Best Pretty Links Alternatives for WordPress
I get why so many affiliate bloggers look for a Pretty Links alternative after the first year. The $99.60 Beginner plan renews at its full $249, and that’s the cheapest paid plan. Geo redirects, split tests and keyword auto-linking all sit behind it, and product displays need the $499 tier.
That’s a lot to pay every year if all you need is a branded redirect with country rules. The free plan is good, but most people upgrade for country routing and better reports, and that’s exactly where the bill starts.
Here’s what I’d do. If you want country rules and click reports without a yearly license, I’d move to GT Link Manager. It’s the free link manager I built, and Gatilab runs its own affiliate links through it. If you rely on split tests, auto-linking or product boxes, BetterLinks is the closest match, and staying on Pretty Links can also be the right call.
I compared 8 alternatives on what decides the switch. That means what the free version covers, what the first paid plan costs after renewal and how each one brings your Pretty Links across. They fall into three groups:
- Free and open: GT Link Manager and Redirection
- Freemium link managers: BetterLinks, LinkCentral, URL Shortify, ThirstyAffiliates and Easy Affiliate Links
- Affiliate display platform: Lasso
Quick Comparisons
Pick the reason you’re leaving in the second column, then jump to that plugin’s section. Prices are list prices for 1 site. If you’re choosing a first plugin rather than switching, my list of the best affiliate link plugins for WordPress ranks the wider field.
| Plugin | Best for | Free version | Cheapest paid plan | Brings Pretty Links over |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GT Link Manager | Free country rules and click reports | Full plugin | None, all free | CSV preset |
| BetterLinks | The closest feature match | Yes | $99/yr or $399 lifetime | One-click migration |
| LinkCentral | A generous free tier | Yes | $49.99/yr | Built-in importer |
| URL Shortify | A cheap lifetime license | Yes, 7-day stats | $99/yr or $299 lifetime | One-click import |
| ThirstyAffiliates | Amazon product importing | Yes | $99.60 first year, then $249 | CSV on Pro |
| Easy Affiliate Links | The lowest yearly price | Yes | $29/yr | CSV |
| Lasso | Product boxes and Amazon data | Lasso Lite | $190/yr | Lasso Lite importer |
| Redirection | Plain redirects only | Free only | None | CSV |
Why People Leave Pretty Links
Pretty Links is still the biggest name here, with 200,000+ active installs, and its free plan does more than people give it credit for. You get 301, 302 and 307 redirects, click tracking with referrers and a free CSV import.
The trouble starts when you outgrow it:
- The renewal jump. Beginner is $99.60 in the first year and $249 after that. Marketer goes from $149.60 to $374, and Super Affiliate from $199.60 to $499.
- Routing is a paid feature. Country, device and time redirects, split tests and auto-linked keywords all need a paid plan.
- Product displays need the top tier. The Product Displays add-on comes only with Super Affiliate, so a single site pays $499 a year for it after the first year.
- The REST API starts at Marketer. If you manage links from scripts or AI tools, the cheapest plan won’t do.
Pretty Links is still a good plugin. Its free version suits a small blog, and the paid version is priced for a site that earns well from affiliate links.
Best Pretty Links Alternatives
These are in the order I’d recommend them to someone leaving Pretty Links over cost or missing features. Each section names the job that plugin does best.
GT Link Manager
GT Link Manager is my pick if you want country routing and real click reports without a yearly license. I built it, it’s free and open source on WordPress.org, and there is no Pro version to upgrade to.
It covers the things people usually pay Pretty Links for:
- Redirects: 301, 302 and 307, with the `/go/` prefix, a prefix of your choice or prefix-free links that sit at the site root.
- Country rules: each link can send India to one store and the US to another, using the country header your CDN already sends. Cloudflare, CloudFront and Vercel work, with no GeoIP database and no outside lookup.
- Click reports: an opt-in Advanced Analytics screen shows daily trends, top links, countries, devices and the exact page each click came from.
- Privacy: the reports add no visitor scripts or cookies and store no IP addresses.
- Organization: nested categories, tags, notes, Quick Edit, bulk actions and rel settings for nofollow and sponsored on every link.
- Automation: a REST API, block editor search for the core Button block and rich text, and access for AI agents through Site Agent.
Links live in their own indexed database tables, not as posts. The redirect fires early in WordPress, before the theme loads, and a missing or inactive link returns a real 404 instead of your homepage.
Gatilab runs its 1,366 active affiliate links through GT Link Manager. Its Import / Export screen has a Pretty Links preset, so your Pretty Links CSV maps to the right columns before anything is imported.
GT Link Manager doesn’t auto-link keywords, split-test or rotate links, build product boxes or scan for broken destinations. It’s also new, on WordPress.org since March 2026 with 100+ installs, so it has a much shorter track record than Pretty Links. Country rules need a CDN or server that sends a trusted country header. You can see everything it includes on the GT Link Manager page.
BetterLinks
BetterLinks is the closest match if you want to keep the Pretty Links feature set, including the parts my plugin doesn’t do. It’s from WPDeveloper, the team behind Essential Addons, and has 20,000+ active installs.
The free plugin is generous:
- Redirects: 301, 302 and 307, wildcard redirects, parameter forwarding and nofollow or sponsored per link.
- Reports: total and unique clicks, top referrers and bot filtering.
- Tools: a UTM builder, a full REST API and a built-in MCP server for AI agents that stays off until you enable it.
- Migration: one-click import from Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates and Simple 301 Redirects.
Pro adds the routing people leave Pretty Links for: geo-targeting, split tests, device and time rules, auto-linked keywords and a broken link checker. Address-bar cloaking is Pro too.
BetterLinks Pro lists at $99 a year for 1 site, $249 a year for unlimited sites or $399 once for unlimited sites with lifetime updates. That lifetime plan is the best long-term value here if you need Pro routing on several sites.
LinkCentral
LinkCentral has the most generous free tier for its size. It launched in September 2024 and has 400+ active installs, so it’s young, but it’s actively maintained.
The free plugin includes features most rivals charge for:
- password-protected and scheduled redirects
- QR codes and link-in-bio Link Pages
- click analytics with email reports and GA4 event sending
- import from Pretty Links and ThirstyAffiliates, plus CSV and JSON
- an AI connector through the WordPress Abilities API
Premium adds geo-targeting down to region and city, redirects on 10 variables such as device and user role, split tests, auto-linked keywords, a broken link checker and conversion tracking with Awin and Impact callbacks.
LinkCentral Premium costs $49.99 a year for 1 site or $149.99 once. One catch matters before you commit: exporting your own links is a Premium feature, so leaving the free version later takes more work.
URL Shortify
URL Shortify suits a budget buyer who wants a lifetime license. It has 10,000+ active installs and imports from 8 plugins in one click, including Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates and Redirection.
The free version covers branded links, 301, 302 and 307 redirects, link groups, parameter forwarding and a REST API. Its click history only goes back 7 days, which is too short for affiliate reporting.
Pro adds full click history, cloaking, geo and device redirects, weighted link rotation and a broken link checker. Location lookups go to outside IP services (ipinfo.io and ip-api.com), so check that against your privacy policy. URL Shortify Pro costs $99 a year for 1 site or $299 once.
ThirstyAffiliates
ThirstyAffiliates makes sense only if you want Amazon product importing on the cheapest plan. It comes from the same team as Pretty Links, so switching to it won’t lower your bill.
Every paid plan includes Amazon importing, geolocation redirects through MaxMind, high-speed .htaccess redirects that skip PHP, automatic keyword linking and an automatic 404 checker. The free version is mostly cloaking with basic click counts.
ThirstyAffiliates Basic costs $99.60 in the first year and $249 after that, the same as Pretty Links. It stores every link as a WordPress post, and I compared the two in detail in Pretty Links vs ThirstyAffiliates.
Easy Affiliate Links
Easy Affiliate Links has the lowest paid price in this list. It’s made by Bootstrapped Ventures, the team behind WP Recipe Maker, and has 6,000+ active installs.
The free version keeps links organized in categories with monthly and lifetime click counts, optional cloaking and CSV or XML import and export. Premium adds Amazon product search through Amazon’s Creators API, click charts, a broken link checker and links that change by country or device.
Easy Affiliate Links Premium costs $29 a year for 1 site or $119 a year for 20 sites. It has no auto-linking, split tests or product boxes, and click statistics are Premium only.
Lasso
Lasso is the pick when you want product boxes, comparison tables and Amazon prices more than a link manager. Its free plugin, Lasso Lite, can import your Pretty Links, but the paid features run through Lasso’s own service.
The Creator plan costs $19 a month or $190 a year for 1 site. It adds displays, tables and grids, Amazon images and prices without your own API key, broken link alerts and simple analytics. Country localization needs the $289-a-year Pro plan.
If you cancel Lasso, your links stay on your site but you can no longer edit links or displays. I covered other routes for that job in Lasso alternatives.
Redirection
Redirection is the right tool when you only need plain redirects and no affiliate features. It’s free, has 2,000,000+ active installs and has no premium version.
It handles regex rules, redirects by login status, browser, referrer or cookie, 404 logging and export to Apache or Nginx rules. It has no country rules, link categories built for affiliates or per-link rel settings, so it replaces Pretty Links only on a site that used it as a redirect manager. You can get it from redirection.me.
I left ClickWhale out of this list. WordPress.org closed its listing in December 2025 for a guideline violation, and it now ships only from its own site, so you lose automatic updates through WordPress.
Keeping Your Links When You Switch
The safest Pretty Links switch keeps every public URL exactly as it is. Old articles, emails and social posts will keep requesting the old address for years.
These are the checks that matter:
- Match the path. Many Pretty Links sites serve links from the root, like yoursite.com/hosting. GT Link Manager’s prefix-free mode keeps that shape, and other plugins need a matching base path.
- Export before you deactivate. Keep a CSV export and a database backup until the new plugin answers every route correctly.
- Test a sample of links. Check a plain link, one with query parameters and a deep merchant URL, and confirm the affiliate ID survives the redirect.
- Keep one owner per route. Two link plugins answering the same path makes results depend on which one loads first.
I wrote the full step-by-step process, with a worksheet, in how to migrate Pretty Links without changing your URLs. If you’re also replacing destinations across old posts, changing affiliate links across WordPress posts covers that part.
FAQs on Pretty Links Alternatives
Is there a free alternative to Pretty Links?
Yes. GT Link Manager is fully free, including country rules, CSV import and click reports. BetterLinks, LinkCentral and URL Shortify have free versions, and Redirection is free if you only need plain redirects.
How much does Pretty Links Pro cost?
Pretty Links Beginner costs $99.60 for the first year and renews at $249 a year for 1 site. Marketer renews at $374 for 2 sites and Super Affiliate at $499 for 5 sites.
Will my links break if I switch from Pretty Links?
They won’t if the new plugin answers the same paths before you remove Pretty Links. Match the prefix, import from a CSV export and test a sample of links with their affiliate IDs before you deactivate the old plugin.
Which Pretty Links alternative has geo-targeting for free?
GT Link Manager includes per-link country rules in its free plugin, using the country header from Cloudflare or another CDN. BetterLinks, LinkCentral and URL Shortify keep geo-targeting in their paid plans.
What is the best Pretty Links alternative for Amazon affiliates?
Pick by the job. Lasso and Easy Affiliate Links pull Amazon product data, and ThirstyAffiliates imports Amazon products on every paid plan. GT Link Manager can route each country to its own Amazon store for free.
Final Remarks
If Pretty Links still does what you need and the renewal doesn’t bother you, I’d stay. A link manager is plumbing, and moving it only pays off when it saves money or adds something you’ll use.
If you’re paying mainly for country routing and reports, I’d install GT Link Manager on a staging copy. Import your Pretty Links CSV with the preset, then test 10 links before you switch the live site.
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