QR codes and link shorteners compared: Bitly, Uniqode, and the one word that decides it

There is a word you want to know before you send anything to print: dynamic.

A static QR code has the destination baked into the pattern. The printed square is the address. Change your mind — a new menu, a moved page, a campaign that ended — and the print run is waste. Nothing counts the scans either, because no server is involved.

A dynamic code encodes a short redirect the platform controls. The same printed square can point somewhere new tomorrow, and every scan passes through a server that can count it.

Almost every QR tool charges for the second kind. Most people find this out afterwards.

Prices below were read off each company's own pricing page on 13 September 2026.

What the free plans actually give you

Bitly's row is worth reading twice. Its free plan gives you links and codes that work, and records nothing about them — its own comparison table prints a dash against Data History on the Free column. Thirty days of history starts at $120 a year.

What one subscription buys

Two details that are easy to miss. Bitly Core cannot be bought monthly — it is an annual commitment at $120. And at Uniqode a custom domain is not part of a plan at all: it is an add-on on the Plus tier at $2,000 per domain per year.

Where they beat us, plainly

This is not a close contest above a certain size, and pretending otherwise would waste your time:

• Volume. Uniqode goes to 2,000 dynamic codes; Bitly to 3,000 links a month. Linkhiver stops at 20 codes and 100 short links.
• Bitly's free plan mints more links than ours over a year — five new ones every month against our standing total of ten. If raw link volume is the job, Bitly is the better tool.
• Teams. Seats, organizations, SSO, admin control. Linkhiver is one account per person.
• Automation. A QR API, bulk CSV upload, campaign grouping, UTM presets, GPS-level scan data, retargeting pixels. None of that exists here.

If you are printing codes across a product line, a chain of stores or a season of events, buy the tool built for it.

Where the question changes

Here is the case the two of them are not really competing for.

Most people do not need a thousand codes. They need a few codes that keep working — one on a menu, one in a shop window, one on the back of a business card, one on a van — all pointing at the same place: them. And they need that place to be worth landing on.

That is the difference in the first table. Linkhiver's five free codes are dynamic because they resolve through linkhiver.com/qr/…, so the sticker on the window survives you changing your mind. And what they land on is a page you already own, with your links, your business card and your shop on it — not a single destination that has to be chosen correctly the first time.

Setting up a free one

1. Create a free Linkhiver page and claim your username.
2. Open QR codes and make one. Point it at your page, a link, a phone number or a WhatsApp chat.
3. Download the PNG and print it. On Pro you can add your logo and export SVG for a print shop.
4. Change the destination whenever you like — the printed code keeps working.
5. Watch the scans. They are counted on the free plan, with 30 days of history.

Row by row, each tool has its own page: Linkhiver vs Bitly and Linkhiver vs Uniqode.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a static and a dynamic QR code?

A static code encodes the destination directly, so the printed image is the address: it can never be changed and no scans are recorded. A dynamic code encodes a short redirect the platform controls, so the destination can be updated afterwards and every scan passes through a server that counts it. If a code is going on anything printed, you want the dynamic kind.

Are free QR code generators safe to use for printed material?

They are safe in the sense of working, but most free generators produce static codes — which means the moment your destination changes, every printed copy is dead. Check whether the generator says "dynamic" before you commit to a print run. Uniqode's free tier, for example, is static only; Linkhiver's five free codes are dynamic.

Does Bitly's free plan show me where my clicks came from?

No. Bitly's own comparison table shows a dash against Data History on the Free column — the free plan records no click history at all. Thirty days starts on the Core plan at $10 a month, billed annually only, which is $120 a year. Linkhiver keeps 30 days of per-link history on its free plan.

How much does a custom domain cost on a QR code?

It depends enormously on the tool. At Uniqode a custom domain is an add-on on the Plus tier at $2,000 per domain per year, with one included once you reach Business+ at $4,788 a year. At Bitly it arrives with Growth, $348 a year. At Linkhiver it is part of Pro at $45 a year and covers your page, your business card and your QR codes together.

Do I need a link shortener and a QR code tool and a link-in-bio page?

Often not, and that is worth checking before you pay for three things. A QR code and a short link are both just ways of handing someone one address; a link-in-bio page is what that address can usefully be. If your page already carries a shortener and dynamic QR codes, a second and third subscription may be buying you volume and automation you will never reach.