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U2m.io – Free URL shortener with bulk API, QR codes, and geo analytics

U2m.io – Free URL shortener with bulk API, QR codes, and geo analytics

by cosmicmeta·Mar 3, 2026·1 point·0 comments
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AI Analysis

●●SolidSolve My ProblemShip It

Free bulk API + analytics that paywalled competitors charge $200/month for.

Strengths
  • •Bulk API (100 URLs per request) and deterministic hashing eliminate common shortener friction.
  • •Hash-based deduplication + Redis caching means sub-millisecond redirects at scale.
  • •Real GeoIP analytics (MaxMind), device/browser detection, UTM preservation—not toy features.
Weaknesses
  • •URL shorteners are solved and crowded (Bit.ly, TinyURL, Short.io). Free tier advantage erodes when services inevitably monetize.
  • •No differentiation story: feature parity with paid tools is race-to-the-bottom, not defensible.
Target Audience

Developers, marketers, and anyone needing URL shortening with analytics without subscription costs.

Similar To

Bit.ly · TinyURL · Short.io

Post Description

I built a free URL shortener with features that competitors typically charge $20-200/month for. What it does: - Bulk API: shorten up to 100 URLs in one POST request - QR code generation: PNG + SVG, customizable sizes (100-2048px) - Click analytics: GeoIP (MaxMind) for country/city, device classification, browser detection, UTM parameter preservation - Custom short codes: 4-20 alphanumeric characters - Hash-based deduplication: same URL = same short code, deterministic - Redis caching layer for sub-millisecond redirect lookups - URL sanitization for malformed Unicode characters

Why I built it: Most URL shorteners either charge for analytics and QR codes, or limit their free tier so aggressively that it's unusable for real work. I wanted something API-first, with real analytics, that I could use in my own projects without hitting paywalls.

Tech stack: Spring Boot 3.4, MySQL, Redis (Jedis), MaxMind GeoIP2, ZXing for QR codes.

Try it: https://u2m.io

Happy to answer technical questions about the architecture or design decisions.

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Ship ItSlickSolve My Problem
devtoolbox
134mo ago