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TinyURL VS Ghostery

Compare TinyURL VS Ghostery and see what are their differences

TinyURL

The first notable URL shortener, online since 2002. Branded short links on your own domain, with click analytics that count human and bot traffic separately, QR codes, editable destinations, bulk creation and a REST API.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Freemium $11 / Monthly (Pro - 125 links/mo)
Alternatives Is it good?
Ghostery

Privacy tool for transparency and control

Rating
0 reviews
Alternatives Is it good?
visitto.me
Every shortener counts clicks. visitto.me attributes them — which link, visitor or source drove each one. Turn one link into thousands of unique tracked codes (a code + QR per visitor, placement or source), then attribute every click and scan. sponsored
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, TinyURL seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 6 times since March 2021.

social mentions
6 vs 0
URL Shortener popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

TinyURL
Ghostery
Website tinyurl.com ghostery.com
Pricing
Freemium $11 / Monthly (Pro - 125 links/mo) Official pricing
Official pricing
Company Startup from the United States · 20 - 49 employees · 2002 —
Listed in
Link Management URL Shortener Branded URLs Links +1
Security & Privacy Privacy Ad Blockers Anti Tracking +1

About TinyURL and Ghostery

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

TinyURL
Ghostery

TinyURL is a URL shortening and link management platform, and was the first notable URL shortener when it launched in January 2002. It now serves over 4.4 million registered users and has created billions of links. Free accounts cover 30 links a month, with links that never expire. Paid plans...

Read more about TinyURL

No description of Ghostery yet.

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

TinyURL 8 features
Ghostery 6 features
  • Ease of Use
    TinyURL offers a very simple interface that allows users to create shortened URLs quickly without needing to register or log in.
  • Custom Aliases
    Users have the option to create custom aliases for their shortened links, making them more memorable and meaningful.
  • Link Analytics
    Every link reports clicks over time, referrer, geography, device type, operating system and browser, with human and bot clicks counted separately and two years of history retained.
  • Links That Never Expire
    Links created on the free plan do not expire, so shortened URLs stay valid in print, packaging and archived content.
  • Branded Domains
    Shorten links on your own custom domain or subdomain rather than a shared one. One branded domain on the free plan, three on paid plans.
  • Editable Destinations
    A link destination can be changed after the link has been shared, so a URL already printed or posted can be repointed without being reissued.
  • QR Code Generation
    Generate QR codes for shortened links, for packaging, print and other offline placements.
  • REST API and Bulk Creation
    Documented REST API (OpenAPI 3.0, bearer-token auth) for link creation, updates and analytics retrieval, plus bulk batch endpoints for high-volume workflows.
  • Enhanced Privacy
    Ghostery blocks trackers that collect your personal data, helping protect your privacy while you browse the internet.
  • Ad Blocking
    It contains functionalities to block intrusive ads, providing a cleaner and faster browsing experience.
  • Customizable Blocking
    Users can customize which trackers and ads to block or allow, giving them control over their browsing experience.
  • Speed Improvement
    By blocking unwanted content and scripts, Ghostery can speed up page load times, resulting in a quicker browsing experience.
  • Detailed Analytics
    Ghostery provides detailed analytics about the trackers on each webpage, allowing users to understand who is tracking them.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The extension has an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it accessible for users of all technical levels.

Possible disadvantages

  • Potential Website Breakage
    Blocking certain trackers and scripts can sometimes result in websites not functioning as intended.
  • Learning Curve
    For users who want to take full advantage of customization options, there can be a learning curve to understand which trackers and scripts to block or allow.
  • Resource Usage
    While it saves data by blocking unwanted elements, Ghostery itself can consume system resources, particularly if many features are enabled.
  • Freemium Model Limitations
    Some features are restricted to premium users, which can be limiting for those who prefer free software.
  • Trust Issues
    As with any privacy tool, users must place a degree of trust in Ghostery not to misuse their data, and some users may have concerns due to its history and ownership.
  • Advertisement of Own Services
    In some versions, Ghostery has promoted its own services or partner services, which can be seen as intrusive by some users.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

TinyURL
Ghostery

Overall verdict

  • TinyURL is considered a good and reliable service for those who need to create short URLs for personal or professional purposes. It is especially valuable for its simplicity and no-cost offering, appealing to users who need straightforward URL shortening without additional features.

Why this product is good

  • TinyURL is a popular URL shortening service that allows users to convert long, cumbersome URLs into shorter, more manageable links. This is particularly useful for sharing links on social media, in emails, or in printed materials where space is limited. TinyURL is easy to use, doesn't require an account, and offers free shortening services. The ability to create custom aliases also adds a layer of personalization and memorability to the links.

Recommended for

    TinyURL is recommended for individuals, small businesses, and organizations that need a quick and simple way to shorten URLs for social media posts, email campaigns, print materials, or casual link sharing without requiring advanced tracking or analytics features.

Overall verdict

  • Ghostery is considered a good tool for users concerned with online privacy and those who wish to have more control over their data. It is praised for its user-friendly interface, effectiveness in blocking trackers, and the transparency it offers about what trackers are present on websites. However, as with any privacy tool, it is important to review its privacy policy and settings to ensure they align with your personal privacy goals.

Why this product is good

  • Ghostery is a browser extension designed to improve privacy and security by blocking trackers on websites you visit. It provides detailed insights into what trackers are operating on a page and allows users to control which trackers to allow or block. Ghostery enhances browsing speed and reduces exposure to targeted advertising by limiting the amount of data collected about users.

Recommended for

  • Users who prioritize online privacy and do not want to be tracked by web advertisers.
  • Individuals who are concerned about website performance and want to block extraneous scripts that can slow down browsing.
  • Tech-savvy users who wish to gain insight into the tracking ecosystem and customize their web privacy settings.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

TinyURL 0 videos + Add
Ghostery 3 videos + Add

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

Block Website Tracking with Ghostery

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Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
TinyURL
Ghostery
100% 100%
URL Shortener
0% 0%
0% 0%
Security & Privacy
100% 100%
100% 100%
Link Management
0% 0%
0% 0%
Ad Blockers
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing TinyURL and Ghostery.

What makes your product unique?

TinyURL's answer

TinyURL has been running continuously since January 2002, which makes it the first notable URL shortening service and one of the oldest still operating. For a link shortener that longevity is the product, not trivia: a short link is only useful for as long as it still resolves, and links created here don't expire.

Three things set it apart day to day:

  • Human and bot clicks are reported separately. Most shorteners report raw click totals that quietly include crawlers and link-preview bots, so reported traffic reads higher than the real audience. Separating them means the numbers can be trusted for attribution.
  • Destinations stay editable after a link is published. A link already printed on packaging or posted to social can be repointed without reissuing it.
  • A permanent free tier, not a trial - 30 links a month, one branded domain, links that never expire.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

TinyURL's answer

Three practical reasons, depending on what you need:

  • You want attribution you can trust. Analytics cover clicks over time, referrer, geography, device, OS, browser and language, retained for two years, with bot traffic separated out.
  • You want your own brand on the link. Bring your own domain or subdomain on any plan, with up to three branded domains on paid tiers.
  • You want links that outlive the campaign. Twenty-four years of continuous operation, and a free tier that doesn't expire, matter when a link is printed on something you can't reprint.

Pricing starts free and goes to $9/month billed annually ($11 month-to-month) for 125 links a month with unlimited tracked clicks. Bulk plans handle 50,000 links a month for agencies and high-volume senders, and there's a REST API for automating the whole lifecycle.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

TinyURL's answer

  • Marketing teams running campaigns across several channels who need per-link attribution rather than a single lumped traffic figure
  • Social media managers and creators working inside character limits, who want a branded link rather than a generic one
  • Agencies managing links for multiple clients, each on its own branded domain
  • Developers automating link creation and analytics through the REST API
  • Enterprises needing SLA-backed uptime and compliance support
  • Educational Institutions
  • The healthcare industry

It also has a long tail of individual users who simply need a link shortened, which the free tier covers without an account upgrade.

What's the story behind your product?

TinyURL's answer

Kevin Gilbertson, a web developer, launched TinyURL in January 2002 so he could link directly to newsgroup postings, which at the time had long and unwieldy addresses. It was the first notable URL shortening service, and it arrived years before shortening became a category.

Twitter used TinyURL as its default shortener until May 2009, which put it in front of a mass audience during the period when character limits made short links essential.

Since then it's grown from a single-purpose utility into a link management platform: branded domains, click analytics with two years of retained history, editable destinations, QR codes, bulk creation and a REST API. It now serves over 4.4 million registered users and has created billions of links.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

TinyURL's answer

TinyURL is a cloud-hosted web application, accessible from any browser with no install. Its public interface is a REST API (v2.4.2) published as an OpenAPI 3.0 specification and authenticated with bearer tokens, covering link creation, editing, destination changes, analytics retrieval and bulk batch processing.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

TinyURL's answer

Twitter used TinyURL as its default URL shortener until May 2009.

User comments

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

TinyURL no reviews yet
Ghostery no reviews yet

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Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

TinyURL 6 mentions
Ghostery 0 mentions
  • 🔐 Design a TinyURL System (Like Bit.ly) — From Scratch
    Import string Class TinyURL: def __init__(self): self.url_to_code = {} self.code_to_url = {} self.counter = 1 self.alphabet = string.ascii_letters + string.digits def encode_base62(self, num): ... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • URL shorteners and why would you need one?
    Choose a shortener: Pick a link shortener that fits your needs---many offer options like custom branding, QR code creation, and analytics. Ziplink, Short.io, and Bitly are all capable of that. If you are looking for something really... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Building a Scalable URL Shortener with Node.js (Part 1/2)
    I'm sure you're familiar with URL shortener tools like TinyURL and Bitly, as they are widely used online. It simply takes a long URL and creates a shorter, unique alias that redirects to the original link. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago

View more

Tracking Ghostery since Mar 2021.

Alternatives to TinyURL and Ghostery

When comparing TinyURL and Ghostery, you can also consider the following products.

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