Linkfor vs Bitly: branded short links and a domain that does more
Bitly invented the short-link category. Linkfor uses the same redirect primitive as your Notion site, so /go/* lives next to / on your domain — and you stop paying separately for the parts that overlap with your CMS.
Pick Bitly if your team already standardised on bit.ly short links, you ship hundreds of QR codes, and the brand recognition of the Bitly UI matters.
Pick Linkfor if you want branded redirects on your own domain (no bit.ly suffix), a Notion site, and deep links — all under one subscription.
Linkfor vs Bitly, feature by feature
| Feature | Linkfor | Bitly |
|---|---|---|
| Entry paid tier | $1/mo | $29/mo (Growth) |
| Custom domain | 1 on Growth | |
| Notion content rendering | ||
| Branded short links + UTM | ||
| Deep linking (iOS / Android) | AASA + assetlinks.json | |
| File hosting (raw endpoints) | ads.txt, /.well-known/* | |
| Analytics | Pageviews + redirect counts | |
| SEO control (meta, OG, sitemap) | N/A (no rendered pages) | |
| SSL | Auto, on every mount | |
| Branded short links | Native /go/* on same domain | Yes (separate domain) |
| Themes | Color + font + radius | Branded link metadata only |
| White-label (drop "Powered by") | Business plan | Higher tier |
| Scheduled publishing | Limited | |
| Password gate | Roadmap | |
| Multi-site / org | 3 sites on Pro, 10 on Business | Per-seat pricing |
The bundled subscription you're already paying for
Bitly Growth is $29/mo. Linkfor Pro is $1/moand also includes a Notion site, deep links, and raw file hosting on the same domain — the trio you'd otherwise stack as Super (~$16/mo) plus Branch (~$59/mo) plus a separate static host on top of Bitly.
See the home-page consolidation table for the bundled total.
When to pick Bitly
- You ship campaigns where
bit.ly-prefixed links are recognisable and that recognition is the point — print, broadcast, traditional ad placements. - QR codes are a daily workflow for your team. Bitly's QR generator is mature and bulk-friendly; Linkfor has QR on its short-links roadmap.
- You don't want a custom domain at all — Bitly's free tier on the
bit.lydomain is genuinely free, Linkfor requires a domain. - Your team already lives in Bitly's campaigns + UTM builder UI and the switching cost outweighs the price delta.
- Your domain is doing exactly one job (redirecting) and you're already paying a separate vendor for the Notion site or landing page.
When to pick Linkfor
- You want branded short links on your own domain (no
bit.lysuffix) without paying separately for a Notion site, deep links, and file hosting. - You ship a mobile app and want deep links (AASA + assetlinks.json) included in the entry tier rather than a higher-paid add-on.
- You want a Notion site at
/on the same domain as your/go/*redirects, with one analytics surface. - You're budget-sensitive: $1/mo on Linkfor Pro against $29/mo for Bitly Growth — and you get more in the box.
- You want scheduled publishing on a route, including scheduled redirect destination changes.
How to switch from Bitly to Linkfor
Bitly exports a CSV of your branded links. Linkfor takes the same shape and remounts the cluster on your domain.
- Export your link history from Bitly (Account → Export). You'll get a CSV with slug, destination URL, and tags.
- Sign up for Linkfor and create a site. Attach your branded domain (the same one you used in Bitly, if applicable) and let SSL provision.
- Mount a redirect tree at
/go/*and import the CSV. Each row maps to a redirect route; UTM tags go into the redirect's UTM passthrough config. - Optional: mount a Notion page at
/for a landing page on the same domain. Or attach iOS / Android bundle IDs to make existing redirects deep-link aware without changing the URLs. - Repoint DNS, verify the redirects in production, then cancel Bitly.
Also see short links deep links Notion sites pricing.