Dub
Dub Technologies, Inc. · Writing · AI Detection
Dub is a link attribution platform that pairs branded short links and QR codes with real-time analytics and affiliate program tools, so marketing teams can follow a click all the way to revenue.
About Dub
What Is Dub
Dub began in 2022 as an open-source link shortener and now sells itself as a link attribution platform. Three products sit under one login: Dub Links for branded short links, Dub Analytics for click and conversion data, and Dub Partners for affiliate and referral programs. The company behind it is Dub Technologies, Inc.
A link management platform usually stops at redirects. Most marketing teams still run a shortener in one tab, a spreadsheet of UTM tags in another, and a separate affiliate tool for payouts. Dub's pitch is that one link record can carry a click through to a signup and a sale, so the numbers match when you report them. Links, analytics, and partner payouts share the same database, which is why the product leans on the word attribution rather than clicks.
The limits are worth knowing before you commit. Pricing is tied to tracked events and new links per year, so a high-traffic site can hit its cap faster than expected. The free plan is generous for testing but tight for a team. And the partner features that make Dub interesting for affiliate work start on the Business plan at $81 per month.
Getting Started
- Sign up at dub.co with a work email or a Google account. The free plan activates right away and includes a free .link domain.
- Add a custom domain you own, then copy the DNS records Dub shows into your registrar. Verification usually takes a few minutes.
- Create your first short link, drop it into a folder, and add tags so reports stay readable later.
- Share the link, then open the analytics view to check clicks by country, device, and referrer.
Product Information
A quick look at Dub's pricing, supported platforms, and performance.
Best for
The users, tasks, and scenarios where this tool fits best.
Users
- Marketing teams at SaaS and consumer apps
- Solo founders and creators
- Affiliate and partnership managers
Tasks
- Running a campaign across several channels
- Working out which channel actually pays
- Launching an affiliate or referral program
- Printing a link on packaging or a poster
Scenarios
- Product launch week
- Moving off another shortener
- Generating links from code at volume
Key features
Branded Short Links on Your Own Domain
You connect a domain you own and Dub serves short links from it, which keeps the brand visible in every share. Each link also gets a QR code with customizable colors and a logo. Dub says custom domains lift click-through rates by about 30%, a figure that comes from the vendor rather than independent testing.
Targeting, A/B Tests, and Link Rules
One link can behave differently by country, device, or language, and A/B testing sends visitors to two destinations in a measured split. Rules cover password protection, expiration dates, and cloaking, which hides the destination URL in the address bar. Deep links open the right screen inside an installed app instead of a mobile web page.
Analytics That Follow Clicks to Revenue
The analytics view shows clicks, leads, and sales as they arrive, broken down by geography, device, browser, and referrer. Conversion tracking connects a customer to the link that brought them in, and customer insights add lifetime value and retention to the same view. Plans differ mainly in how many events you can track and how long the data stays.
Affiliate and Referral Programs
Dub Partners runs the commercial side of a partner program: commission structures by partner, product, or customer country, dual-sided incentives, and one-click payouts with tax compliance built in. Partners get their own dashboard, and you get a messaging center and email campaigns for keeping them active. Payout fees run 5% on Business and 3% on Advanced.
AI Assistant and AI Landing Pages
The free plan already includes an AI assistant that helps draft and organize links. On the partner side, an AI landing page generator builds a program page from your product details, which saves the usual design and copy pass. Both features aim at setup work rather than analysis, so don't expect the AI to explain a drop in conversions.
API, SDKs, and Webhooks
Dub's API creates and updates links programmatically, with SDKs for TypeScript, Python, Go, PHP, and Ruby. Real-time webhooks notify your systems when a link is clicked or a sale lands, and deferred deep linking handles the case where a visitor installs the app after the click. A customer quoted by Dub reports sub-150ms request latency in production.
Pros and cons
Pros
- The free plan includes API access, three custom domains, and an AI assistant, which is more than most link shorteners give away.
- Analytics connect clicks to sales, so the dashboard answers a revenue question instead of a traffic question.
- Affiliate payouts, tax compliance, and partner dashboards live in the same product as the links.
- The core code is open source on GitHub, so self-hosting is an option for teams that want it.
- SDKs in five languages make link creation easy to wire into an existing backend.
Cons
- The free plan allows 25 new links a month and one user, which runs out quickly on a real campaign.
- Price jumps are steep: $27 for Pro, $81 for Business, $270 for Advanced, and each step is tied to event and link caps.
- Conversion tracking, A/B testing, and customer insights only appear on Business, so the entry price for serious attribution is $81 per month.
- Tracked event limits count every click and sale, and analytics retention is short on lower plans, so busy sites lose history unless they upgrade.
Frequently asked questions
Dub creates branded short links, tracks what happens after a click, and runs affiliate or referral programs. Marketing teams use it to see which channel produced a signup or a sale instead of counting clicks alone.
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