PrettyLinks vs Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks grades higher than PrettyLinks: 2.6 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
PrettyLinks grades higher on features and platforms. Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on ease of use.
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
Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks
Free, minimal WordPress plugin for 301 redirects and wildcards
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 Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks if
- Fits if you need a handful of redirects and want almost no settings
- Works for moving a folder of old files to a new one with a single wildcard rule
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your site isn't on WordPress, as there's no standalone app
- Too light for anything past redirects: no 404 log, no click counts, and titles, sitemaps and schema need an SEO plugin
- Not for you if you need 302 or 307 redirects or regex rules, which the listing doesn't name
- Watch out: click analytics mean moving your redirects to WPDeveloper's separate BetterLinks plugin
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAPrettyLinksFair | 2.6GPASimple 301 Redirects by BetterLinksGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 from WordPress.org with no paid edition: 301 rules, wildcard folder redirects, bulk import and export and the setup wizard cost nothing. |
| 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. | AEvery feature is free and there's no paid version, so there's nothing locked. Click analytics mean moving to BetterLinks, a separate plugin that's also free. |
| 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. | D301 redirects to any URL, wildcard folder moves and CSV import and export. That's one narrow function, and even within redirects there's no 404 log, no click counts and no 302, 307 or regex option named. |
| 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. There's almost nothing to configure, a skippable wizard and one settings screen, but you type each old path and new destination yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, inside WordPress. It connects to MonsterInsights, Google Analytics, Stripe, Easy Affiliate, CookieYes and AnyTrack. | CWeb only, inside WordPress, with WPDeveloper's BetterLinks the one connection listed. No API, CLI or standalone app is named. |
| Best for | branded affiliate links on your own domain | a handful of 301 redirects 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 Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks. 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. Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
PrettyLinks scores higher, and starts $20.75 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other SEO plugins and apps on the chart, 22 score higher than PrettyLinks for less, and none scores higher than Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks 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
- Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- PrettyLinks also covers reports, qR codes and a/B testing.
At a glance
| PrettyLinks | Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | The whole plugin is free from WordPress.org: 301 redirects to any page or URL, wildcard folder redirects, bulk import and export, and a quick setup wizard. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Caseproof, LLC | WPDeveloper |
| Price read from | prettylinks.com | wordpress.org |
| 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.
Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks
- It runs only inside WordPress and handles redirects only; titles, sitemaps and schema need an SEO plugin.
- It does not count clicks or log 404 errors; click analytics mean moving the redirects to BetterLinks.
- The listing describes 301 redirects only and names no 302 or 307 option or regex matching.
- Sharing usage data with WPDeveloper's WPInsight service is opt-in and off unless an admin agrees.
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.
Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks
- 301 redirect rules
- Enter a requested path and a destination, on the same site or another, from the Settings > 301 Redirects screen.
- Wildcard folder redirects
- Put an asterisk after a folder name to send every file in it to the same filename in a new folder, such as /old-folder/* to /new-folder/*.
- Bulk import and export
- Import redirect rules in bulk and export them as a CSV file to reuse on another site or keep as a backup.
- Quick setup wizard
- A first-run wizard asks whether to share usage data, turns wildcards on or off and adds the first redirect; each step can be skipped.
- Move to BetterLinks for analytics
- Redirects can be migrated to WPDeveloper's separate, free BetterLinks plugin for click-through analytics on each redirect.
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.
Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks
Free$0
The WordPress.org plugin with every feature; there is no paid version of it.
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.
Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, PrettyLinks or Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks 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 Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks is free.
Which has a free plan, PrettyLinks or Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both PrettyLinks and Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks have a free plan.
More comparisons
- PrettyLinks vs Redirection
- PrettyLinks vs Link Whisper
- PrettyLinks vs Internal Link Juicer
- PrettyLinks vs Redirect.pizza
- Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks vs Redirection
- Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks vs 301 Redirects - Redirect Manager
- Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks vs 404 to 301
- Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks vs Rank Math
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.