Gull 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?
| Feature | Gull | Shlink |
|---|---|---|
| Category | URL Shorteners | URL Shorteners |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 37 | ★ 5,192 |
| First released | 2025 | 2016 |
| Replaces | bitly | Bitly, Rebrandly |
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 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 Gull and Shlink free and open-source?
Yes. Gull is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Shlink under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gull and Shlink with Docker?
Gull: check the project docs for container support. Shlink: yes.