Polr vs Shlink Web Client
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted url shorteners options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Polr | Shlink Web Client |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 21 · At risk | 78 · Good |
| Category | URL Shorteners | URL Shorteners |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,096 | ★ 398 |
| First released | 2014 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Bitly | Bitly |
What are Polr and Shlink Web Client?
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
Shlink Web Client
Shlink Web Client is the official browser-based interface for managing one or more Shlink servers. It provides link creation, analytics dashboards, and tag management.
- Manage multiple Shlink servers
- Visual analytics dashboards
- Tag and domain management
- No backend of its own
Polr vs Shlink Web Client: key differences
Polr is written in PHP, while Shlink Web Client is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Polr versus MIT for Shlink Web Client. Shlink Web Client is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Polr. Polr is the more established project (first released 2014), while Shlink Web Client arrived in 2018. Polr has the considerably larger community, at 5,096 GitHub stars versus 398.
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 Shlink Web Client if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Polr or Shlink Web Client better?
Neither is universally better. Polr has the larger community, while Shlink Web Client is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Polr and Shlink Web Client free and open-source?
Yes. Polr is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Shlink Web Client under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Polr and Shlink Web Client with Docker?
Polr: yes. Shlink Web Client: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Polr or Shlink Web Client?
Shlink Web Client 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.