Linktree and Bitly were built to solve opposite halves of the same problem. Linktree started with one page that holds many links. Bitly started with many links, each short enough to paste anywhere and each counting its own clicks. Both have since built a version of the other half, which is exactly why the comparison is harder than it used to be.
The comparison still makes sense, though, because the budget is one budget. If you are going to pay for a link tool this year, it helps to know which one earns the slot. This guide covers what each product does, what it costs at the tiers people actually buy, and which limit you run into first.
What each tool was built to do
Linktree leads with the bio page. You get one URL, you put it in the single link slot on Instagram or TikTok, and visitors land on a page listing everything you want them to see. Linktree also runs a free shortener at tr.ee, which turns a long URL into a short one and attaches a QR code to it (Linktree link shortener). The "Linktree cannot do short links" line you will find in a lot of comparison posts is simply out of date.
Bitly starts from the other end. Every link you make is standalone, records its own clicks, and behaves the same in an email, a caption, or a QR code on packaging. One caveat arrived recently: links from free Bitly accounts no longer go straight through. Bitly's support pages say that free accounts now get "an interstitial page that includes a preview of the link destination and an ad" (Bitly support).
So the honest first question is not which tool has a shortener, because both do. It is which one you want holding the reporting.
Bitly pricing and the limit you hit first
Bitly publishes flat prices, which makes it easy to compare (Bitly pricing):
| Plan | Price | Links / month | QR codes / month | Analytics history |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 5 | 2 | Unlimited clicks, no date range stated |
| Core | $10/mo, billed annually ($120) | 100 | 5 | 30 days |
| Growth | $35/mo, or $29/mo annually ($348) | 500 | 10 | 4 months |
| Premium | $300/mo, or $199/mo annually ($2,388) | 3,000 | 200 | 1 year, city level |
Five links a month is the number that surprises people. That is not five active links, it is five new links created per month on the free plan, which one campaign can burn through in an afternoon.
The second surprise is analytics history. On Core you keep 30 days. Run a campaign in March, open the dashboard in May, and the data is gone. Growth stretches that to 4 months, and a full year sits on Premium, which is $199 a month even on the annual commitment.
Bitly's Core tier is also annual only, so the entry point above free is $120 paid up front rather than $10 whenever you feel like it.
Linktree pricing and the limit you hit first
Linktree runs four tiers: Free, Starter, Pro, and Premium. Its pricing page notes that prices vary by region and are shown in local currency, so a single dollar figure would be wrong for most readers (Linktree pricing).
The tier boundaries matter more than the number anyway. By Linktree's own description, Free covers unlimited links with basic analytics, Starter adds appearance controls and link scheduling, Pro adds advanced analytics and monetisation tools, and Premium adds full analytics, commerce, marketing integrations, and the ability to remove Linktree branding from your page.
That last item is the one that catches brands. Removing someone else's logo from your own bio page sits at the top tier, not the bottom.
The structural limit is different from Bitly's. You will not run out of links on Linktree. What you run into is depth. The reporting you need to justify spend sits at Pro and above, and the page branding only comes off at Premium. The tr.ee shortener advertises the short link, a free QR code, and click statistics on each one. The campaign layer around those links is what its own page does not mention.
Where the two actually overlap
More than the "vs" framing suggests, and the overlap has been growing from both sides.
Bitly ships landing pages, capped by plan: 2 on Free, 5 on Core, 10 on Growth, 20 on Premium. They cover the basic job of a bio page, and if all you need is a simple list of links behind one URL, they will do it. They are not as flexible as a purpose-built link in bio page with product cards, embedded video, and full theming.
Linktree came at it from the other direction with tr.ee, which gives you a short link, a free QR code, and click statistics on each one.
So both products now do a version of both jobs. What separates them is which job each treats as the main event, because that is where the reporting is deepest. A product launch usually needs a bio page for social, a short link for the newsletter, a QR code for the packaging insert, and one report saying which of the three did the work. That last item is where both tools thin out.
Watch the analytics retention line, not the click count. A tool that stores 30 days of history cannot answer "did last quarter's campaign beat this quarter's," which is the question that usually justifies the subscription in the first place.
How to choose between them
Pick Linktree if the bio page is genuinely the whole job. One profile, one link, no print, no ads, no email list. Free handles it, and you upgrade only when the branding bothers you or you start selling.
Pick Bitly if you never need a page and you do need volume. Agencies tagging hundreds of destinations a month, teams routing traffic across channels, anyone whose links go in ads and emails rather than a profile bio. Just size the plan against 100 links on Core and 500 on Growth before committing to the annual bill.
Pick neither if you looked at both and realised you need each one's core feature. That is the most common outcome, and it is why this search happens in the first place. If you would rather see either one lined up against Linxly, the side-by-side pages are Linktree vs Linxly and Bitly vs Linxly.
The case for not choosing
Running Linktree for the page and Bitly for the links means two subscriptions, two dashboards, and two sets of numbers that never reconcile. The bio page reports taps. The shortener reports clicks. Nothing tells you that the newsletter link and the bio page link were part of the same campaign.
Linxly was built for the overlap. One account gives you a bio page builder, standalone branded short links in linx.ly/yourname format, a QR code generated automatically for every link you create, deep links that open the app instead of the mobile browser, and a UTM builder so tagging happens in the dashboard instead of a spreadsheet.
Analytics run across all of it: country, city, device type, device brand, operating system, browser, referrer, and whether the visit came from a QR scan or a tap. No 30-day window, and no higher tier to buy before you can read your own history.
Pricing is $0.99 a month on Starter after a 7-day trial that unlocks every feature. For context, that is under $12 a year against Bitly Core's $120.
Every link takes a slug you choose, so linx.ly/spring-sale reads the same in a caption, in an email, and on a printed card. The QR code for it generates at the same moment, with your colors and logo on paid plans, which means print and screen point at one link and report into one set of numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Is Linktree or Bitly better for Instagram?
Linktree, if the bio link is all you need. Instagram allows up to five links in a bio, so a page makes sense once you have more destinations than that. Bitly's landing pages can cover the same job on a smaller scale.
Does Bitly have a link in bio page?
Yes. Bitly calls them landing pages and caps them by plan, from 2 on Free up to 20 on Premium. They handle a simple link list. They are lighter than a dedicated bio page builder.
Does Linktree give you short links?
Yes. Linktree runs a free shortener at tr.ee that turns a long URL into a short one, attaches a QR code, and reports click statistics on each link (Linktree link shortener). Comparison posts claiming Linktree has no shortener are out of date.
Which one has better analytics?
Bitly goes deeper on links, but retention is the catch: 30 days on Core, 4 months on Growth, and a full year only on Premium. Linktree reports on page views and taps, with the deeper breakdowns from Pro upward.
Can I use both together?
You can, and plenty of teams do. It costs two subscriptions and leaves you reconciling two dashboards by hand, which is the main argument for a tool that covers both jobs.
What is the cheapest way to get both a bio page and tracked short links?
A single tool that includes both. Linxly starts at $0.99 a month with a 7-day trial covering every feature, compared with a Bitly plan plus a separate bio page tool.
The short version
Linktree started with the page and later added a shortener. Bitly started with the link and later added landing pages. Both are weaker at the half they added second. So the question is simple: which job do you need done properly?
This comparison gets searched constantly because most people need both jobs done and would rather not pay two subscriptions for it. If that is you, look at a link in bio tool that also does short links, or read the direct writeups on the best Linktree alternative and Bitly alternatives for marketers.