Gull vs Kutt
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?
| Feature | Gull | Kutt |
|---|---|---|
| Category | URL Shorteners | URL Shorteners |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 37 | ★ 11,015 |
| First released | 2025 | 2017 |
| Replaces | bitly | Bitly, TinyURL |
Why pick each one
Choose Gull if…
- Released under the MPL-2.0 license
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Gull or Kutt better?
Neither is universally better. Kutt has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Gull and Kutt free and open-source?
Yes. Gull is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Kutt under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gull and Kutt with Docker?
Gull: check the project docs for container support. Kutt: yes.