PrettyLinks vs Redirection (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Redirection grades higher than PrettyLinks: 3.0 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Redirection grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
PrettyLinks
WordPress plugin for branded short links and affiliate link tracking
Redirection
Free WordPress plugin for managing 301 redirects and 404 errors
Which one is for you
Pick PrettyLinks if
- Fits if you share affiliate links and want them short and on your own domain
- Works for affiliate sites wanting old posts linked to products by keyword
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: the prices shown are first-year deals, and renewals are $249, $374 or $499 a year
- Pricey if you want keyword auto-linking or split tests, which start on Marketer at $374 a year
- Tight if you want QR codes or product displays, which need Super Affiliate at $499 a year
- Not for you if you want a trial, as there isn't one, only a 14-day money-back guarantee
- Watch out: Lite takes a 3% fee on each PrettyPay sale, and it all runs only inside WordPress
Pick Redirection if
- Fits if you're moving a site or changing its URLs and need lots of redirects
- Works for anyone fixing 404 errors on a WordPress site without paying
Look elsewhere if
- Too light for your whole SEO setup, as titles, sitemaps and schema need another plugin
- Skip it if your site isn't on WordPress, as there's no standalone app
- Watch out: the current version needs WordPress 6.6 or later and PHP 7.4 or later
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAPrettyLinksFair | 3.0GPARedirectionVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DBeginner renews at $249 a year for one site, $20.75 a month, the top of this category's dearer quarter, after a $99.60 first year. Keyword auto-linking, its main SEO feature, waits on Marketer at $374 a year. | AFree, with no paid edition: the whole plugin, its logs, conditional rules, imports and exports, REST API and WP-CLI access come from WordPress.org at no cost. |
| Free plan and trial | BLite on WordPress.org does short links on your domain, 301, 302 and 307 redirects, click tracking, reports and CSV import, and one site could live on that. PrettyPay sales carry a 3% fee on Lite. | AEverything is free and there's no premium version, so there's no cap or locked feature to run into. |
| Features | CBranded short links, click tracking, keyword auto-linking, targeted and split-test redirects, broken-link checks and Stripe checkout links. It does link management fully, but it isn't a full SEO plugin: no meta, sitemaps or schema. | CRedirects with regex and conditions, automatic redirects when permalinks change, 404 logs, redirect logs and Apache or Nginx output. It does redirects fully, but that's a smaller job: no titles, sitemaps or schema. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. A short link takes a moment, but auto-linking keywords, redirect rules and split tests all take setting up. | CNo rating on record. A simple redirect is quick, but regex, conditions and server rules take some learning, and you build every redirect yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, inside WordPress. It connects to MonsterInsights, Google Analytics, Stripe, Easy Affiliate, CookieYes and AnyTrack. | BWeb only, inside WordPress, with a REST API, PHP hooks and WP-CLI. It writes to Apache .htaccess, exports Nginx rules and imports from other redirect plugins. |
| Best for | branded affiliate links on your own domain | free redirects and 404 tracking in WordPress |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: PrettyLinks and Redirection. How we grade
Price against what you get
PrettyLinks starts at $20.75 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Redirection has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Redirection starts $20.75 a month lower. Of the other SEO plugins and apps on the chart, 22 score higher than PrettyLinks for less, and none scores higher than Redirection for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Redirection is open source, according to its own site.
- PrettyLinks also covers reports, qR codes and a/B testing.
At a glance
| PrettyLinks | Redirection | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $249 per year for 1 site at renewal, after a first year at $99.60 | Free |
| Free plan | Lite on WordPress.org: branded short links, 301, 302 and 307 redirects, click tracking, reports and CSV import, with a 3% fee on PrettyPay sales. | Everything is free: there is no premium version. Redirects, 404 tracking, logs, conditional rules, import and export, and the REST API and WP-CLI access. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Caseproof, LLC | John Godley |
| Price read from | prettylinks.com | redirection.me |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
PrettyLinks
- Runs only inside WordPress.
- The prices shown are introductory: the page says every annual renewal is at the full price of $249, $374 or $499.
- Keyword auto-linking and split tests start at Marketer; QR codes and product displays need Super Affiliate.
- There is no free trial; paid plans have a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Redirection
- It runs only inside WordPress; there is no standalone app.
- It manages redirects and 404s only; titles, sitemaps and schema need a separate SEO plugin.
- The current version supports WordPress 6.6 or later and PHP 7.4 or later.
Key features
PrettyLinks
- Branded short links
- Turns any URL into a link on your own domain with a custom or generated slug; change the destination once and every shared link follows.
- Click tracking
- Logs each click with referrer, browser, OS and host, filters out bots and AI crawlers, and can anonymize IP addresses. Paid plans add conversion reports.
- Keyword auto-linking
- From Marketer up, map keywords to links and the plugin turns them into your links across posts, pages, custom post types and comments.
- Targeted and split-test redirects
- Paid plans add cloaked, JavaScript and meta-refresh redirects, routing by country, device or time, link rotation and A/B split tests.
- Broken link checks
- Paid plans scan link destinations on a schedule and email a digest of broken ones.
- PrettyPay checkout links
- Creates Stripe checkout links for e-books, courses and downloads that run on your domain. Free users pay a 3% fee per sale; paid plans pay none.
Redirection
- Redirect manager
- Create redirects for any URL without editing Apache or Nginx, with regular expressions, query parameter matching and automatic redirects when permalinks change.
- Conditional redirects
- Redirect only for logged-in or logged-out users, a WordPress capability, browser, referrer, cookie, HTTP header, IP address, server or 404 pages.
- 404 tracking
- Logs every 404 error on the site, groups them to show where to focus, and lets them be redirected in bulk.
- Redirect logs
- Records each redirect with visitor, browser and referrer details and a hit count, with search, filters, export and controls to limit IP collection.
- Apache and Nginx output
- Redirects can be saved to .htaccess so Apache handles them, or exported as Nginx rewrite rules.
- Import, export and APIs
- Imports from other redirect plugins and .htaccess, exports to CSV, JSON and Nginx, and can be run through the WordPress REST API, PHP hooks and WP-CLI.
Plans
PrettyLinks
Lite$0
The free WordPress.org plugin: short links on your domain, click and unique-click tracking, bot filtering and CSV import and export.
Beginner$249
per year for 1 site at renewal, after a first year at $99.60
Advanced redirect types, links created automatically for new posts, link import and export, and no PrettyPay fees. First year $99.60.
Marketer$374
per year for 2 sites at renewal, after a first year at $149.60
Adds keyword auto-linking, split-test links, conversion reports, link disclosures, and the Link in Bio and Developer Tools add-ons. First year $149.60.
Super Affiliate$499
per year for 5 sites at renewal, after a first year at $199.60
Adds QR codes and the Product Displays, Splash Pages, UTM Builder and User Links add-ons. First year $199.60.
Redirection
Free$0
The whole plugin from WordPress.org, with no paid features.
Ways to pay less
PrettyLinks
- Other savings
Introductory first-year prices
New customers pay $99.60, $149.60 or $199.60 for the first year of Beginner, Marketer or Super Affiliate; renewals are at $249, $374 or $499.
Redirection
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, PrettyLinks or Redirection?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Redirection is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $20.75 a month when paid by the year for PrettyLinks. PrettyLinks starts at $249 per year for 1 site at renewal, after a first year at $99.60, and Redirection is free.
Which has a free plan, PrettyLinks or Redirection?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both PrettyLinks and Redirection have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.