Slash vs Polr
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?
Slash
Open-source, self-hosted bookmarks and link shortener
VS
Polr
Quick, modern and open-source link shortener
| Feature | Slash | Polr |
|---|---|---|
| Category | URL Shorteners | URL Shorteners |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,169 | ★ 5,097 |
| First released | 2023 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Bitly, go links | Bitly |
Why pick each one
Choose Slash if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.2k GitHub stars)
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 Slash or Polr better?
Neither is universally better. Polr has the larger community, while Slash is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Slash and Polr free and open-source?
Yes. Slash is licensed under MIT and Polr under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Slash and Polr with Docker?
Slash: yes. Polr: yes.