The link shortener that stays out of your way
2.9 million+ links created since November 2024, redirects in about 50 milliseconds, and every feature free. Here's what makes GoTo.now different.
Shorten your first link
What this means in practice
Links that never expire
Many shorteners quietly retire free links after months. GoTo.now links keep redirecting - Your printed QR codes and evergreen posts stay alive.
Genuinely free core
Shortening, QR codes, custom back-halves and click stats cost nothing. Paid tiers exist for volume and API access, not to hold basics hostage.
Proven engine
More than 2.9 million short links created since November 2024, with redirect lookups answering in about 50 milliseconds - One job, hardened by real traffic.
Verifiable, yet private
Anyone can check where a GoTo.now link leads with the public link checker - But click statistics stay private to the link owner. Destinations are transparent; your performance data isn't.
Fast everywhere
Milliseconds matter on a redirect. Our stack is tuned for one job: getting your audience to the destination instantly.
QR built in, not bolted on
Every link ships with a customizable, print-ready QR code - One tool for online and offline.
What "free" actually means here
Every feature on this site is usable today without paying: shortening, custom back-halves, styled QR codes with unlimited scans, editable destinations, and private per-link analytics. There's no watermark on downloads, no monthly link cap for account holders, and no feature that stops working after a trial. We'll introduce paid tiers for high-volume API use one day - But the promise stays that nothing you rely on today gets taken away.
How GoTo.now compares
| GoTo.now | Typical free shortener | |
|---|---|---|
| Link lifespan | Never expires | Often retired after months |
| Custom back-half | Free with account | Usually paid |
| Edit destination later | Yes, every link | Rarely on free plans |
| QR codes | Free, styled, unlimited scans | Watermarked or capped |
| Click stats | Private, real-time, per link | Limited or public |
| Destination verification | Public link checker | Usually none |
Who gets the most out of it
Creators who rotate one bio link across platforms. Small businesses printing QR codes on menus, boxes and windows. Marketers who need per-channel links that report in real time. Support teams publishing help links that survive replatforming. And developers who want all of the above from code. If any of that is you, the homepage is ten seconds away from your first link. Coming from another tool? The Bitly alternative and TinyURL alternative pages map the differences feature by feature, and the glossary decodes any jargon on the way.
The reasoning behind free
Redirects are computationally tiny - Millions of them cost less to serve than one video stream. Most shorteners still meter them because their business is the meter. Ours isn't: the plan is scale first, then charge for the things that genuinely cost money at volume (dedicated API throughput, enterprise support) while the core stays free. You're not the product either - There's no ad network on the redirect path and no data resale. The free tier isn't bait; it's the product.
Switching from another shortener
The checklist that covers 95% of migrations:
- Inventory your live links (most services export a CSV).
- Recreate them here - By hand for a handful, or via the API with
findIfExistsfor thousands; use custom back-halves to keep meaningful slugs. - Update the sources you control - Bios, templates, docs - To the new links.
- Leave legacy links running where they're printed; route new placements through goto.now from today.
- From now on, changed destinations are an edit, not a re-share.
Questions people ask before committing
What happens to my links if GoTo.now shuts down? Your link inventory is exportable via the API at any time - You're never locked in blind.
Can I trust the click numbers? Bots are separated from humans explicitly, and the numbers arrive raw within seconds - No smoothing, no sampling.
Is "unlimited" really unlimited? Clicks and scans, yes, always. Creation has anti-abuse rate limits for guests and generous ones for accounts - Real campaigns never touch them.
Why is there no pricing page right now? Because there's nothing to price. When premium API tiers arrive, this page will say so plainly first.