Everything you need in a URL shortener
Lightning Fast Redirects
Every redirect resolves in under 50 milliseconds from 200+ edge locations worldwide.
HTTPS Only, Always
We only shorten secure HTTPS links. No HTTP, no phishing risks, no unsafe destinations. Your audience's security comes first.
Collision-Free Codes
Every short code is a unique 6-character alphanumeric string. We check for collisions in real time so no two links ever share the same code.
Global Edge Network
Powered by planet-scale infrastructure. Your links load fast in Tokyo, São Paulo, Lagos, and everywhere in between.
Completely Free
No pricing tiers, no credit card required, no rate limits for normal use. Brev.li is free to use for anyone.
Clean & Memorable
brev.li/aB3kX9 — short enough to type, clean enough to share in print, on slides, or in a tweet. Brevity is the soul of links.
What is a URL shortener?
A URL shortener is a web service that transforms a long, unwieldy web address into a compact, shareable link. When someone clicks your short link, they're seamlessly redirected to the original destination — no waiting, no friction.
Long URLs can exceed 2,000 characters. They're hard to read, impossible to memorize, and they break when pasted into messaging apps, emails, or printed materials. A short URL like brev.li/aB3kX9 fits anywhere and looks professional everywhere.
Brev.li stores the mapping between your short code and the original URL in a globally distributed key-value store — so the redirect happens at the edge closest to your visitor, typically in under 50 milliseconds.
When should you use a URL shortener?
Marketing campaigns: UTM-tagged URLs are notoriously long. Shorten them for cleaner ads, QR codes, and click-through links without exposing tracking parameters to your audience.
Social media: Platforms like Twitter/X enforce character limits. A brev.li short link saves space and looks far more professional than a 200-character original.
Printed materials: Business cards, brochures, and posters can't contain hyperlinks. A short, typeable URL bridges the offline-to-online gap elegantly.
Sharing in presentations: Slide decks often need references. Short links are readable at 60pt font from the back row of any conference room.
Deep links in apps: Long deep-link URLs referencing app states, product IDs, and filters become scannable with a single short code.
How does Brev.li shorten URLs?
When you submit a URL, our website generates a cryptographically random 6-character alphanumeric code. It checks the database to ensure the code doesn't already exist. If it does, it generates a new one — this collision detection loop ensures every short link is globally unique.
The mapping (short code → original URL) is written to the database with global replication. When a visitor opens your short link, the nearest edge node looks up the code, finds the destination, and issues a 301 redirect — all in a single round-trip that typically resolves in under 50ms.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Brev.li free to use?
- Yes — completely free, no account required. Paste your URL, click shorten, done. We currently don't charge for link creation or redirects.
- Do short links expire?
- brev.li is still in beta stage. Once we are completely live, the links will be stored
permanently.
- Why only HTTPS links?
- Security. HTTP links are unencrypted and can expose visitors to man-in-the-middle attacks. We only shorten links you're confident are safe.
- How long is the short code?
- Six characters, alphanumeric (A–Z, a–z, 0–9). That gives over 56 billion possible combinations — enough headroom for billions of unique links.
- Can I customize my short link?
- Custom aliases aren't available on the free tier. Advanced analytics and Custom Short Links coming soon...