
What you pay for each
Bitly sells link shortening directly. These are the plans on its pricing page, with annual billing:
| Plan | Price | Links / month | QR codes / month | Analytics history |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 5 | 2 | Not stated |
| Core | $10/mo ($120/yr) | 100 | 5 | 30 days |
| Growth | $29/mo ($348/yr) | 500 | 10 | 4 months |
| Premium | $199/mo ($2,388/yr) | 3,000 | 200 | 1 year |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | 2 years |
The UTM builder appears on Core. A custom domain and bulk shortening start on Growth.
Ow.ly's price is the price of Hootsuite. The plans page lists Standard from $99 a month, Professional from $199 and Advanced at up to $399, all billed annually, with Enterprise on a custom quote. Automatic link shortening appears in the Professional feature list. Monthly billing is available too, at a higher rate per user.
Put next to each other, the numbers look absurd. Nobody should pay $99 a month for a shortener. But that is not what Hootsuite customers are doing. They pay for scheduling, the shared inbox and social reporting, and Ow.ly comes along. For them its cost is zero. For anyone who only wants short links, Ow.ly is simply not on the menu.
Click data: what each one shows
Bitly's reports depend on the plan. Core keeps 30 days of history. Growth keeps four months. Premium keeps a year and adds city-level and device data. The clicks are counted on the link itself, so the report is the same whether the link went out in a newsletter, an ad or a printed flyer.
Ow.ly's clicks show up in Hootsuite Analytics, next to the reach and engagement of the post that carried the link. If your question is "which of last week's LinkedIn posts sent people to the site," that view is convenient, because the post and its clicks sit in one report. Ow.ly can also add tracking parameters, so the same visits appear in Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics.
The catch is the starting point. Ow.ly is built into the post composer, so it is designed for links you publish through Hootsuite. A link for an email campaign, a QR code on packaging or a podcast description does not naturally pass through a social scheduler. Bitly does not care where the link ends up.
Whichever tool you pick, tag the link with UTM parameters. Short-link reports count clicks. Your analytics tool shows what those visitors did after they arrived. If you have not set up UTMs before, start with how UTM parameters work.
Using Bitly inside Hootsuite
You do not have to choose. Hootsuite can shorten links with Bitly instead of Ow.ly, so the link is created in your Bitly account and its clicks land in Bitly's reports.
According to Bitly's help article, external shorteners are not on by default. Your Hootsuite customer success manager has to enable them first. After that, you add a link in Composer, click Add tracking, open Manage link presets and connect Bitly. Admins can save a preset so the whole team shortens with Bitly by default. The article names Hootsuite's higher tiers, and the plan names have changed since it was written, so confirm with Hootsuite before you count on it.
This setup suits teams that schedule social posts in Hootsuite but also share links in email, ads and print. Every link then lives in one shortener, whichever channel it was made for.
Old ow.ly links: do they still work?
Yes, as far as we can tell. In October 2026 we opened an ow.ly link created around 2010, and it still sent us to the original page with a permanent 301 redirect. The ow.ly home page itself returns a 404, which fits the move into Hootsuite: the domain still resolves links, but there is nothing to sign up for on it.
That does not make old links safe forever. Hootsuite controls the domain, and nothing guarantees how long it will keep resolving links made by accounts that no longer exist. If an ow.ly link sits somewhere you cannot edit, such as a printed brochure or a cited article, it will probably keep working. For links you can still edit, such as your own website, bio or pinned posts, replacing them with links you control costs a few minutes.
Which one fits which team
If your team already pays for Hootsuite and most of your links go out in social posts, use Ow.ly. It costs nothing extra, the clicks sit next to the post's other numbers, and the vanity URL on Advanced covers branding.
If links are a separate job, choose Bitly. That is the case when you need QR codes, links in channels Hootsuite never touches, or click history that does not depend on a social media contract. The Free plan is only for testing: five links a month runs out in the first week of a real campaign. Core at $10 a month is the realistic starting point.
If you use both, connect Bitly to Hootsuite and keep every link in Bitly.
There is also a fourth case: you do not use Hootsuite, and Bitly's link limits feel tight for the price. That is the case the next section covers.
Where Linxly fits
Linxly does not publish posts and does not replace Hootsuite. It handles the links themselves, in any channel.
- Short links with your own slug: every link in the URL shortener gets an address like
linx.ly/october-offer. - Editable after publishing: change the destination, and links in sent emails or on printed posters keep working.
- Works with any scheduler: paste the same link into Hootsuite, Buffer or anywhere else.
- QR code for every link: created automatically, with scans counted separately from clicks. Bitly limits QR codes to 5 a month on Core.
- Pro at $7.99 a month: 250 new short links a month, UTM builder, password protection, link expiration, QR codes with your logo.
- Detailed reports: country, city, device brand, OS, browser and referrer, with two years of history on Pro.
- Business at $39.99 a month: 5,000 links a month and five years of history.
- In the same account: bio link pages and app store links (iPhone to the App Store, Android to Google Play).
- 7-day trial: full feature set, then monthly billing. Cancel at any time.
For comparison, Bitly Core gives 100 links and 30 days of history for $10 a month billed annually.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ow.ly free?
No. Ow.ly is only available inside Hootsuite, and Hootsuite has no free plan. You can try it during Hootsuite's 14-day trial. After that, it comes with a paid plan that starts at $99 a month billed annually.
Can I use Ow.ly without Hootsuite?
No. Hootsuite moved Ow.ly inside its dashboard, and there is no standalone sign-up anymore.
Has Ow.ly shut down?
No official Hootsuite source says so. Hootsuite still lists Ow.ly as its built-in shortener, and an old ow.ly link we tested in October 2026 still redirected correctly.
Does Bitly work with Hootsuite?
Yes. Hootsuite can shorten links through Bitly instead of Ow.ly once your Hootsuite customer success manager enables external shorteners. The clicks are then counted in your Bitly account.
Which has better analytics?
It depends on what you measure. Ow.ly is stronger for social posts, because its clicks sit next to the post's engagement in Hootsuite Analytics. Bitly is stronger for links across many channels. City and device data come only on Premium, and history is limited to 30 days on Core.
The short version
Bitly and Ow.ly are no longer the same kind of product. Ow.ly is a free extra for teams that already pay for Hootsuite, and its old links still resolve. Bitly is a standalone shortener, and its real starting price is $10 a month.
If you need short links, QR codes and click reports outside a social media suite, compare Bitly with a tool that gives you more links for less. Related reading: Bitly alternatives in 2026, how to track link clicks and URL shorteners with analytics.