Shlink
Self-hosted URL shortener - short links on your domain, full REST API, analytics that are yours.
One-click deploy, from $13/mo on a Miget plan.
#what is Shlink?
Shlink is a self-hosted URL shortener with the features the paid services gate: short links on your own domain, a full REST API, QR codes, rich visit analytics (with optional GeoIP), tags, and device-based redirect rules. The server handles the redirects and exposes the API on port 5000.
A managed Postgres holds every link and visit, so the app is stateless. Shlink ships no UI of its own - you drive it with the REST API, the CLI, or the Shlink Web Client (the official hosted client at app.shlink.io talks to your server from your browser, or self-host the client image).
The value is in the metering: hosted shorteners cap links and clicks aggressively and charge to lift the caps. Shlink is one flat plan with unlimited links, your own branded domain, and the analytics sitting in a database you own.
Upstream project: Shlink
#what you get
- Short links on your own custom domain
- Full REST API plus a CLI for automation
- QR codes, tags, and device/geo redirect rules
- Visit analytics with optional MaxMind GeoIP
- All link and visit data in managed Postgres - stateless app
- MIT licensed, unlimited links, no per-click billing
#topology
| Service | Role | Public |
|---|---|---|
| shlink | redirects + REST API (:5000) | yes |
| db | managed Postgres (links + visits) | no |
#miget sizing
// this stack needs
1.5 GiB RAM · 5 GB disk · 2 services
The RoadRunner-based server is happy in 512 MiB. Postgres holds links and visit rows, so size disk to your click volume and retention.
Hobby - recommended fit
$13/mo
1 vCPU · 2 GiB · 50 GiB disk
Headroom for your own apps: 2 GiB at $19/mo
Professional - production
$22/mo
1 vCPU · 2 GiB · 10 GiB disk
Dedicated resources, production SLOs - plan details
One Miget plan is a fixed pool of compute - the whole stack (managed databases included) deploys inside it, and anything left over runs your other apps. No per-service or per-seat math.
#vs. the managed service
What the hosted equivalents charge, against the flat Miget plan this stack fits on. Prices as of June 2026, sources linked.
| Service | Plan | Monthly | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shlink on Miget ★ | 2 GiB plan | $13 | this whole stack, flat - no usage meters, and room left for your own apps |
| Dub | Business | ~$75 | $75/mo |
| Bitly | Core | ~$10 | $10/mo for just 100 branded links |
| Short.io | Hobby | ~$5 | $5/mo; paid tiers scale with clicks |
Shorteners cap links and clicks aggressively; Shlink is unlimited on your own domain.
#vs. other PaaS
Estimated monthly cost of running this exact stack (1.5 GiB RAM, 5 GB disk, 2 containers) elsewhere, from published June 2026 rates.
| Platform | Est. monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Miget ★ | $13 flat | compose stacks first-class: one deploy, dedicated vCPU, managed Postgres/Valkey, volumes and TLS all included in the plan |
| Heroku | ~$75 | no volumes; nothing between 1 GB ($50) and 2.5 GB ($250) dynos - 2 GB containers cost far more than shown |
| DO App Platform | ~$23 | no persistent volumes - stateful containers need managed DBs/Spaces (base $5 Spaces included here) |
| Render | ~$20 | per-service instances (0.5 GB $7, 2 GB $25) - every container is its own paid service |
| Railway | ~$16 | usage-based ($10/GB RAM-mo); vCPU billed separately at $20/vCPU-mo on top |
| Fly.io | ~$10 | cheapest sticker price - but burstable shared CPUs (1/16 core; dedicated vCPUs cost ~2-3×), no compose deploys (one app per container, manual wiring), managed DBs billed extra |
Full breakdown of what Shlink costs managed versus self-hosted, with production sizing: Shlink pricing.
Estimates assume RAM fully allocated at published on-demand rates - and sticker price isn't the whole comparison: the cheaper rows buy burstable shared CPUs, per-service wiring instead of a compose deploy, and managed databases billed separately. Heroku and DO App Platform have no persistent volumes at all - stateful stacks like this one need workarounds there.
#deploy it
On Miget
- Create a Compose Stack in app.miget.com pointing at the templates repository
- Set the stack path to
shlink -
Set the required variables:
DEFAULT_DOMAIN, the short domain (the app’s https domain)INITIAL_API_KEY, your first API key, created on startup
- Deploy. Miget layers
compose.miget.yaml(RAM, privacy, volumes, managed services) automatically
Locally first?
Every template is portable, vanilla Docker Compose - the Miget overrides are ignored locally:
git clone https://github.com/deployable-sh/stacks
cd miget-compose-templates/shlink
docker compose up -dSame files, same behavior. The template README covers connection strings and scaling notes.
#faq
What does this save vs Bitly or Short.io?
Bitly’s Core plan is $10/month for just 100 branded links a month, and Short.io and Dub meter the same way. Shlink is one ~$13/month plan with unlimited links, your own domain, and the analytics on your own infrastructure.
There is no admin UI in the container - how do I manage it?
Shlink is API-first. Use the REST API, the shlink-cli, or the Shlink Web Client - point the official hosted client at app.shlink.io (it runs in your browser against your server) or self-host the shlinkio/shlink-web-client image.
Do I get geographic visit stats?
Yes, if you set a free MaxMind GeoLite2 license key. Shlink then resolves visits to country and city and exposes the breakdown through the API and web client.
#more business apps
Ship Shlink today
One compose stack, 1.5 GiB of RAM, from $13/month flat, and it runs on your laptop with the same files.