Shlink vs spoo.me
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted url shorteners options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Shlink
The definitive self-hosted URL shortener
VS
spoo.me
Open-source URL shortener with click stats
| Feature | Shlink | spoo.me |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 76 · Good |
| Category | URL Shorteners | URL Shorteners |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,303 | ★ 251 |
| First released | 2016 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Bitly, Rebrandly | Bitly, Cuttly |
What are Shlink and spoo.me?
Shlink
Shlink is a self-hosted URL shortener with a powerful REST API, detailed visit analytics, QR codes, and a separate web client. It supports custom domains and tags for organizing links.
- Powerful REST API
- Detailed visit analytics
- QR code generation
- Multi-domain support
spoo.me
spoo.me is an open-source, self-hostable URL shortener that produces short links with detailed click statistics and optional password protection. It can be deployed quickly with a Python web stack.
- Detailed click stats
- Password-protected links
- Emoji short codes
- REST API
Shlink vs spoo.me: key differences
Shlink is written in PHP, while spoo.me is built with Python. Shlink is the more established project (first released 2016), while spoo.me arrived in 2023. Shlink has the considerably larger community, at 5,303 GitHub stars versus 251.
Why pick each one
Choose Shlink if…
- Excellent API
- Geolocation analytics
Watch out for
- Web UI is a separate component
Choose spoo.me if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Shlink or spoo.me better?
Neither is universally better. Shlink has the larger community, while spoo.me is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Shlink and spoo.me free and open-source?
Yes. Shlink is licensed under MIT and spoo.me under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Shlink and spoo.me with Docker?
Shlink: yes. spoo.me: yes.