Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Shlink VS stoat.dev

Compare Shlink VS stoat.dev and see what are their differences

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Shlink logo Shlink

A self-hosted URL shortener

stoat.dev logo stoat.dev

Turn pull request comments into developer dashboards.
  • Shlink Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-08
  • stoat.dev Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-10

Shlink features and specs

  • Self-Hosted
    Shlink is a self-hosted URL shortener, providing full control over your data. You can deploy it on your own server and manage the privacy and security of your shortened links.
  • Custom Domains
    Shlink supports the use of custom domains for shortened URLs, allowing you to maintain consistent branding and a professional appearance.
  • Detailed Analytics
    Shlink offers comprehensive analytics, including geographic breakdowns, referrers, and device types, allowing you to gain valuable insights into your link traffic.
  • REST API
    Shlink comes with a powerful REST API, enabling developers to integrate URL shortening functionality into their own applications with ease.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, Shlink invites community contributions and code audits, ensuring the software continues to improve and remain secure.
  • QR Code Generation
    Shlink can automatically generate QR codes for each shortened URL, providing an easy way to share links in physical media.
  • Webhooks
    Shlink supports webhooks, allowing for real-time notifications and triggering of actions when certain events, such as link clicks, occur.

Possible disadvantages of Shlink

  • Setup Complexity
    Setting up Shlink requires some technical knowledge, including server management and configuration, which might be a barrier for users without technical expertise.
  • Maintenance
    As a self-hosted solution, Shlink requires regular maintenance and updates to ensure security and performance, which can be time-consuming.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running Shlink on your own server can consume significant resources, especially with high traffic volumes, necessitating a robust hosting environment.
  • Lack of Premium Support
    Being an open-source project, Shlink does not offer official, dedicated premium support, which might be a drawback for businesses needing immediate assistance.
  • Learning Curve
    The extensive feature set and customization options of Shlink come with a learning curve, requiring time and effort to master all functionalities.

stoat.dev features and specs

  • Automated Build Tracking
    Stoat automatically tracks and visualizes build artifacts, previews, and metrics directly in pull requests, making it easier for developers to review changes without leaving their workflow.
  • Easy Integration with CI/CD
    Stoat integrates with popular CI/CD platforms like GitHub Actions, making setup relatively straightforward and allowing teams to enhance their existing workflows without major changes.
  • Static Site Previews
    Stoat can generate and host preview deployments for static sites directly from pull requests, enabling reviewers to see rendered changes without needing to build locally.
  • Customizable PR Comments
    Stoat provides templated, automatically updating comments on pull requests that can display build outputs, benchmark results, code coverage, and other custom metrics in a structured format.
  • Open Source Friendly
    Stoat is designed with open-source projects in mind, offering a free tier and being transparent about its functionality, making it accessible for community-driven projects.

Possible disadvantages of stoat.dev

  • Limited Awareness and Community
    Stoat is a relatively niche and lesser-known tool, which means there is a smaller community for support, fewer tutorials, and limited third-party resources compared to more established developer tools.
  • GitHub-Centric
    Stoat is primarily built around GitHub workflows, which limits its usefulness for teams that use other version control platforms like GitLab, Bitbucket, or Azure DevOps.
  • Configuration Complexity for Advanced Use Cases
    While basic setup is straightforward, configuring Stoat for more advanced or custom use cases may require understanding YAML configuration and template syntax that can become complex.
  • Dependency on External Service
    Using Stoat means relying on an external third-party service for part of your development workflow. If Stoat experiences downtime or discontinues service, it could disrupt team processes.
  • Limited Feature Set Compared to Alternatives
    Compared to full-featured CI/CD dashboard tools or dedicated preview deployment platforms like Netlify or Vercel, Stoat's feature set is more focused and may not cover all the needs of larger or more complex projects.

Analysis of Shlink

Overall verdict

  • Shlink is a robust and flexible URL shortening solution, particularly favored by those who prefer self-hosting for privacy reasons. Its comprehensive set of features and ease of integration make it a good choice for users with technical knowledge who want to maintain their data sovereignty.

Why this product is good

  • Shlink is a self-hosted URL shortener that provides privacy-focused features. It allows you to create and manage short links with advanced features like custom slugs, URL tags, and detailed analytics. Its self-hosted nature ensures that you have full control over your data, which is a significant advantage for those concerned with privacy and data ownership. Additionally, Shlink supports features such as QR code generation, REST API integrations, and Geolocation and Device Targeting for enhanced link customization.

Recommended for

  • Tech-savvy individuals or organizations seeking to self-host their URL shortener
  • Privacy-conscious users who want to retain control over their data
  • Developers looking for a URL shortener with robust API support
  • Businesses that require advanced analytics and customization features for their URLs

Analysis of stoat.dev

Overall verdict

  • Stoat.dev appears to be a developer-focused tool/platform, but limited public information is available to provide a comprehensive, verified assessment of its quality, reliability, or feature set.

Why this product is good

  • Specific product details, pricing, and user reviews for stoat.dev are not widely documented in accessible sources
  • Without verified user feedback or benchmarks, it's difficult to confirm claims about performance or reliability
  • Independent verification of the platform's core features and how they compare to established alternatives is limited

Recommended for

  • Developers curious about newer or niche tools who are comfortable evaluating unproven platforms firsthand
  • Users who prioritize direct trial and testing over relying on third-party reviews
  • Those already familiar with the tool through direct recommendation or community channels not reflected in general search results

Shlink videos

2020 Wine Reviews: Shlink Haus Wines

stoat.dev videos

No stoat.dev videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Shlink and stoat.dev)
Link Management
100 100%
0% 0
Data Dashboard
0 0%
100% 100
URL Shortener
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Shlink seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 14 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Shlink mentions (14)

  • How I Built a Scalable, Free URL Shortener.
    Building a URL shortener from scratch? Nah, youโ€™re crazy! Instead, we grabbed a trusty open-source solution thatโ€™s already been battle-tested. By using this ready-made tool, we skipped the drama of starting from zero and cut our development time way down. This gave us more time to focus on making our app and management system even betterโ€”plus, it saved us from pulling out our hair! - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Show HN: An open-source alternative to Bitly
    Last big project at my old job was for an appointment notification service. In addition to making messages longer and thus costing us more, counterintuitively the unshortened URLs got flagged as spam by automated systems and end users more than shortened. However, you canโ€™t use bitly or other free/public shorteners; use one hosted on your own domain. I used shlink https://shlink.io/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Copying microsofts aka.ms links with our internal Dns to help stop phishing
    IF you just want to setup an internal link shortener, there is software out there for it. We do it at my company. The best one I've found is Shlink: https://shlink.io/. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Shlink CLI issue
    I have just set up shlink.io via /r/portainer and docker-compose. Now I have tried opening the CLI to generate an API key which I need for the shlink web interface but unfortunately it closes in a fraction of a second after bin/cli, showing all available arguments. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Permanent URL to file possible?
    Are you looking for stable HTTP/S URLs that you can publish for others to access? One solution to that might be to purchase your own domain and host a little redirector service that bounces the consumer to the real, currently active, cloud URL. Something like https://shlink.io/ might work (but Iโ€™ve not used it, and thatโ€™s just a suggestion not a recommendation!). Source: over 3 years ago
View more

stoat.dev mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of stoat.dev yet. Tracking of stoat.dev recommendations started around Dec 2022.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Shlink and stoat.dev, you can also consider the following products

Bitly - Get the most out of your social and online marketing efforts. Own, understand and activate your best audience through the power of the link with Bitly Enterprise.

Polr - An open source URL shortener. A great non-profit and free alternative to bit.ly, TinyURL, or goo.gl.

YOURLS - YOURLS is a website that contains all the tools you need to create and launch your very own URL shortener. URL shorteners like bitly or TinyURL are fine for public use, but they offer limited options in terms of URL customization.

TinyURL - Are you sick of posting URLs in emails only to have it break when sent causing the recipient to...

Lstu - A nice and open source url shortener. You can use it as service or install it on your own server.

Short.io - Short.io makes short links (vanity urls) on your own domain. Free signup, analytics and API. Chrome, slack, zapier and segment integrations.