Dub.co API Tutorial: Build a Link Shortener in 5 Minutes

Dub.co API Tutorial: Build a Link Shortener in 5 Minutes Every time you share a link in production — whether it's in an email campaign, Slack integration, or user dashboard — you're making a choice: do it manually, use a third-party service, or build it yourself. For the longest time, developers had one obvious answer: Bitly. It's been the industry standard since 2008. But if you've tried to use Bitly's API recently, you've probably noticed the same thing I did — it now costs $35/month just to get basic features that modern apps expect: custom domains, decent analytics, and reliable API access. Meanwhile, Dub.co quietly launched with the same features Bitly charges $35 for... completely free. I spent a weekend building a link shortener integration into my SaaS, and I've decided to skip Bitly entirely. Here's how to do it in 5 minutes. Why This Matters: The Real Cost of Link Management Before we jump into code, let's talk numbers. If you're managing links across your application, you ha