Dub is a link management platform that goes far beyond a simple URL shortener: it centralizes the creation of branded links, real-time conversion tracking, and affiliate program management all in one tool.
There’s a problem that many entrepreneurs and marketers have faced without really knowing how to solve it. You share links everywhere—on LinkedIn, in your newsletters, in your email campaigns, on your landing pages—and by the end of the month, you have no clear idea of what actually generated sign-ups or sales.
Traditional analytics tools like Google Analytics provide a broad overview. But they don’t drill down to the individual link level. You know that traffic is coming from LinkedIn, but you don’t know which specific post it’s coming from. You see conversions, but you don’t know which link in your email campaign triggered the purchase decision.
Founded in 2022 in San Francisco, Dub has quickly established itself in the SaaS ecosystem as a modern alternative to legacy tools like Bitly and Short.io. Its positioning is clear: it’s not just another URL shortener, but an attribution tracking infrastructure designed for marketing teams and developers who want to link every click to a concrete result.
The platform is open-source at its core, which has quickly earned it credibility among technical communities. It has since been adopted by companies such as Vercel, Perplexity, and Prisma to manage their short links.
Dub is primarily aimed at freelancers, startup marketing teams, and small and medium-sized businesses that manage multiple communication channels and need to understand exactly what’s working. Developers will appreciate the quality of the API. Users with less technical expertise will find the interface clear enough to get started without any special training.
| Plan | Price | Links Created per Month | Events Tracked per Month | Retention Analytics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 0 € | 25 | 1 000 | 30 days |
| Pro | ~€23/month (annual) | 1 000 | 50 000 | 1 an |
| Business | ~€69/month (annual) | 10 000 | 250 000 | 3 years |
| Advanced | ~€230/month (annual) | 50 000 | 1 000 000 | 5 years |
| Enterprise | Upon request | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
The free plan is truly functional for testing the platform. It includes 3 custom domains, QR codes, API access, and real-time analytics. However, the limit of 25 links per month and the 30-day retention period limit its use to exploratory purposes.
The Pro plan at $25/month (billed annually) will meet the needs of most active freelancers and small teams. 1,000 links per month is already a comfortable volume for most marketing purposes.
The Business plan unlocks Dub’s most distinctive feature: conversion tracking. This is where the tool takes on a truly strategic role. It also includes A/B testing on links and customer journey tracking.
Please note: Dub bills based on "tracked events" and not solely on the number of clicks. An event can be a click, a sign-up, or a purchase. This billing model may seem surprising at first, but it is consistent with the platform’s attribution approach.
You can sign up directly on dub.co. You can log in using Google, GitHub, or a regular email address. The workspace is created immediately.
When you log in for the first time, Dub prompts you to set up your custom domain. This is a step you shouldn't skip: it's what turns a generic link into a branded link (lien.votreentreprise.com/campagne-ete rather than dub.sh/xyz123). Three custom domains are available even with the free plan.
Dub's interface is organized into four main areas:
Links: the heart of the tool. You can create, organize, and manage all your links from this view. Folders allow you to group them by campaign, client, or channel.
Analytics: the analytics dashboard. Clicks, geolocation, devices used, traffic sources, conversions. It includes all of this information with a high level of detail.
Events: the real-time event feed. Available on the Business plan and above, it provides a live view of every interaction with your links.
Settings: workspace settings, team member management, webhooks, and integrations.
The link is ready. Dub automatically generates a QR code for it that you can download as a PNG or SVG file.
That's probably the first thing that stands out when you use Dub. The statistics aren't aggregated with a delay—they come in real time, like a stream. You can see the clicks as they happen, their geographic origin, the type of device, and the browser used.
For a team that manages campaigns and wants to respond quickly, this responsiveness really makes a difference compared to tools that refresh their dashboards every 24 or 48 hours.
Available views: time series, map, top links, top referrers. The data can be exported.
This is the most advanced and least common feature in this category of tools. Available starting with the Business plan, it allows you to link a click on a Dub link to a subsequent user action: a sign-up, a purchase, or a subscription.
The system works using a lightweight script that you can integrate into your website or app. This script stores a click ID in a first-party cookie. When a user subsequently performs a conversion action, the event is attributed to the original link.
In practical terms: you know not only how many people clicked on your campaign link, but also how many of them went on to create an account or place an order. This is a significant difference from simply tracking clicks.
Integration with Stripe is native, which simplifies tracking for SaaS companies or e-commerce platforms that use this payment solution.
Dub lets you connect as many custom domains as you want, including on the free plan (up to 3). This means your links can look like go.votrenom.com/promo instead of a generic third-party domain.
The impact is not merely cosmetic. Branded links have measurably higher click-through rates than generic shortened links, largely because they inspire greater trust.
Building URLs with UTM parameters manually is a common source of errors—a typo or a naming convention that isn't followed—and your Analytics data becomes unusable.
Dub includes a visual UTM builder with the ability to save templates. You define your naming convention once (source, medium, campaign...) and you can apply it to every new link with just a few clicks.
Every link created in Dub automatically generates a QR code. With paid plans, you can customize the code’s appearance—including colors, a central logo, and the shape of the modules. This is useful for printed materials, presentations, or events where visual consistency is important.
A lesser-known but truly useful feature: You can configure a link to redirect to different URLs depending on the user's device (iOS, Android, desktop) or geographic location.
Here's a real-world example: Your app download link redirects to the App Store for iOS users and to the Play Store for Android users. You no longer need to manage two separate links.
Available starting with the Business plan, this feature lets you test two destination URLs for the same short link and compare their performance. It's useful for testing different landing page variations or offers across the same distribution channels.
Dub includes a comprehensive affiliate program management module called "Dub Partners." It allows you to create a referral program, invite partners, track their performance, and manage payments automatically.
For a SaaS company or platform looking to launch an affiliate program without having to integrate an additional tool, this is an option worth considering. The Business and Advanced plans include affiliate payments of up to $2,500 and $15,000 per month, respectively.
Dub's API is one of the most comprehensive in its class. It allows you to programmatically create links, retrieve analytics, and manage workspaces. Official SDKs are available for TypeScript/JavaScript and Python.
For advanced use cases—such as automatically generating a tracked link every time a user subscribes to your newsletter—the API opens up significant possibilities, especially when combined with automation tools like Make.
You post regularly on LinkedIn and direct your readers to your website, newsletter, or service offerings. Without tracking, you know that traffic is coming from LinkedIn, but you don't know which specific post generated those leads.
With Dub, you create a separate link for each post (or content type). You can see in real time what resonates and what doesn’t generate meaningful clicks. You optimize your editorial strategy based on concrete data rather than intuition.
In a newsletter or email campaign, you often include several links to different resources. With Dub and properly configured UTM parameters, you can pinpoint exactly which link in which email generated clicks—and, more importantly, conversions.
It integrates well with email marketing tools like Brevo or GetResponse: you manage your email campaigns in those tools, and Dub handles the detailed tracking of the links included.
For content creators or consultants who are very active on social media, Dub lets you create a centralized page (a "bio link page") that brings together all your important links. The built-in analytics show you which links on that page get the most clicks.
You're launching a new service or offering and promoting it across multiple channels at the same time: email, social media, blog posts, and email signatures. Dub lets you create one link per channel—all pointing to the same destination—and compare their performance in one place.
If the destination landing page needs to change during the campaign, simply update the target URL in Dub: all your existing links will update instantly, without having to edit each post.
If you have a SaaS platform or an online service, Dub Partners lets you set up a structured affiliate program. Your partners receive a unique link, you track their performance, and payments are automated. This is a much better alternative to a makeshift solution involving spreadsheets and manual bank transfers.
This is one of the most useful yet least-known features. If you've shared a link that points to a page whose URL has changed, there's no need to repost it. Just update the destination in Dub, and all existing clicks will be automatically redirected to the new URL.
to organize your links by client, campaign, or time period. On the Business plan, you can create up to 20 folders. This prevents you from ending up with hundreds of unorganized links after a few months of use.
You can set a date and time when a link automatically expires. This is very useful for limited-time promotional offers, event registrations, or temporary access to a resource.
to share a sensitive resource (a confidential document, access to a customer portal) without having to set up a fully secured environment.
(Business plan and above) allow you to trigger actions in other tools whenever a conversion event occurs. For example: notify a Slack channel when a conversion is recorded, or trigger a sequence in a CRM.
Copens the link creation modal directly in the interface, which significantly speeds up the workflow when creating a large number of links.
Dub integrates natively with:
Stripe: for automatic tracking of e-commerce and SaaS conversions. When a payment is made through Stripe, Dub automatically attributes it to the original link.
Shopify: The same logic applies to e-commerce stores: purchases are attributed to the Dub links that generated the visit.
Zapier and Make: for creating custom automations without code. For example, automatically create a Dub link every time a new contact is added to your CRM. Make has a native connector for this type of use case.
Segment: For teams that use Segment as their central data layer, the integration allows them to enrich existing events with link attribution data.
The API opens up even more possibilities: connecting to prospecting tools like PhantomBuster to track automatically generated links, or integrating into content workflows for teams that publish at scale.
When it comes to website builders, Dub integrates seamlessly with Webflow or any other CMS through simple DNS redirects.
25 links per month and 30 days of data retention are enough to explore the tool, but not enough to build a real strategy around it. If you need to compare performance over several weeks or months, you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan fairly quickly.
Unlike other features that can be used directly from the interface, conversion tracking requires adding a script to your website and, in some cases, modifying your backend to send events. This isn't complicated for a developer, but it can be a hurdle for someone without a technical background.
It can be difficult to predict if your campaigns generate varying volumes. You need to monitor your usage to avoid surprises at the end of the month.
(the affiliate module) is included in the Business and Advanced plans, but the affiliate payment limits ($2,500/month on the Business plan) can quickly become restrictive for an active affiliate program.
If you're just looking for a basic URL shortener to share links occasionally and see how many clicks they've received, Dub will probably be overkill, and simpler free alternatives will suffice.
If your tech stack is zero-code and you don't have access to a developer to integrate the conversion tracking script, you won't be able to take advantage of the tool's most distinctive features.
Bitly: the long-standing industry standard. Simpler, with fewer advanced analytics features, but a very user-friendly interface and a well-known brand. Suitable for basic use.
Short.io: A good balance between simplicity and customization. Competitive pricing for high volumes.
Linko.me: A French solution available on Freelance Stack via Linko.me, which is a good option for those looking for an alternative with French-language support.
Make + integrations: If your main need is to automate link creation within existing workflows rather than manage an affiliate program or perform advanced conversion attribution, Make may be sufficient as an orchestration layer built around a simpler tracking tool.
Here are the most frequently asked questions about Dub.
Yes, Dub's core is open-source and available on GitHub. The hosted version (dub.co) includes additional commercial features. It is theoretically possible to self-host it, but that requires technical expertise and would mean you wouldn't have access to support or automatic updates.
Dub states that it complies with the GDPR. Analytics data can be collected without third-party cookies. It is still recommended that you mention the use of Dub in your privacy policy if you use conversion tracking.
Yes, that's actually one of Dub's strengths. Up to 3 custom domains are included on the free plan. With paid plans, the number increases depending on the plan.
No. The QR code points to the Dub short link, not to the final URL. This means you can freely change the destination without having to print new QR codes, which is especially convenient for physical media.
No, the two tools complement each other. Google Analytics tracks user behavior once they arrive on your site. Dub tracks what happens before that: which link was clicked, from which source, and whether that click resulted in a conversion. The two can be used together.
Dub does not limit clicks, but rather "tracked events." One click = 1 event. One conversion (sign-up, purchase) = 1 additional event. On the Pro plan, you have 50,000 events per month. For high-traffic campaigns, check your usage regularly.
Not natively, but using Zapier or Make, you can set up automations between Dub and virtually any tool. For example, you can automatically create a Dub link every time a new row is added to an Airtable table.
Yes. The Pro plan allows multiple users in a workspace. The Business and Advanced plans have no limit on the number of members. Permissions can be configured to control who can create or edit links.
This is a relevant use case. You can create a unique link for each influencer or creator you collaborate with, track the clicks and conversions generated by each one, and integrate this data into Dub Partners if you want to pay them based on performance.
As of now, Dub does not offer a native mobile app. The web interface is responsive and works on mobile devices, but it lacks the user-friendliness of a true dedicated app.
Dub is a tool that clearly stands out in its category. While most URL shorteners stop at the click, Dub builds a complete infrastructure around the link: branded links, detailed analytics, conversion tracking, A/B testing, and affiliate management.
Three main reasons to take it seriously:
First, data clarity. If you manage marketing campaigns and are tired of not knowing exactly what’s driving results, Dub provides a level of detail that traditional tools don’t offer.
Next, flexibility. The ability to change a link’s destination on the fly, target it by device or geographic location, and set it to expire automatically—these are features that address real, everyday needs.
Finally, scalability. The tool works just as well for a freelancer managing 50 links as it does for a team creating thousands of them each month. The API and integrations make it possible to adapt it to a wide variety of workflows.
