The Dub alternative for people who just need links that work
Dub is an attribution platform with SDKs and conversion events. GoTo.now is the no-setup version: shorten, brand, print, measure - Free.
Make your first link now
Two different jobs
Zero setup
Paste a link, get a short one, done. No SDK, no environment keys, no onboarding flow before the first link.
QR codes built in
Styled codes with your logo and print-grade SVG downloads - First-class here, an add-on elsewhere.
Private click stats
Referrers, countries, devices and bot filtering on every link, visible only to you.
Free at campaign scale
No per-event pricing, no monthly link allowance, no upgrade nudges mid-campaign.
Edit any destination
Re-point links after they ship - The feature that saves printed campaigns.
API when you want it
A REST API covers programmatic creation and stats - Without making the API the product.
GoTo.now vs Dub at a glance
| Question | GoTo.now | Dub |
|---|---|---|
| First link in under a minute | Yes, no account needed | Account + workspace setup |
| Conversion-event tracking | UTM + per-link stats | Their specialty (SDK-based) |
| QR codes with logo & SVG | Free | Plan-dependent |
| Monthly link/clicks allowance | None | Metered by plan |
| Self-hosting option | No | Yes (open source) |
| Price for everyday link work | $0 | Free tier, then paid |
Dub is genuinely impressive engineering - Open source, SDK-first, built for startups wiring revenue attribution into their product. If your team wants conversion events flowing into a data warehouse, use Dub. If what you actually do is share links on social, print QR codes and check which channel performed, an attribution stack is overhead - And the everyday toolset is free here.
Attribution without an SDK
Most campaigns need channel-level truth, not event pipelines: tag the URL with the UTM builder, shorten it, give each placement its own link, and read the private stats next to GA4. That covers "did print beat Instagram?" without writing a line of code - The full method is in the campaign tracking guide.
When to pick which
- Pick Dub for product-led attribution: signup events, affiliate payouts, revenue per click, self-hosting.
- Pick GoTo.now for marketing-led sharing: menus, posters, bios, SMS blasts, packaging - Places where a link must simply work forever and report honestly.
- Using both is legitimate: deep-funnel events in Dub, everything public-facing on goto.now links that never expire.
Also weighing the incumbents? See the Bitly alternative and TinyURL alternative comparisons.
Honest limits
No conversion webhooks, no self-hosting, no affiliate module. GoTo.now measures clicks, not revenue events - By design, so the tool stays free and instant for the 95% of link work that never needed a stack.