Free tool · no account needed
Free URL shortener, no account, 10-character links
Free URL shortener with no sign-up: paste a link and get a GC.MW short link with a QR code. Anonymous links last 30 days and a free account keeps them 365.
What happens when you paste a link
The URL is checked before anything is created: it has to be http or https, it cannot point back at gc.mw, and it
cannot resolve to a private or loopback address. Then you get a code from a base58 alphabet, the usual 62 characters
minus 0, O, I and l, because those four are what make someone type a link wrong off a poster.
Anonymous links live for 30 days. Your browser holds a claim token, so when you create an account the link follows you in and the expiry drops away. Nothing needs to be recreated.
When to use the short link and when not to
Shorten anything printed, anything read aloud, anything in a bio, and anything with UTM tags hanging off the end. A campaign URL with five UTM parameters is 140 characters of noise in a WhatsApp message; the short link is ten, and the tags still arrive at your analytics because they travel inside the redirect.
Do not shorten a link you are putting in a page's canonical tag or in an XML sitemap. Those want the real URL.
Limits worth knowing
Anonymous shortening is rate limited per network, which stops the tool being used to mass-produce links but can surprise a busy office on one IP address. A free account raises the limit; for a spreadsheet of links use the bulk shortener, which needs a free account for the same reason.
Links that fail a safety check are refused at creation, and links reported afterwards can be disabled. That applies to anonymous links most of all, they are the ones abuse arrives through, so they get the tightest limits.
Written by Wasim Idrishi · updated
Questions people ask
Do I need an account?
No. A link made here works immediately and lasts 30 days. Your browser keeps a claim token, so if you create a free account afterwards the link moves into it and stops expiring, nothing is lost by trying it first.
How long is a gc.mw link?
Ten characters, as in gc.mw/abcd. Anonymous and free links use five random characters, paid links four. The alphabet leaves out 0, O, I and l so a link read aloud or typed off a poster is not ambiguous.
Can I choose the words after the slash?
Custom aliases are a Pro feature: 4 to 64 characters, letters, digits, hyphens and underscores. Uniqueness is checked case-insensitively, so nobody can register Sale once you own sale.
Can I change where the link goes later?
Yes, from a free account. Edit the destination and the redirect changes within about a second; the short link and its QR code stay the same. This is the reason to shorten anything before you print it.
Is there a QR code?
Every link has one. Add .qr to the link for a PNG or .svg for vector, so gc.mw/abcd.svg is the print-ready file. Scans are counted separately from clicks.
More free tools
UTM Builder
Build campaign URLs that Google Analytics understands.
OpenBulk URL Shortener
Shorten up to 100 links at once and export a CSV.
OpenQR Code Generator
PNG or SVG QR codes, generated in your browser.
Open
One platform, two surfaces
A short link and a business card are the same object here.
Point a link at a card and you have a handshake you can print, say out loud or tap across. Both halves report into one dashboard on one plan.
One link, one card
A short link can resolve to your card, so the thing you hand over is 10 characters long.
One dashboard
Links, cards, domains and codes are managed from the same screen under the same login.
One analytics view
Clicks on a link and views on a card read from the same rollups, so a campaign is one number.
One plan, one key
A plan covers both halves and one API key creates either. No second bill and no second vendor.
The other half
Digital business cards
A card that opens in a second, saves to a phone, and never runs out.
Bio page and card
You are here
Short links
Ten characters, an alias you choose, and a click count that updates in seconds.
Branded links on GC.MW
