TL;DR
- Short.io:
- $19-149/mo. Monthly with link limits.
- FairLinks:
- $0.005-0.02/link. No subscription. Full features from day one.
A Short.io alternative that charges what it costs.
Short.io charges $19-149/mo. The infrastructure to run link management — servers, APIs, storage, delivery — costs roughly $0.001/link. FairLinks charges $0.005-0.02/link. No subscription. No seat limits. No annual contract.
Why people leave Short.io
Limited free plan
Some advanced features are enterprise only
Less known than Bitly
FairLinks vs Short.io
| FairLinks | Short.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Pay per use | Monthly with link limits |
| Price | $0.005-0.02/link | $19-149/mo |
| Free tier | Free actions included | 1,000 links (free plan) |
| Contract | None | Monthly available |
| Zero-usage month | $0 | Still charged |
| Feature gating | All features included | Some features gated |
| Infrastructure cost | $0.001/link | Not disclosed |
What it actually costs to run
The infrastructure cost for link management — servers, APIs, storage, delivery — is roughly $0.001/link. Short.io charges $19-149/mo.
Fair charges $0.005-0.02/link — cost plus a small margin.
When to choose which
Choose Short.io if
Teams wanting unlimited clicks with branded domains
Choose FairLinks if
You want link management without a subscription. FairLinks charges $0.005-0.02/link. Use a lot? Pay a little more. Use nothing? Pay nothing. All features included from the first use.
Where Short.io gets expensive
- Smaller ecosystem than Bitly
- Less brand recognition
Switch from Short.io. Keep the features. Lose the subscription.
FairLinks — $0.005-0.02/link. No subscription. No seat pricing. No annual contract. Your first actions are free.
Related comparisons
Fair is the anti-subscription. 13 tools, one account, pay for what you use.