clink vs Dub
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted url shorteners options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
clink
A super-minimal link shortening service written in pure C, focusing on
VS
Dub
Open-source link management platform
| Feature | clink | Dub |
|---|---|---|
| Category | URL Shorteners | URL Shorteners |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | — | ★ 24,245 |
| First released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Replaces | — | Bitly, Rebrandly |
Why pick each one
Choose clink if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in C
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is clink or Dub better?
Neither is universally better. Dub has the larger community, while clink is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are clink and Dub free and open-source?
Yes. clink is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Dub under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run clink and Dub with Docker?
clink: check the project docs for container support. Dub: yes.