Dub.co
Open-source link attribution: short links, conversion tracking, and affiliate programs.
Dub.co is the high-leverage choice for growth marketers and creator-operators who need to ship branded links and measure conversions without buying an enterprise attribution suite. It shines when you want API-first tracking (events + webhooks) and campaign experimentation (A/B, targeting), but you’ll feel limits quickly on the Free plan if you run paid traffic at scale.
Why we love it
- Open-source (AGPL) with self-hosting options for auditability and control
- Free tier includes API access + AI assistant, enough for real UTM testing and link ops
- Built-in conversion tracking, A/B testing, and event webhooks reduce glue-code
Things to know
- Quota-based pricing can become noticeable as tracked events grow
- Some advanced governance features (SSO/SAML, audit logs) are gated to higher tiers
- Self-hosting adds operational overhead (updates, email, webhooks, analytics pipeline)
About
Dub.co is an open-source link attribution platform for modern marketing teams: branded short links, QR codes, deep links, advanced targeting (device/geo), A/B testing, conversion tracking, and event webhooks. Dub.co offers a Free plan, with paid tiers starting at $24/month; it’s typically less expensive than enterprise-only attribution suites but pricier than basic shorteners when you scale tracked events. The Free plan includes 1,000 tracked events/month, 25 new links/month, 3 custom domains, API access, an AI assistant, and 30-day analytics retention—great for creators; teams upgrade mainly for higher quotas, longer retention, and collaboration.
Key Features
- ✓Create branded short links with custom domains and QR codes
- ✓Measure conversions with event webhooks, customer insights, and retention controls
- ✓Optimize campaigns using device/geo targeting and A/B testing
- ✓Ship automations via API + native SDKs (600/min on Pro) and team collaboration
Product Comparison
| Dimension | Dub.co | Bitly | Short.io |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core use case (best fit) | For growth teams + creators who need short links plus conversion attribution and partner/affiliate tracking. | For brand-safe link ops and QR-driven campaigns across comms, marketing, and enterprise teams. | For SMBs and builders who want branded short links, bulk creation, and strong click analytics without heavy setup. |
| Measurement depth | Tracked events + conversion tracking (built for attribution), plus targeting and experimentation workflows. | Strong click + QR scan analytics and campaign hygiene (UTM builder), attribution is usually lighter unless you integrate deeper. | Excellent click tracking and link controls (targeting, expiry), but conversion attribution is typically less native than Dub-style event tracking. |
| Open-source & self-hosting | AGPL open-source with self-hosting paths; fits teams that want auditability and deeper control. | Proprietary SaaS; self-hosting is not offered as a standard option. | Proprietary SaaS; self-hosting is not typical, mainly a managed service. |
| Branding & link management | Branded domains + QR, advanced link features geared for modern marketing ops. | Polished enterprise UX for brand/link governance; strong QR and campaign tooling. | Branded domains with many operational link controls; very practical for bulk link operations. |
| Governance & enterprise readiness | Team collaboration; higher tiers focus on SAML SSO and enterprise controls for regulated orgs. | Enterprise-first posture (admin controls, enterprise procurement, governance-oriented rollout). | Higher tiers include enterprise features like SSO and data export options aimed at larger orgs. |
| Pricing & ROI (starting points) | Freemium; paid starts at $24/month. Best ROI when attribution accuracy matters more than the cheapest short links. | Free tier exists but is very limited; paid starts around $10/month (annual), and enterprise can scale cost with governance needs. | Free tier is generous for early-stage; paid commonly starts around $20/month. Great ROI if you mainly need click analytics and link controls. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes—Dub.co has a Free plan. The Free tier includes 1,000 tracked events/month, 25 new links/month, 3 custom domains, API access, an AI assistant, and 30-day analytics retention; you upgrade mainly for higher event quotas, longer retention, and more users/domains.
Paid plans start at $24/month for Pro, while Business is positioned higher for scaling teams. Choose Pro if you need advanced link features with moderate volume; pick Business when you need materially higher tracked events, more links/domains/users, and longer analytics retention for multi-channel reporting.
The core difference is that Dub.co is built as a link attribution platform (events, conversion tracking, A/B testing, webhooks), while Bitly is often used primarily for link shortening at scale. If you care about piping click + conversion events into a data stack and running experiments per campaign, Dub.co is usually the better fit; if you just need ubiquitous short links with minimal setup, Bitly can be simpler.
Dub.co is API-first and supports event webhooks, which makes it straightforward to push click/conversion events into your pipeline. A common setup is: create links via API, enforce UTM templates, send events through webhooks to your ingestion layer, and join them with downstream conversions for attribution dashboards.
Yes—Dub.co is designed to scale, but you should plan around rate limits and event quotas. On Pro, the published API rate limit is 600 requests/minute, and higher tiers increase that limit; for high-volume campaigns, the bigger constraint is usually tracked events/month and retention, not just raw requests.
Yes—Dub.co supports enterprise-grade controls on higher tiers (including SSO/SAML and audit logs), and it’s also open-source with self-hosting paths if you want full control. The tradeoff is that self-hosting shifts responsibility for upgrades, availability, and analytics/webhook plumbing to your team.
Start by standardizing UTM templates and naming, then create one branded short link per partner + campaign, and route all traffic through Dub.co so you have consistent click events. Next, use conversion tracking and event webhooks to send events into your analytics/warehouse, and reconcile them with your payment events to get partner-level ROI and payout logic.