QRdx vs Bitly
at a glance
Pricing, design options and developer tooling side by side. Where Bitly is ahead, the table says so.
Free · Open Source
Free (2/mo) / from $10
Why choose QRdx over Bitly?
The areas where QRdx is the stronger pick. The guide below also covers where Bitly is the better choice.
Unlimited codes, not 2 a month
Bitly's free plan includes 2 QR codes per month; Core raises that to 5 and Premium to 200. QRdx has no monthly cap: static codes are unlimited and Free includes 10 active dynamic codes.
Full styling on the free tier
Bitly limits colors and frames on its free plan and reserves pattern customization for paid plans. QRdx gives every user 9 body patterns, 9 eye shapes, 11 eye-dot shapes, gradients, logos and frames.
No ads
Bitly's free plan is listed as including ads. QRdx has no ads on any plan.
Open source and self-hostable
QRdx is AGPL-3.0 licensed and can run on your own infrastructure. Bitly is a closed-source SaaS.
QRdx or Bitly: which should you use?
Bitly is first a link shortener and link-management platform; QR codes are one feature among links, landing pages and analytics. QRdx is built around the QR code itself: design, print output, hosted pages and scan analytics, with a free plan and an open-source codebase.
Who each tool is for
Bitly fits teams that already manage short links in Bitly and want QR codes tied to those links and their click history. Its plans are Free (2 QR codes a month, with ads), Core (29/mo billed annually, 10 codes, about 4 months of data) and Premium ($199/mo billed annually, 200 codes, 1 year of data plus city and device data).
QRdx fits anyone who needs more than a couple of codes, wants full control over the design, or wants to render codes inside their own app.
Where Bitly is the better choice
- Your links already live in Bitly and you want QR scans and link clicks in one report.
- Non-technical teammates need a single dashboard for links and codes.
QRdx's dynamic codes use QRdx short links for scans, but QRdx isn't a general link shortener for links you share online. For that, it integrates with Dub, a link-management platform.
Key differences
- Volume: Bitly meters QR codes per month. QRdx doesn't meter static codes or scans; Free accounts are limited to 10 active dynamic codes, and Pro (48/yr) has no limit.
- Design: Bitly's free plan has limited colors and frames and no pattern customization. QRdx's free tier has every pattern, gradients, logos, six templates and PNG, JPG, SVG, PDF and EPS export.
- Code model: Bitly codes are tied to Bitly links. QRdx offers static codes, which need no service, and dynamic codes on QRdx short links, which keep redirecting on every plan.
- Developers: QRdx has a REST API and an MCP server, and is also an npm package with TypeScript types, so you can render the same codes in your own app.
Switching from Bitly
- Keep Bitly codes that are already printed on an active account; they resolve through Bitly links.
- Recreate your brand style in the QRdx playground and save it as a theme.
- Encode the final URL directly in a static code, or use a QRdx dynamic code if you need to change it later.
- Test each new code on a few phones before you print.
Sources (verified Oct 2026)
Competitor prices and limits change often. Check their pages before you decide.
QRdx vs. others
See how QRdx stacks up against other QR code generators and React QR code libraries.
