clink vs Shlink
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
Shlink
The definitive self-hosted URL shortener
| Feature | clink | Shlink |
|---|---|---|
| Category | URL Shorteners | URL Shorteners |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | C | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | — | ★ 5,192 |
| First released | 2020 | 2016 |
| 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 Shlink better?
Neither is universally better. Shlink has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are clink and Shlink free and open-source?
Yes. clink is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Shlink under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run clink and Shlink with Docker?
clink: check the project docs for container support. Shlink: yes.