What you get with every short link
A short link here is not just a redirect with fewer characters. Every one of them is created with the pieces that make a link usable after you have shared it.
- A matching QR code for the same destination, generated from the short link
- A click count, free, on every link — with country, device, OS, browser and referrer on a paid plan
- An editable destination: change where it points without changing the address
- Malware and phishing screening on the destination, through Google Safe Browsing
- A custom short code and your own domain on a paid plan, so the address reads like your brand
Editable links: the part that matters after you print
A short link is easy to undervalue while it is still on a screen, where a wrong URL costs one edit. On paper it costs a reprint.
Because a ShareCut link is a redirect you own, the destination is a setting rather than a fact. The menu moved to a new page, the campaign now goes to a different landing page, the PDF was replaced: you change the destination and every copy already in circulation — every flyer, every table tent, every business card — starts pointing to the right place. The short URL and the QR code never change.
This is the difference between a static QR code and a dynamic one, and it is the reason to put a short link behind a printed code in the first place. There is a longer explanation in editable QR codes after printing.
Where short links pull their weight
A shortener earns its place wherever the address has to be typed, printed, scanned or counted — not merely clicked.
- Instagram and TikTok bios — one line of space, and you need to know whether anyone used it
- WhatsApp and SMS — a long URL looks like spam and gets cut by the client
- Print, flyers and packaging — short enough to type, and changeable after it is printed
- Campaign tracking — one link per channel, so you can tell which channel actually worked
- Affiliate links — hide a forty-character tracking string behind something readable
When a short link is the wrong tool
A short link sends one address to one destination. Some jobs are not that shape, and forcing them produces a bio full of links nobody clicks or a QR code that lands on a PDF nobody can read on a phone.
- Several destinations behind one address — use a link-in-bio page
- A menu people scan at a table — use a AI restaurant menu, which is built for phones and changes without reprinting
- A code that has to survive being printed at size — start from the QR generator, which exports print-ready files
- Just checking the clicks on a code somebody else made — that is link stats
Free and paid, plainly
Shortening is free and needs no card: paste, get the link and its QR code. A free account reveals and saves what you made, keeps it in one place across devices and shows the click count on each link.
Paid plans exist for the things that only matter once links are part of how you work: custom short codes, your own domain, ad-free pages, and the full analytics breakdown by country, device and referrer. The pricing page lists exactly what sits on which plan, and nothing you have already created stops working if you go back to free.
Shorten without opening the site
If you shorten the page you are already reading more often than links you paste from elsewhere, the Chrome extension removes the round trip: the address of the current tab is already filled in, and two clicks give you the link and the QR code. It makes the same links this page does, and they keep working if you ever remove it.
How it works
- 1Paste the long linkAny https address: a product page, a booking form, a Drive file, a tracking URL with forty characters of parameters. Nothing to configure first.
- 2We check where it pointsEvery destination is screened against Google Safe Browsing for malware and phishing before the link is created, so a short link from this domain is not a blind redirect.
- 3Take the short URL and its QR codeYou get both for the same destination. The QR code is generated from the short link, which is what makes it editable later. Copy either with one click.
- 4Create a free account to keep itThe link is made first and a free account reveals, saves and tracks it. Without one it exists only on this device, and a link you cannot find again is a link you cannot fix.
Frequently asked questions
Is the URL shortener free?
Yes. Shortening a link and generating its QR code cost nothing and need no card. A free account is what lets you reveal, save and track what you created. Paid plans add custom short codes, custom domains, ad-free pages and the full analytics breakdown.
Do the short links expire?
No. A link stays live until you delete it. It does not stop working because you stopped paying: downgrading removes the paid extras, not the link.
Can I change where a short link points after sharing it?
Yes, from the Link Studio, as long as the link is on your account. The short URL and the QR code stay identical and start pointing somewhere new — which is the whole reason to put a short link on something printed.
Do I get a QR code with every link?
Yes, generated from the short link itself. For print you probably want the QR generator instead: same code, but with size, colours, frame and a print-ready export.
What analytics do I get?
The click count on every link, free. With an entitlement you also get the breakdown by country, device, operating system, browser and referrer, plus clicks over time.
Can I use my own domain?
Yes, on a paid plan. Point a subdomain you own at ShareCut and your short links, link-in-bio pages and menus are served from your brand instead of sharecut.site, with HTTPS handled automatically.