The landscape of URL shortening and marketing deep linking services has become increasingly polarized. On one end, you have free tools that offer basic shortening but leave you wanting more in terms of functionality. On the other, premium platforms pack in advanced features but at prices that can quickly add up, often gating essential capabilities behind expensive subscription tiers.
Most services tout their "free" plans, but when you dig deeper, the features that actually make a difference—unlimited redirects, conditional routing, and meaningful analytics—are either absent or locked behind paywalls. It's a frustrating catch-22 that forces users to either settle for subpar tools or shell out significant amounts for overkill.
What we actually needed
For our own use, we were looking for something straightforward: free, unlimited URL redirects with basic conditional routing based on OS, device type, or country and essential analytics. We wanted to track visits and get a clear view of how our links performed. Fancy QR code customization? Not necessary—there are plenty of free tools that turn any URL into a work of art. Advanced deep linking or Google Analytics integrations? Those belong on websites, not in a link shortener.
Too many services clutter their interfaces with bells and whistles, charging premium prices for features that distract from the core need. But the real conditional redirect functionality is often missing entirely or buried in prohibitively expensive plans.
Why we built it ourselves
We scoured the internet for a free service that offered unlimited conditional routing without the bloat. After countless searches and trials, we came up empty-handed. So we decided to build it ourselves. It's not rocket science—conditional redirects based on user agent strings and IP geolocation aren't technically challenging, and they don't consume excessive server resources.
Now that we've created it, we're opening it up to anyone who shares our frustration. Use it freely, without limits. For those interested in the nitty-gritty details of how we stack up against established players, check out our comparison article.
On monetization and the future
We're taking a hands-off approach to monetization for now. If eznm.me gains traction and proves valuable to users, we might explore premium features that go far beyond what we offer today. Plans for that evolution are outlined in our expansion article. But for the foreseeable future, the core service will remain completely free.