HONEST COMPARISON

QR Code Alternatives to Bitly (No Monthly Fee)

You need a QR code for your new product launch. Bitly's free plan gives you 2 QR codes a month, and you can't change where a code points until you move up to the paid Core plan at $10/month. You start searching for alternatives.

June 2026 · updated July 2026 · 12 min read · George Smith

George Smith — Founder, Klickify Agency

You need a QR code for your new product launch. You've used Bitly for link shortening before. You go to create a QR code and hit a wall: 2 per month on the free plan. You need more than that for one launch alone. You start searching for alternatives.

Bitly is a great link shortener. On its free plan you get 2 QR codes a month, and you can't change where a code points until the paid Core plan ($10/month). Paid plans run up to Premium at $199/month. For a small business running more than a couple of codes, that adds up fast. There are free alternatives that do the same thing – and some do more.

Truly Free QR gives you dynamic QR codes, scan analytics, custom colors, logo upload, and codes that never expire. For free. No subscription. No account. I built it because printed QR codes shouldn't stop working just because you won't pay a monthly fee. Here are the real alternatives to Bitly QR, ranked honestly.

Bitly's Pricing, And Where the Catch Is

Bitly's plans are Free ($0/mo — 2 QR codes a month, with no way to change a code's destination until you upgrade), Core ($10/mo, $120 billed annually), Growth ($29/mo, $348/year), and Premium ($199/mo, $2,388/year). The thing to notice: on the free plan you can make a couple of codes, but editing where a code points — the whole point of a dynamic code — starts on the paid Core plan.

The takeaway: with Bitly, editing a dynamic code's destination is a paid feature that starts at $120/year. Truly Free QR lets you create and edit dynamic codes with no monthly quota, no expiration, and no per-code fee — for the reasons explained below.

Bitly QR vs. The Competition: Real Prices, Real Features

Alternative #1: QR Code Generator (qr-code-generator.com). It advertises a 14-day free trial of its plans. A free trial is the kind of trial-then-pay model this site exists to avoid: if you print a code tied to a plan you're trialing, think carefully before you commit, because your printed materials can end up depending on a plan you have to keep paying for.

Alternative #2: other dynamic QR services. Most follow the same pattern — a free trial or a limited free tier, then a paid plan to keep your dynamic codes working, often more than $100 a year. Exact prices and trial lengths change often, so check each provider's current pricing page before you print anything. The common thread is that your printed codes depend on a subscription you have to keep paying.

Alternative #3: Truly Free QR. Dynamic QR codes with no monthly quota, no expiration, scan analytics, custom colors, logo upload, Safe-Scan link checks. Cost: $0. No subscription. No account. It's designed to be funded by advertising rather than subscriptions, so there are no ads on the scan redirect and none on your printed materials — the redirect is just a redirect.

Step-by-Step: How to Replace Bitly QR with Truly Free QR

Here's exactly how to migrate from Bitly to a free solution.

1. Go to trulyfreeqr.com

No account. No credit card. No "start free trial." Just the generator.

2. Identify the URLs you currently have in Bitly QR

Log into Bitly. Look at your QR codes. Make a list of the destination URLs. You'll recreate each one on Truly Free QR.

3. Create a new dynamic QR code for each destination

Paste the URL into my generator. Choose dynamic. Customize colors and logo if you want. Click generate. Download the QR code as SVG.

4. Test the new QR code

Scan it with your phone. Make sure it goes to the right place. Compare it to your old Bitly code. If the destination is the same, the user experience is identical.

5. Replace the QR code on your printed materials

If your materials are already printed with Bitly codes, you have two choices: keep paying Bitly, or reprint. This is why the expiration trap is so evil. For future materials, use Truly Free QR from the start.

6. Find your codes in My QR Codes

After you click Make Dynamic (Free), each code appears in My QR Codes in the same browser. That is where you update destinations later, with no account. Use the same browser for edits and avoid clearing its site data.

7. Monitor analytics on my dashboard

Each code has its own analytics page. You'll see scan counts, times, device types, and country. Mine are functional and free.

8. Cancel your Bitly subscription

Once you've migrated, log into Bitly and cancel. Put what you were paying toward something useful for your business – like inventory or advertising.

Why Truly Free QR Never Expires (And How We Pay for It)

Bitly has paid plans because it's a company that needs to make money from its users. I don't have those pressures. I built this tool because I got tired of subscription traps, and it's designed to be funded by advertising rather than by charging you.

The technical reason I can keep codes free: the redirect is cheap. Every time someone scans your QR code, my server does a tiny lookup in a Redis cache and sends an HTTP 302 redirect — a few milliseconds on the server, plus network time to your phone. There's no scan limit. That's the whole job, and it's inexpensive to run at this scale.

Safe-Scan is my link check. When you create or edit a code, it only accepts https links, rejects URL shorteners and high-risk addresses, and asks Google Safe Browsing whether the destination is known for malware or phishing. I cannot speak for what other services check behind the scenes. The limit to know about on mine: the check runs at creation and edit time, not on every scan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use my own custom domain with Truly Free QR like I can with Bitly?

Not yet. Some paid tools let you put branded short links on your own domain. I don't offer that. If you need a custom domain, you'll need a paid tool or your own redirect server. For most small businesses, the default short link (trulyfreeqr.link/r/ plus a short code) is fine. Customers don't care about the domain; they care about the destination.

How does your analytics compare to Bitly's?

Paid tools often have more polished reporting dashboards. Mine show scan counts by day, device type, country, and time of day. For basic tracking – "How many people scanned my flyer?" – mine is sufficient. If you need enterprise-grade reporting, a paid tool may do more. But Truly Free QR costs nothing.

What happens if Truly Free QR goes out of business?

That's a valid concern with any free service. A dynamic code depends on this service staying online: the printed code encodes a trulyfreeqr.link short link, and if that stopped resolving you'd need to reprint. If you want independence from any single provider, don't rely on someone else's redirect at all — make a static QR code that points directly to a URL on a domain you own (e.g., yourwebsite.com/qr) and run the redirect there yourself. Then you can change where that page sends people without relying on me. That's an advanced tactic, but it keeps control in your hands.

Does Bitly's free tier include dynamic QR codes?

Bitly's free plan includes 2 QR codes a month, but you can't change where a code points on the free plan — editing a code's destination starts on the paid Core plan ($10/month, billed annually at $120/year). So the free tier is fine for a code or two you'll never change, but not for codes you need to update. Truly Free QR lets you create and edit dynamic codes for free, with no monthly quota.

What does Safe-Scan check?

Safe-Scan checks the destination when you create or edit a code. It only accepts https links, rejects URL shorteners and high-risk addresses, and asks Google Safe Browsing about the link. It does not re-check on every scan.

Can I migrate my existing Bitly QR codes to Truly Free QR without reprinting?

No. The QR code pattern encodes the short URL. Bitly's short URLs are different from mine. You cannot change the pattern without reprinting. This is why you should never print a QR code from a service that might expire or go away. Use Truly Free QR from the start, or use your own domain as a redirect layer.

Cancel Bitly today. Skip the subscription. Use Truly Free QR instead. Dynamic codes, scan analytics, built-in Safe-Scan link checks, zero cost. Your wallet will thank you.

The only truly free QR code generator

Dynamic QR codes with no monthly quota. No account. No expiration. No subscription. Ever.

Designed to be funded by advertising, not by locking your printed materials behind a paywall.

Create Free QR Code Now

Best Free QR Code Generator 2026: No Subscription, No Expiration Free Dynamic QR Code Generator (Codes Never Expire)Why Your QR Code Stopped Working — The Bait-and-Switch Explained