Polr vs Reduced.to
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted url shorteners options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Polr | Reduced.to |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 21 · At risk | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | URL Shorteners | URL Shorteners |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,096 | ★ 705 |
| First released | 2014 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Bitly | Bitly, Rebrandly |
What are Polr and Reduced.to?
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
Reduced.to
Reduced.to is an open-source URL shortener and link management platform with real-time analytics, QR codes, and password-protected links. It can be fully self-hosted.
- Real-time link analytics
- QR code generation
- Password-protected links
- Modern web UI
Polr vs Reduced.to: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Reduced.to's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Polr is actively maintained. Polr is written in PHP, while Reduced.to is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Polr versus MIT for Reduced.to. Polr is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Reduced.to. Polr is the more established project (first released 2014), while Reduced.to arrived in 2022. Polr has the considerably larger community, at 5,096 GitHub stars versus 705.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Reduced.to if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Polr or Reduced.to better?
Neither is universally better. Polr has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Polr and Reduced.to free and open-source?
Yes. Polr is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Reduced.to under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Polr and Reduced.to with Docker?
Polr: yes. Reduced.to: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Polr or Reduced.to?
Polr has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Reduced.to. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.