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.
Not the right match-up?
Polr
Quick, modern and open-source link shortener
VS
Reduced.to
Open-source modern URL shortener and link management
| Feature | Polr | Reduced.to |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 5,097 | ★ 705 |
| First released | 2014 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Bitly | Bitly, Rebrandly |
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.