Slugy vs Dub.co: two open-source link platforms compared

This is the comparison where Slugy has the least room to argue, because Dub.co is also open source and also excellent. Both handle branded links, custom domains, QR codes, and click analytics. If that is all you need, either is defensible and you should pick on the extras.

What Dub.co does better

Dub.co has been the reference implementation in this category for longer. That gap is not cosmetic:

• Ecosystem depth — a large open-source community, extensive documentation, and an API that plenty of third-party tools already integrate against.
• Maturity — more edge cases handled, more history of uptime behavior, a longer track record when something goes sideways.
• Name recognition — if you are hiring or building internal tooling, “we use Dub” is a shorter conversation than explaining an unfamiliar codebase.
• Self-hosting precedent — AGPLv3 with an established community of operators running their own instances.

If you already run Dub, or you have built around its API, there is no reason to move. Migration cost is not only technical; it is the tribal knowledge your team has accumulated.

Pricing, side by side

Both products have a free tier and both charge for the jump to real volume. The difference is what sits behind the paywall.

Figures checked against public pricing pages on 9 October 2026. Plans change often — verify before you make a decision.

Where Slugy differs

• Leads and revenue in one tool, at a startup price — click-to-signup attribution is on Pro at $8/mo and revenue attribution on Growth at $29/mo. Dub.co also tracks leads and sales, starting at Business ($90/mo) — so the difference is entry price and simplicity, not capability.
• Lower entry point for volume — if you need real link volume rather than a large number of custom domains, Pro gets you 250 links per workspace for less than most business tiers.
• Simpler surface — a smaller feature set you can hold in your head, with fewer enterprise configuration layers to work through.

The honest tradeoffs

• Community size is a real asset and Slugy has less of it. Dub's issue tracker and Discord answer questions faster. If you rely on community support, factor that in — Slugy offers priority email support on paid plans instead.
• Fewer integrations. Tools that assume Dub's API may need work to point at Slugy's.
• A smaller track record. If uptime history is a requirement, ask us and we will show you what we have rather than implying parity.

Moving from Dub.co to Slugy

1. 1Export your links. Take the CSV export before you cancel anything, so you have a clean source of truth.
2. 2Connect the domain. Add your custom domain in Slugy and follow the DNS instructions. Because both are open source, you can inspect both data models first if you want to understand the mapping before committing.
3. 3Import and reconcile. Import the CSV, then read the collision report — slugs that already exist get regenerated, so note anything that moved.
4. 4Cut over gradually. Keep your highest-traffic links on Dub until click counts in Slugy roughly match for a week.

Verdict

Both are legitimately open source, so the openness argument does not decide this. Choose Dub.co for ecosystem maturity, docs, and integrations. Choose Slugy if lead and revenue attribution at a startup price point matters more than community size, or if you want the whole link-to-signup picture in one tool instead of two.