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TinyURL VS QR Code API

Compare TinyURL VS QR Code API 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)
Promote on VibeVoted
Alternatives Is it good?
QRC
QR Code API

Rich Featured QR Code generator API

Rating
0 reviews
Promote on VibeVoted
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

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
99% vs 1%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 136

Base details

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

TinyURL
QRC
QR Code API
Website tinyurl.com apitier.com
Pricing
Freemium $11 / Monthly (Pro - 125 links/mo) Official pricing
—
Company Startup from the United States · 20 - 49 employees · 2002 —
Listed in
Link Management URL Shortener Branded URLs Links +1
QR Codes QR Code Generator Link Management URL Shortener +1

About TinyURL and QR Code API

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

TinyURL
QRC
QR Code API

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 QR Code API yet.

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

TinyURL 8 features
QRC
QR Code API 5 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.
  • Easy Integration
    The QR Code API from API Tier provides a straightforward RESTful interface that makes it easy to integrate QR code generation into any application, website, or workflow with minimal coding effort.
  • Customizable QR Codes
    The API allows users to customize QR code parameters such as size, format, and the data encoded, giving developers flexibility to tailor QR codes to their specific use cases.
  • Cloud-Based and Scalable
    As a cloud-hosted API service, there is no need to install or maintain QR code generation libraries locally. The service scales automatically to handle varying volumes of requests.
  • Multiple Use Cases Supported
    The API supports encoding various types of data including URLs, text, and other content into QR codes, making it suitable for marketing, payments, authentication, inventory management, and more.
  • Free Tier Available
    API Tier offers a free tier or trial plan that allows developers to test and experiment with the QR Code API before committing to a paid subscription, lowering the barrier to entry.

Possible disadvantages

  • Rate Limits and Usage Caps
    Like most API services, the QR Code API likely imposes rate limits and usage caps, especially on free or lower-tier plans, which could be restrictive for high-volume applications.
  • Internet Dependency
    Being a cloud-based API, it requires a reliable internet connection to generate QR codes. Any network downtime or API service outage would disrupt QR code generation capabilities.
  • Limited Advanced Customization
    Compared to dedicated QR code libraries, the API may offer fewer advanced customization options such as logo embedding, color gradients, or artistic QR code styles that some use cases may require.
  • Third-Party Dependency
    Relying on an external service for QR code generation introduces a dependency on API Tier's infrastructure, pricing decisions, and continued availability, which could pose risks for long-term projects.
  • Cost at Scale
    While a free tier may be available, costs can increase significantly as usage scales up. For applications generating large volumes of QR codes, the recurring API fees may become expensive compared to self-hosted solutions.

Analysis

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

TinyURL
QRC
QR Code API

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

  • QR Code API by apitier.com is a solid, developer-friendly solution for generating QR codes programmatically, offering reliable performance, easy integration, and flexible customization at competitive pricing.

Why this product is good

  • Simple RESTful API that integrates quickly into web and mobile applications
  • Supports customization options such as colors, sizes, and formats
  • Reliable uptime and fast response times for real-time QR code generation
  • Affordable pricing tiers including free options for testing and low-volume use
  • Clear documentation that reduces development and onboarding time
  • Scalable to handle both small projects and high-volume enterprise needs

Recommended for

  • Developers building apps that require dynamic QR code generation
  • Startups and small businesses needing cost-effective QR solutions
  • E-commerce platforms adding QR codes for payments or product links
  • Marketing teams creating trackable QR campaigns
  • Enterprises requiring scalable, high-volume QR code generation
  • Event organizers generating QR codes for tickets and check-ins

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

TinyURL 0 videos + Add
QRC
QR Code API 1 video + Add

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

How to create a QR code API - Part 1

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
QRC
QR Code API
99% 99%
URL Shortener
1% 1%
96% 96%
QR Code Generator
4% 4%
99% 99%
Link Management
1% 1%
0% 0%
QR Codes
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing TinyURL and QR Code API.

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

Share your experience with using TinyURL and QR Code API. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

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

TinyURL no reviews yet
QRC
QR Code API no reviews yet

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We have no reviews of QR Code API yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

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

TinyURL 6 mentions
QRC
QR Code API 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 / over 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 / about 2 years ago

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Tracking QR Code API since Jan 2023.

Alternatives to TinyURL and QR Code API

When comparing TinyURL and QR Code API, you can also consider the following products.

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