The strongest Pretty Links alternative for most sites is Redirection, a free, mature tool for managing links and large numbers of 301 redirects at a scale Pretty Links’s free tier cannot match. For affiliate work specifically, ThirstyAffiliates mirrors Pretty Links’s cloaking closely, while BetterLinks adds a modern interface with analytics. We ranked these from our index of 55,000+ WordPress plugins.

Why people switch from Pretty Links

• Many of Pretty Links’s advanced tools, like detailed reports and automatic keyword linking, sit behind Pro, so people move to ThirstyAffiliates or BetterLinks.
• Those who mainly need free redirect and 404 management rather than affiliate features switch to Redirection.
• People wanting a cleaner, more modern dashboard with built-in click analytics move to BetterLinks.
• Users who just want simple branded short links from their own domain move to URL Shortify.

Redirection – Redirects at scale

Redirection from John Godley is the most widely used redirect manager on WordPress, handling 301 redirects, 404 logging, and conditional rules entirely for free. Against Pretty Links, it manages large volumes of redirects and monitors broken links without any premium tier. Its limitation is focus: it is built for SEO redirects rather than affiliate marketing, so it lacks link categorisation, click reporting, and the cloaking niceties affiliates expect.

Choose Redirection if your main need is managing redirects and fixing 404s at scale.

ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate link cloaking

ThirstyAffiliates is a dedicated affiliate-link manager built to cloak, organise, and automatically insert affiliate links. Against Pretty Links, it is purpose-built for affiliates, with link categories and keyword auto-linking. The drawback is that geolocation redirects, detailed click statistics, and automatic link health checks sit behind its Pro add-ons.

Choose ThirstyAffiliates if you want a focused affiliate link manager with keyword auto-linking.

URL Shortify – Simple link shortening

URL Shortify from Kaizen Coders is a link shortener and cloaker that lets you create branded short URLs and track clicks from your own domain. Against Pretty Links, it keeps shortening and basic tracking simple and self-hosted. Its limitation is a smaller ecosystem and fewer integrations, with the more advanced tracking and management features held in the paid version.

Choose URL Shortify if you want straightforward branded short links from your own domain.

BetterLinks – Modern UI and analytics

BetterLinks from WPDeveloper is a link manager with a clean, modern interface for shortening, cloaking, and tracking links, including UTM support. Against Pretty Links, its dashboard and click analytics feel more contemporary and quicker to navigate. The trade-off is that it is a newer plugin, and its most useful reporting and automation features require the Pro upgrade.

Choose BetterLinks if you want a modern interface with built-in click analytics.

When to stay on Pretty Links

Stay on Pretty Links if its combination of link cloaking, redirects, and reporting already fits your affiliate workflow and you value its long track record. For sites that lean on its automatic keyword linking, categories, and dashboards, switching means rebuilding your link library for little gain. Its free tier covers basic cloaking and redirects for most publishers.

How we ranked these

Every plugin here is scored by the WPS Score, a single 0 to 10 rating built from 21 signals covering maintenance, support responsiveness, compatibility, performance, and ratings quality across our index of 55,000+ plugins. Rankings are derived from that data, not editorial preference, and no plugin author can pay to change a score. How the WPS Score works.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free alternative to Pretty Links?

Redirection is the best free alternative to Pretty Links if your focus is managing redirects, because it handles unlimited 301 redirects and 404 logging at no cost. For affiliate link cloaking specifically, ThirstyAffiliates and BetterLinks offer free versions, though their advanced tracking features are paid.

Is Pretty Links good for affiliate marketing?

Yes, Pretty Links is designed for affiliate marketing, letting you cloak, shorten, and track affiliate links from your own domain. Its main limitation is that features like automatic keyword linking and detailed reports are reserved for the Pro version, which is why some marketers compare it with ThirstyAffiliates.

What is the difference between Redirection and Pretty Links?

Redirection is built for SEO redirects and fixing broken links, while Pretty Links is built for cloaking and tracking affiliate links. Redirection is completely free but lacks affiliate-focused features like link categories and click analytics, whereas Pretty Links centres on marketing links but keeps advanced tools in its paid plan.

The verdict

The best all-round Pretty Links alternative depends on your goal: Redirection is unbeatable value for redirect management, while ThirstyAffiliates is the closest affiliate-focused match and BetterLinks the most modern to use. If Pretty Links already runs your affiliate links smoothly, staying on Pretty Links is a sound choice.