Link management and QR codes · updated October 10, 2026
A Bitly alternative with no yearly bill
Bitly is a link-management platform, and QR codes are one part of it. Its Core plan, the first paid one that lets you change where a code points, costs $10 a month and is sold on annual billing only: $120 charged at once. It allows 5 new QR codes and 100 new links per month.
If you run campaigns, lean on Bitly's branded links or feed Bitly into other tools, it earns that price and you should stay. If what you actually do is print a handful of QR codes on menus, flyers or packaging and sometimes change where they point, you are renting a large platform for a small job.
LimeQR does that small job. It costs $19, once, for 100 dynamic codes. Below are Bitly's prices from its own pages, what it says happens to your codes when you cancel, the cost over five years, and the cases where Bitly is the better choice.
LimeQR is a good fit if
- You print a modest number of QR codes and want to edit their destination later without reprinting
- You pay for Bitly Core mostly for the redirects and the scan counts, not for campaigns or branded links
- You would rather own a fixed number of codes than get a monthly allowance of new ones
- You want one payment of $19 instead of $120 a year
Stay on Bitly if
- You connect Bitly to other software through its integrations or API
- You want city-level data, UTM tools or more than 30 days of history inside the same product
- You create far more than 100 codes a year: LimeQR holds 100 on Solo and 1,000 on Pro in total
What Bitly costs
Prices from Bitly's public pricing page, in USD, checked on October 10, 2026. Taxes excluded. Vendors change prices; follow the source links to see today's.
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Freesource, 2026-10-10 | $0/mo | $0/mo |
| Coresource, 2026-10-10 | not listed | $10/mo |
| Growthsource, 2026-10-10 | not listed | $29/mo |
| Premiumsource, 2026-10-10 | not listed | $199/mo |
| LimeQR | $19 once, or in the $29 bundle | |
The math over 1, 3 and 5 years
Core is the cheapest Bitly plan where QR code redirects exist, which is what a dynamic code is for, and it also gives scan data. Free shows no redirects and puts ads on links, so it is not the same product. Growth and Premium add branded links, bulk QR creation and longer data history at a much higher price, so comparing against them would inflate the savings. Core has no monthly price, so the comparison is the annual charge.
1 year
$120
Bitly Core
$19
LimeQR
3 years
$360
Bitly Core
$19
LimeQR
5 years
$600
Bitly Core
$19
LimeQR
Bitly Core at $10/month (yearly billing, their cheapest rate), assuming today's price never goes up. LimeQR is a single $19 payment.
What LimeQR does
Only features that exist in LimeQR today. If it isn't in this table, assume we don't have it.
| Feature | LimeQR | Bitly |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamic QR codes that encode a short link on the LimeQR domain; the owner can change the destination any time and the next scan follows (302, never cached) | Included | Redirects start on Core: 5 QR code redirects per month, 20 on Growth, 110 on Premium |
| Short links with a random 7-character address or a custom one (3 to 50 lowercase letters, digits, dashes), fixed once created and never reassigned after deletion | Included | bit.ly links on every plan; Core allows 100 new links per month, Growth 500 |
| Scan counts per day, country and device type (mobile, tablet, desktop) for the last 30 days, stored as daily totals only: no IP address or user agent is kept; link previews and bots are not counted | Included | Unlimited scans counted; data history is 30 days on Core, 4 months on Growth, 1 year on Premium |
| QR design: code and background colors (contrast of 3:1 or more enforced), square, rounded or dot modules, square or rounded corner eyes, a PNG/JPEG/WebP logo in the center, an optional box or banner frame with up to 24 characters of text | Included | Custom logo, colors, frames and dot patterns; the table lists the advanced versions from Core |
| Downloads as SVG and as PNG at 1024 or 2048 px | Included | PNG, JPEG and SVG on every plan |
| Create codes in bulk from a CSV (destination, optional custom address and name): up to 100 rows per import on Solo, 500 on Pro, with a ZIP of the QR codes as SVG | Included | Bulk QR code creation from CSV or Excel starts on Growth, 10 per upload |
| Export every code with its short link and destination as CSV, also available without an active plan | Included | Data export is not listed before Enterprise on the pricing table |
| Custom domains: the owner connects a hostname they control (CNAME + a TXT record proving control); codes then work on https://<their domain>/<code> and their QR codes can encode it. Solo 1 domain, Pro 5. If they leave, they can point that domain elsewhere | Included | Growth plan: a complimentary custom domain and branded links |
Where Bitly is better
A branded domain handled for you
Growth includes a complimentary custom domain and branded links, so you do not have to find or register a domain first. LimeQR can serve codes on a domain you already own (1 on Solo, 5 on Pro), but you buy and keep that domain yourself and add the DNS records. If you want the domain handled inside the same platform as the links, Bitly does that.
Integrations and API
Bitly lists integrations with tools like Shopify, Canva and HubSpot, an API with developer documentation, browser extensions and mobile apps. LimeQR has none of these: you work in its dashboard and download your files.
Deeper analytics and longer history
Bitly keeps 4 months of data on Growth and up to 2 years on Enterprise, with city-level data from Premium and UTM tools on the plans. LimeQR shows scan counts per day, country and device type for the last 30 days, and nothing more detailed.
Teams and scale
Enterprise adds multiple users and group permissions, and Premium allows 200 QR codes and 3,000 links per month. LimeQR is one account, with 100 codes on Solo and 1,000 on Pro in total, so a team making codes all day outgrows it.
What Bitly costs, from its own pricing page
Bitly's pricing page lists Free, Core, Growth, Premium and a custom Enterprise plan. Free is $0 and shows ads on links. Core is $10 a month, marked Annual Only, with an annual charge of $120. Growth is $29 a month, $348 a year. Premium is $199 a month, $2,388 a year. The page says plans renew automatically every month or year, depending on the payment plan you chose.
I read this on 2026-10-10 at bitly.com/pages/pricing. The page has a monthly toggle, but from my server in France it showed euro prices (Growth 35, Premium 300), not dollars, so I have not recorded a monthly dollar price for those two. Core has no monthly option at all. The page also says up to 34% is saved with annual plans.
What happens to your codes when you cancel
Bitly's help center says: "If you cancel your subscription, you'll continue to have access to all of the advanced features you've already paid for, until the end of your current billing period. Once your billing period ends, your subscription will revert back to the Free plan." It adds that canceling does not start a refund. Source: support.bitly.com/hc/en-us/articles/360027185191.
On the codes themselves, the help article on downgrades says: "Because each QR Code created in Bitly is basically a scannable form of a short link, the effect of downgrading your account is the same for QR Codes as it is for short links." It also says: "Your bit.ly links continue to work after you downgrade your account." So a code on the default bit.ly domain keeps working. Source: support.bitly.com/hc/en-us/articles/360029870551.
Two limits matter. The pricing table shows no redirects on the Free plan, and Core allows 5 QR code redirects a month, so after a cancel I read it as: the code scans, but I could not find a page saying you can still edit its destination. Second, on a plan without a custom domain, the help center says a complimentary domain is not renewed and, quoting it, "any links using that domain stop working" once the registration expires. That only concerns codes built on a custom domain.
The five-year math
Core is $120 a year, so $600 over five years if the price never changes, and the monthly allowance of 5 new codes comes with it. Growth is $348 a year, $1,740 over five years. LimeQR Solo is $19 once and does not change at year five.
The two meter different things. Bitly counts codes you create per month and redirects you make per month. LimeQR counts how many codes you hold, 100 on Solo, and how many scans it tracks per month, 10,000. Above that, codes keep redirecting and only the counting pauses until the next month. If you will create more than 100 codes over the life of the account, take Pro at $39 for 1,000, or stay with Bitly.
What LimeQR gives you
LimeQR makes dynamic QR codes that encode a short link, on the LimeQR domain unless you connect a domain you own, with 1 included on Solo and 5 on Pro. You can change the destination at any time and the next scan follows it. Short links get a random 7-character address or a custom one of 3 to 50 characters, fixed once created. Design options cover colors, module shapes, corner eyes, a center logo and a frame with text, and you download SVG or PNG at 1024 or 2048 px.
Scan counts are kept per day, country and device type for 30 days, as daily totals only: no IP address or user agent is stored, and link previews and bots are not counted. You can import up to 100 codes from a CSV on Solo (500 on Pro), and export every code as CSV, even without an active plan. A static QR that encodes your destination directly can be downloaded from each code page; it works without LimeQR, but it cannot be edited and its scans are not counted.
Lifetime means for as long as we run the app. If we ever shut it down, you get 30 days' notice and an export. Purchases have a 14-day full refund.
Who should stay on Bitly
Stay if you want a complimentary branded domain without owning one, if Bitly is wired into your other tools, or if you read analytics beyond 30 days. Moving would mean giving those up, and they are worth more than the yearly fee.
Move if your codes are printed assets you want to edit later, you opened Bitly for the redirects and scan counts, and the annual renewal now feels heavy. Try it with a few codes first: the 14-day refund lets you compare.
FAQ
Does Bitly have a free plan for QR codes?
Yes. Its pricing page lists a Free plan with 2 QR codes and 5 links per month, marked with ads. The plan table shows no redirects on Free, so I would not count on it for a code you want to edit later.
How much does Bitly cost per month?
Core is $10 a month, annual billing only ($120 charged at once). Growth is $29 a month on annual billing ($348), Premium $199 ($2,388). I could not read a monthly dollar price for Growth and Premium. Checked on 2026-10-10 on bitly.com/pages/pricing.
What happens to my Bitly QR codes if I cancel?
Bitly's help center says the plan keeps running until the end of the billing period, then reverts to Free, and that downgrading affects QR codes the same way as short links. Links on the default bit.ly domain keep working. Quoted from support.bitly.com, checked 2026-10-10.
Can I use my own domain with LimeQR?
Yes. Connect a hostname you control by adding a CNAME and a TXT record that proves control, and your codes then work on https://your-domain/code, which the QR code can encode. Solo includes 1 domain and Pro includes 5. Without one, the short link stays on the LimeQR domain. Bitly's Growth plan includes a complimentary custom domain, which suits you if you would rather not own one.
What does LimeQR do when I go over my scan quota?
Redirects are never capped. Above the tracked scans per month (10,000 on Solo, 100,000 on Pro), codes keep redirecting and only counting pauses until the next month.
Is there a refund if LimeQR does not fit?
Yes. Purchases have a 14-day full refund, so you can recreate a few codes and compare them with your Bitly ones before deciding.
Pay once. Keep it.
LimeQR is $19 one time. The bundle is $29 one time and includes LimeQR and our other live apps, with future updates.
Questions? Write to martin@fcksubscription.com. A human (the founder) answers.
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