Sink vs YOURLS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted url shorteners options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
YOURLS
Your own URL shortener with stats and plugins
| Feature | Sink | YOURLS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | URL Shorteners | URL Shorteners |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Vue | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | source, one-click | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,155 | ★ 12,243 |
| First released | 2024 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Bitly | Bitly |
What are Sink and YOURLS?
Sink
Sink is a fast and minimal URL shortener built to run on Cloudflare Workers and KV but also self-hostable. It includes link analytics powered by an analytics engine.
- Built-in link analytics
- Minimal fast redirects
- Edge deployment
- Clean dashboard
YOURLS
YOURLS is a small set of PHP scripts that lets you run your own URL shortening service with click statistics, a plugin system, and a developer API. It is one of the most popular self-hosted shorteners.
- Custom and random short URLs
- Click statistics
- Plugin architecture
- Developer API
Sink vs YOURLS: key differences
Sink is written in Vue, while YOURLS is built with PHP. YOURLS is the more established project (first released 2009), while Sink arrived in 2024. YOURLS lists first-class Docker deployment; Sink does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Sink if…
- Released under the MIT license
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Mature project with 7.2k GitHub stars
- Written in Vue
Choose YOURLS if…
- Mature and stable
- Rich plugin ecosystem
Watch out for
- Dated admin interface
Frequently asked questions
Is Sink or YOURLS better?
YOURLS is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Sink if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Sink and YOURLS free and open-source?
Yes. Sink is licensed under MIT and YOURLS under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Sink and YOURLS with Docker?
Sink: check the project docs for container support. YOURLS: yes.