Link in bio · updated October 10, 2026
A Shorby alternative with no monthly bill
Shorby sells itself as an Instagram bio supercharger. Its plans start at $12 a month on annual billing, and every plan is paid. I found no free tier on its pricing page.
Most of what you pay for is marketing machinery: messenger buttons, rich links, dynamic feeds, ad tracking. If you use that, Shorby earns its price and you should stay. If you just need a page with your links and your name on it, you are renting a toolbox to hang one picture.
GrapeLink is that picture. It costs $8, once. Below are Shorby's prices from its own site, the cost over five years, what GrapeLink does and does not include, and who should keep Shorby.
GrapeLink is a good fit if
- Your Shorby page is mostly a list of links with an avatar and a bio
- You pay for the Rocket plan to get a few pages and have never touched the marketing options
- You run several pages (personal, project, client) and do not want a plan limit on how many
- You prefer one payment of $8 to a card charged every year
Stay on Shorby if
- You rely on direct messenger buttons so visitors can open a chat from your page
- You use Google Analytics or ad tracking platforms on your link page, or Shorby's dynamic feeds
- You manage pages for clients inside projects with team members, as the Agency plan allows
- You want a permanent free plan: GrapeLink has none, everything unlocks with the $8 purchase
What Shorby costs
Prices from Shorby'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 |
|---|---|---|
| Rocketsource, 2026-10-10 | $15/mo | $12/mo |
| Prosource, 2026-10-10 | $29/mo | $24/mo |
| Agencysource, 2026-10-10 | $99/mo | $82/mo |
| GrapeLink | $8 once, or in the $29 bundle | |
The math over 1, 3 and 5 years
Rocket is Shorby's cheapest plan and the one that matches a plain link page with a few pages of its own. Pro and Agency add tracking, feeds and team projects that GrapeLink does not have, so comparing against them would inflate the savings. There is no free plan on the pricing page to compare against.
1 year
$144
Shorby Rocket
$8
GrapeLink
3 years
$432
Shorby Rocket
$8
GrapeLink
5 years
$720
Shorby Rocket
$8
GrapeLink
Shorby Rocket at $12/month (yearly billing, their cheapest rate), assuming today's price never goes up. GrapeLink is a single $8 payment.
What GrapeLink does
Only features that exist in GrapeLink today. If it isn't in this table, assume we don't have it.
| Feature | GrapeLink | Shorby |
|---|---|---|
| Several link pages per account, each with its own URL | Included | 5 pages on Rocket, 50 on Pro, 250 on Agency |
| Unlimited links per page | Included | Rocket lists 10 rich links per page |
| Serve your page on your own domain: add it in the page settings, set the DNS record shown, verify | Included | Listed in the plan table; I could not read which plan includes it |
| Click counts per link with device breakdown | Included | Click Insights is listed in the plan table; Google Analytics and ad tracking platforms start on Pro |
| Hide the "Made with GrapeLink" footer | Included | Not listed on Shorby's pricing page |
| QR code for your page | Included | Not listed on Shorby's pricing page |
Where Shorby is better
Direct messenger buttons
Shorby's plans list multiple messenger buttons on a page, and its home page pitches driving visitors to messengers. GrapeLink has plain link buttons only. If your audience reaches you by chat, that matters.
Ad tracking and Google Analytics
Pro adds Google Analytics and ad tracking platforms. GrapeLink counts clicks per link with a device breakdown and nothing more. It does not load any outside tracking code, so retargeting visitors from your page is out.
Dynamic feeds and rich links
Shorby offers rich links and dynamic feeds that pull content into the page automatically. GrapeLink pages are static: you add the links and arrange them yourself.
Projects and teams
The Agency plan groups pages into projects with ten team members each, plus a rewards program listed on the pricing page. GrapeLink has one account with several pages, no team seats.
What Shorby costs, from its own pricing page
Shorby has three plans, all in USD. Rocket is $15 a month, or $12 a month billed annually, which the page describes as $36 off for the year. Pro is $29 monthly or $24 annual. Agency is $99 monthly or $82 annual. The page notes that all sales are final.
I read these on 2026-10-10 at shor.by/pricing. The shorby.com/pricing address rendered as a blank page when I opened it, so the figures come from the shor.by version of the same page. I could not read every row of the plan comparison table in text form, so I only quote what the plan cards state.
The five-year math
On Rocket billed annually you pay $144 a year. Over five years that is $720, assuming the price never moves, and the page stops existing as you configured it the day you stop paying. Billed monthly it is $180 a year, or $900 over five years. GrapeLink is $8 at year one and $8 at year five.
That gap is large because the two products charge for different things. Shorby charges for marketing tools. If you do not use them, you are paying about $12 a month for a page that could be much simpler. If you do use them, the comparison is not fair to Shorby and you should skip the rest of this page.
What GrapeLink gives you
GrapeLink is a link page builder. You get unlimited links per page, drag-and-drop ordering with a show/hide switch per link, a spotlight link, several pages on one account, 14 preset themes, custom colors, a background image, button shapes and fonts, and a QR code for each page.
You can hide the Made with GrapeLink footer and serve a page on your own domain: add it in the page settings, set the DNS record shown, verify. Clicks are counted per link with a device breakdown. If you also own other F*ckSubscription apps, a page can show a PeachCalendar booking page, a MangoForm form, a KiwiProof widget or a DurianStatus status badge. That is the list. The bundle with every app is $49 one-time.
Who should stay on Shorby
Stay if messenger buttons are the reason your page exists, or if you feed ad platforms from it. Moving to GrapeLink would mean losing those and rebuilding them with other tools, which costs more than the $12 a month you save.
Move if the page is a list of links, you opened Shorby for the several-page limit or the clean look, and the subscription now feels heavy. You can check that cheaply: purchases have a 14-day full refund.
FAQ
Does Shorby have a free plan?
Its pricing page at shor.by/pricing lists three paid plans: Rocket, Pro and Agency, and no free plan. Its home page invites you to try it for free, but I could not confirm what that trial includes.
How much does Shorby cost per month?
The cheapest plan, Rocket, is $15 billed monthly or $12 a month billed annually. Pro is $29 or $24, and Agency is $99 or $82. Checked on 2026-10-10 on Shorby's pricing page.
Does GrapeLink have messenger buttons or ad tracking?
No. GrapeLink pages hold link buttons, and clicks are counted per link with a device breakdown. There are no messenger buttons, no tracking pixels and no connection to Google Analytics.
Can I use my own domain with GrapeLink?
Yes. Add your domain in the page settings, set the DNS record shown there and verify it. It is included in the $8 price, with no plan to upgrade to.
Is there a refund if GrapeLink does not fit?
Yes. Purchases have a 14-day full refund, so you can rebuild your page and compare it with your Shorby one before deciding.
Pay once. Keep it.
GrapeLink is $8 one time. The bundle is $29 one time and includes GrapeLink and our other live apps, with future updates.
Questions? Write to martin@fcksubscription.com. A human (the founder) answers.
More comparisons: all alternatives.