VCTR vs Bitly
Bitly is a link shortener with QR Codes. Both Bitly and VCTR keep links working after a downgrade. The differences are in the Free plan, in how often you may change a destination, and in what a visitor sees.[1][2][3]
The short answer
Bitly links keep working after a downgrade, but its Free plan allows 5 links and 2 QR codes a month, cannot change where a link points, keeps no click history, and shows an ad page before the redirect. On VCTR Free, every Link can be changed as often as you like, analytics go back six months, and visitors go straight to your page.
Side by side
| Topic | VCTR | Bitly |
|---|---|---|
| Prices | Free €0; Pro €9 a month or €90 a year; Business €39 a month or €390 a year (EUR, excluding VAT) | Free $0; Core $10 a month billed yearly ($120); Growth $29 a month billed yearly or $35 monthly; Premium $199 a month billed yearly or $300 monthly; Enterprise on request[1] |
| Free plan | Free plan with no time limit: 100 active Links or QR Codes, 10,000 Tracked hits a month, 6 months of analytics | 5 links and 2 QR Codes a month, 3 custom back-halves a month, no data history[1] |
| Ads on free links | None: the redirect goes straight to your Destination on every plan | Free accounts get an interstitial page with a preview of the destination and an ad[2] |
| Changing where a link points | Unlimited, on every plan | Not on Free; 5 a month on Core, 20 on Growth, 110 on Premium[1] |
| Analytics history | 6 months on Free, 3 years on Pro and Business | None on Free; 30 days on Core, 120 days on Growth, 1 year on Premium, 2 years on Enterprise[1] |
| After a downgrade | Every Link and QR Code keeps redirecting after a downgrade, an unpaid invoice or a cancelled subscription, on every plan | Bitly links keep working. Links on a complimentary domain stop when its registration expires; on your own domain the SSL certificate is not renewed[3] |
| Analytics and privacy | No cookies on the redirect; the IP address is dropped after the location lookup and never stored | Collects the IP address and the location derived from it with every click or view, and uses cookies as described in its cookie policy[5] |
In their own words
“Your bit.ly links continue to work after you downgrade your account.”
“We won't renew the registration for your complimentary domain. When that registration expires, any links using that domain will stop working.”
“In the event of a failed payment, four payment attempts will be made before your account is automatically downgraded.”
At VCTR
A Link keeps redirecting through downgrades, unpaid invoices, cancelled subscriptions and exhausted quotas. It stops only when you delete it, or when we take it down for abuse, and its Code is never given to anyone else. The keep-working promise.
Where Bitly may suit you better
Bitly includes custom landing pages, bulk link creation from Growth up, and multiple users with group permissions on Enterprise. VCTR has no landing pages or bulk creation yet.[1]
Sources
Bitly's own pages, checked on . Prices and plans change; follow the links for the current terms.
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