Lstu vs Polr
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted url shorteners options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Lstu | Polr |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | URL Shorteners | URL Shorteners |
| License | WTFPL | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Perl | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 200 | ★ 5,096 |
| First released | 2014 | 2014 |
| Replaces | TinyURL, Bitly | Bitly |
What are Lstu and Polr?
Lstu
Lstu is a free, lightweight URL shortener written in Perl that focuses on simplicity and privacy. It can shorten links and optionally make them expire after a set time.
- Simple ephemeral links
- Privacy-focused
- Lightweight Perl app
- API support
Polr
Polr is a self-hosted link shortener built with Laravel that offers a minimalist interface, an API, and basic analytics. It is designed to be quick to deploy and easy to use.
- Minimalist link shortener
- Developer API
- Basic click analytics
- Laravel-based
Lstu vs Polr: key differences
Lstu is written in Perl, while Polr is built with PHP. Licensing differs — WTFPL for Lstu versus GPL-2.0 for Polr. Lstu is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Polr. Polr has the considerably larger community, at 5,096 GitHub stars versus 200.
Why pick each one
Choose Lstu if…
- Released under the WTFPL license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Perl
Choose Polr if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.1k GitHub stars
- Written in PHP
Frequently asked questions
Is Lstu or Polr better?
Neither is universally better. Polr has the larger community, while Lstu is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Lstu and Polr free and open-source?
Yes. Lstu is licensed under WTFPL and Polr under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Lstu and Polr with Docker?
Lstu: yes. Polr: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Lstu or Polr?
Lstu has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Polr. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.