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TinyURL VS Rainway

Compare TinyURL VS Rainway 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)
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Alternatives Is it good?
Rainway

Rainway is a free video game streaming service that allows you to play your favourite games on any device.

Rating
0 reviews
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Alternatives Is it good?
SetMe
Remote support software that just works. Securely access attended or unattended computers from anywhere. 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, Rainway should be more popular than TinyURL. It has been mentioned 14 times since March 2021.

social mentions
6 vs 14
URL Shortener popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 85

Base details

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

TinyURL
Rainway
Website tinyurl.com rainway.com
Pricing
Freemium $11 / Monthly (Pro - 125 links/mo) Official pricing
—
Company Startup from the United States · 20 - 49 employees · 2002 Startup from the United States · 10 - 19 employees · 2017
Listed in
Link Management URL Shortener Branded URLs Links +1
Remote Desktop Remote PC Access Remote Control Group Chat & Notifications +1

About TinyURL and Rainway

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

TinyURL
Rainway

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 Rainway yet.

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

TinyURL 8 features
Rainway 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.
  • Accessibility
    Rainway allows you to stream your PC games to various devices, including phones, tablets, and other PCs, enabling you to play your games anywhere.
  • Platform Compatibility
    It is compatible with multiple operating systems and platforms, such as Windows, Android, iOS, and web browsers, providing versatile gaming options.
  • Free Service
    Rainway is free to use, removing the barrier of entry for users who might be reluctant to pay for a streaming service.
  • Low Latency
    The platform aims to offer low-latency streaming, making the gameplay experience smoother and more enjoyable.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The interface is designed to be intuitive and easy to navigate, making it accessible for users of all technical skill levels.

Possible disadvantages

  • Internet Dependency
    A strong and stable internet connection is required for optimal performance, which can be a limiting factor in areas with poor internet infrastructure.
  • Hardware Requirements
    The performance of Rainway heavily depends on the power of your gaming PC, which may limit its effectiveness for users with lower-end hardware.
  • Potential Lag
    Despite aiming for low latency, users may occasionally experience lag or disruptions, particularly during high-demand periods or due to network issues.
  • Limited to PC Games
    Rainway is designed for streaming PC games, so it doesn’t support console-exclusive games, which limits its use for console gamers.
  • Privacy Concerns
    Since Rainway involves streaming data from your PC to other devices, there may be potential privacy concerns related to data security and unauthorized access.

Analysis

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

TinyURL
Rainway

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

  • Rainway is generally considered a good option for gamers looking to stream their PC games to other devices.

Why this product is good

  • Rainway offers a user-friendly interface, low-latency streaming, and wide device compatibility, allowing users to play games on various platforms such as smartphones, tablets, and even smart TVs. It supports high-quality graphics and smooth gameplay, making it an attractive choice for gamers who want flexibility in gaming locations. Additionally, it is free to use, which adds to its appeal.

Recommended for

    Rainway is recommended for PC gamers who want to play their games on different devices without being restricted to their primary gaming rig. It's ideal for those who value convenience and accessibility in their gaming experience, especially individuals who often travel or share gaming equipment.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

TinyURL 0 videos + Add
Rainway 3 videos + Add

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

Rainway 1.0 Launch Review - Early 2019

More videos

  • - Rainway Beta - First Impressions & Gameplay 2018
  • - Rainway Basics Part 1: Setting up Rainway

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
Rainway
100% 100%
URL Shortener
0% 0%
0% 0%
Games
100% 100%
100% 100%
Link Management
0% 0%
0% 0%
Game Streaming
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing TinyURL and Rainway.

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 Rainway. 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
Rainway no reviews yet

View more

  • Top Remote Desktop Software for Gaming
    cloudzy.com · Feb 2024

    Rainway cannot guarantee a high-quality and latency-free gaming experience. The quality of your game streaming with Rainway entirely depends on your internet connection. The better your connection is, the faster your...

  • Moonlight game streaming alternatives
    androidgram.com · Oct 2022

    Rainway game streaming service is a very recent release. The application allows you to stream the games on your Windows 10 computer through any supported device via the internet. The service is free with no ads...

  • 11 Best Parsec Alternatives & Similar Apps
    www.regendus.com · Apr 2022

    Sometimes you will run into issues like slow connections, some bugs, and other technical problems. Still, Rainway is an excellent cloud gaming platform for almost any operating system. Thus, there is no reason to not...

View more

Social recommendations and mentions

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

TinyURL 6 mentions
Rainway 14 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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  • iPad Pro M2
    Code-server https://github.com/coder/code-server works fairly well and can be saved to the home screen as a web applet to get rid of the browser URL bar. Their are a few UI issues related to touch but it has server well enough for some... - Source: Hacker News / about 4 years ago
  • why you shouldn't buy shadow.
    Rent your Server own at Google, Amazon or even Microsoft Microsoft has also a Windows in the Cloud Service There is Amazon with LUNA if you only want to play There is NVidia GForce now There is STADIA (Which I use by myself. Better... Source: about 4 years ago
  • Rainway is Dead
    We just don’t offer support anymore. Our business is entirely focused on B2B offerings now https://rainway.com/. Source: over 4 years ago

View more

Alternatives to TinyURL and Rainway

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

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