Polr vs Slash
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted url shorteners options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Slash
Open-source, self-hosted bookmarks and link shortener
| Feature | Polr | Slash |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 21 · At risk | 69 · Good |
| Category | URL Shorteners | URL Shorteners |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,096 | ★ 3,181 |
| First released | 2014 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Bitly | Bitly, go links |
What are Polr and Slash?
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
Slash
Slash is an open-source, self-hosted platform for sharable links and bookmarks. It lets teams create short, memorable links and organize collections of resources.
- Shareable short links
- Bookmark collections
- Team workspaces
- Browser extension
Polr vs Slash: key differences
Polr is written in PHP, while Slash is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Polr versus MIT for Slash. Polr is the more established project (first released 2014), while Slash arrived in 2023.
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 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)
Frequently asked questions
Is Polr or Slash 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 Polr and Slash free and open-source?
Yes. Polr is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Slash under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Polr and Slash with Docker?
Polr: yes. Slash: yes.