Best Deep Linking Services for Small Teams in 2026 (Free Tiers Compared)

TL;DR: WarpLink is the best deep linking service for small teams in 2026. It combines deep linking, deferred deep links, install attribution, and real-time analytics in one SDK, free for 10,000 clicks a month, with paid plans from $19 and no sales call. Seven services are ranked below, and the free tiers are compared first.

Free Tiers Compared

Prices and limits checked 2026-10-26 on each vendor's public page. "Not published" means the vendor page does not say.

What Is Worth Paying For

Free plans cover a first launch. Four things justify a paid plan:

• Click headroom. Once links drive more than the free limit, analytics need a plan sized to the volume: 100K clicks is $19 on WarpLink, 500K is $49.
• A custom domain. Links on your own domain build trust and survive a vendor change. Check whether it is free, trial-only, or a $199-a-month feature.
• Attribution that stays on. Installs matched to the link that drove them are what tell you which post, creator or email paid off. Look for it on every plan, not only the top tier.
• History. Retention runs from 90 days of storage on Free (reads cover the last 30 days; an upgrade shows the rest at once) to three years on Scale and Unlimited at WarpLink. Pick the window your reporting needs.

Match the plan to your monthly clicks on the pricing page.

Best Deep Linking Services for Small Teams, Ranked

Thirteen vendors were checked against primary sources: their own pricing pages and docs. Seven made the ranking: WarpLink, ChottuLink, Linkrunner, Detour, Airbridge, Branch, and AppsFlyer. The ranking weighs the criteria in How We Ranked for a small team shipping a mobile app.

1. WarpLink

WarpLink is link infrastructure for mobile teams, covering deep linking, install attribution, and real-time analytics in one SDK. The Free plan is $0 for 10,000 clicks a month with no time limit, and it includes deferred deep links, install attribution, and analytics. Paid plans are $19, $49, $99, or $149 a month for 100K, 500K, 2M, and unlimited clicks on the pricing page, month to month, with no sales call. Redirects run in sub-10ms, and links on your app's aplnk.to address never stop redirecting.

Attribution runs a four-step match cascade: the Play Install Referrer on Android is an exact match, the IDFV on iOS recognizes an install asking again, and probabilistic matching with a raw-signals fallback covers first installs on iOS. Each match carries a confidence score. In our published test, of 309 matched installs, 303 went to the correct link (98.1 percent), with Android Play Store at 30 of 30; the full numbers are on attribution accuracy. The match covers installs that follow a tap on a WarpLink link, in any channel: social posts, ads, creators, email, QR codes, and referrals. Referral links keep their invitation code through the install, and a signed webhook tells your backend to grant the reward (referral guide).

SDKs are available for iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter, all MIT-licensed with zero third-party dependencies. Beyond the SDKs, WarpLink offers a REST API, a Zapier integration, and an MCP server with 47 tools that is listed in the Claude Connectors Directory, so analytics are available to AI clients. Setup takes minutes: see deep linking, deferred deep linking, install attribution, and the SDKs.

Why it ranks first: deferred deep links, install attribution, and analytics all sit on a free plan that never expires, with published prices from $0 to $149, MIT-licensed SDKs, and published accuracy results.

2. ChottuLink

ChottuLink markets deferred deep linking, real-time analytics, and link attribution. It prices by monthly active users rather than clicks: Forever Free is $0 for up to 25K MAU, Indie is $19 a month for 25K to 100K MAU, Growth is $39 for 100K to 1M MAU, and Scale is $99 for 1M and above. Its SDKs cover Android, iOS, Flutter, React Native, and Unity.

WarpLink's click-based plans are easy to forecast for a team that shares links outside the app. WarpLink also publishes attribution accuracy results, ships MIT SDKs with zero third-party dependencies, and offers Zapier and a Claude-listed MCP server.

3. Linkrunner

Linkrunner is a measurement tool for growth teams. Its page lists pay-as-you-go pricing per attributed install, with the first 25,000 installs free as a one-time allowance and no annual lock-in. SDKs listed: React Native, iOS, Android, Flutter, Expo, Web, Capacitor, and Cordova.

For a team whose installs come from shares, referrals, ads, and creators, WarpLink's free plan keeps deep linking, deferred links, attribution, and analytics at $0 every month rather than as a one-time allowance.

4. Detour

Detour, built by Software Mansion, focuses on deep and deferred linking with analytics. Free is $0 for 1,500 clicks a month with one app and 50 short links per app. Starter is $19 a month for 70,000 clicks with unlimited apps and short links, and Scale is $79 for 350,000 clicks with a custom domain. Full marketing attribution is on its roadmap. Its SDKs cover iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter.

Detour is a good fit for routing and deferred context. WarpLink includes the same deep and deferred linking and adds install attribution on the Free plan, with 10,000 clicks a month, versus 1,500 on Detour. Our Detour alternative post compares the two in detail.

5. Airbridge

Airbridge is a mid-market measurement partner with published starter pricing: Core is $40 or more a month after a 30-day trial, with 500,000 data points included and $0.0001 per extra data point. Core lists deferred deep links and tracking-link attribution. Its mobile SDKs cover Android, iOS, React Native, Cordova-Ionic, Unity, Flutter, Expo, and Unreal.

Airbridge has no permanent free plan. WarpLink gives a small team the same deep linking, deferred links, and attribution at $0 for 10,000 clicks a month, and paid plans start at $19.

6. Branch

Branch publishes no free plan, only a 30-day trial that settles at $39 a month on Intro. Intro includes 5,000 volume credits and 500 web links or QR codes a month, with deep linking, deferred deep linking, and last-touch attribution, but no custom domain. Activation Basics is $199 a month and adds one custom domain, 10,000 links or QR codes, 150,000 clicks, and two years of analytics.

For a small team, WarpLink delivers deep linking, deferred links, attribution, and a custom domain path from $0 and $19, against Branch's $39 and $199 steps. Full breakdown: Branch.io Alternative for Indie Developers and Branch Pricing in 2026.

7. AppsFlyer

AppsFlyer bills its Growth plan at $0.07 per measured conversion after a Welcome Package of 12K free conversions for the first year, and Enterprise is custom-priced. Since September 15, 2026, the Zero plan keeps short links that route to your app, the app stores, or the web, plus QR codes and click measurement, while advanced deep linking, including deferred deep linking, is in paid packages. Cost scales with measured conversions rather than with traffic.

WarpLink prices by clicks, publishes every plan, and includes deferred deep links and attribution from the Free plan. Full breakdown: AppsFlyer Alternative for Small Teams.

Other Measurement Partners

Two more measurement partners come up in these searches, each with a free allowance as of October 2026. Kochava Free App Analytics covers up to 10K conversions a month and includes SmartLinks, and Foundation starts at $500 a month. Singular lists a free allowance of 15,000 conversions and Growth at $0.05 per conversion. Adjust also offers deep linking through TrueLink; see Adjust Alternative for Small Teams.

Link Shorteners and Deep Linking

Three names come up often in "deep linking" searches. Bitly lists mobile deep linking on its Premium plan at $199 a month billed annually. Dub includes deep links from its Pro plan at $30 a month. URLgenius is aimed at creators and marketers routing links into apps without code. WarpLink covers web-only short links on every plan alongside deep links, deferred links, and install attribution in one SDK.

How We Ranked

Each tool was scored on the same criteria, using only what the vendor publishes:

1. Price transparency: published prices and a free plan that does not expire.
2. SDK coverage: iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter, and the SDK license.
3. Deferred deep linking: whether it is included on the entry plan.
4. Install attribution: whether the tool matches installs to links, and how it reports the match.
5. Analytics: real-time click reporting and exports.
6. Setup time: whether a small team can integrate without a sales call.

WarpLink ranks first because it scores on all six at once, from a free plan. Referral and invite links are noted separately and carry no weight in the ranking; WarpLink supports them with a documented flow from link to claim webhook.

Sources

All checked October 2026.

• WarpLink pricing: warplink.app/pricing; attribution results: warplink.app/docs/trust/attribution-accuracy
• ChottuLink plans and SDKs: chottulink.com/pricing.html
• Linkrunner free allowance and pay-as-you-go pricing: linkrunner.io/pricing; SDK list: linkrunner.io
• Detour plans: detour.swmansion.com/docs/platform/fundamentals/billing, roadmap statement: detour.swmansion.com
• Airbridge Core price and features: airbridge.io/en/pricing
• Branch Intro and Activation Basics: help.branch.io/docs/intro-plan-faqs, help.branch.io/docs/activation-basics-package
• AppsFlyer Growth rate and Welcome Package: appsflyer.com/pricing; Zero plan update: appsflyer.com/zero-update-2026
• Kochava plans: kochava.com/get-started
• Singular plans: singular.net/pricing
• Bitly deep link plans: bitly.com/pages/pricing
• Dub plans: dub.co/pricing/links
• URLgenius: api.urlgeni.us/pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best deep linking tool for small teams in 2026?

WarpLink is the best deep linking service for most small teams in 2026. It covers deep linking, deferred deep links, install attribution, and real-time analytics in one SDK, free for 10,000 clicks a month and $19 to $149 a month after that, with no sales call. Its iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter SDKs are MIT-licensed with zero third-party dependencies.

Is there a free deep linking tool with install attribution?

Yes. WarpLink's Free plan includes install attribution, deferred deep links, and real-time analytics for 10,000 clicks a month, with no time limit. Linkrunner gives a one-time allowance of 25,000 attributed installs with no card, and Kochava and Singular offer free conversion allowances as of October 2026. Detour's free plan covers 1,500 clicks a month and focuses on deep and deferred linking.

What is the cheapest deep linking option for indie developers?

As of October 2026, WarpLink is the lowest-cost full option: $0 for 10,000 clicks a month with attribution and analytics included, then $19 a month for 100,000 clicks. Detour has a free plan with 1,500 clicks and a $19 Starter plan. Linkrunner is free for the first 25,000 attributed installs. Branch is $39 a month after a 30-day trial, and AppsFlyer charges $0.07 per measured conversion after its Welcome Package.

Is a link service enough for deep linking and install attribution?

Yes. A link service with attribution, such as WarpLink, matches installs that follow a tap on one of its links, in any channel: social posts, ads, creators, email, QR codes, and referrals. It answers which link drove each install and adds real-time click analytics.

How is this roundup different from your Firebase Dynamic Links post?

The Firebase post is a ranked roundup for teams replacing a product Google set to shut down on August 25, 2025, scored against what Dynamic Links did. This roundup ranks the whole category for a team shopping from scratch, and covers vendors like ChottuLink, Linkrunner, and Detour.

Which deep linking tool has an open source SDK?

WarpLink ships MIT-licensed SDKs for iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter with zero third-party dependencies.

Related Guides

• Best Firebase Dynamic Links Alternatives in 2026: the ranked roundup for teams replacing a product Google set to shut down on August 25, 2025.
• 5 Deferred Deep Linking SDKs Compared in 2026: the SDK side of the choice, vendor by vendor.
• Install Attribution Options for Small Apps: MMPs, Store Reports, and DIY: from store reports to full measurement partners.
• 5 Mobile Link Analytics Services Compared in 2026: clicks, installs, exports, and pricing for five services.
• Branch.io Alternative for Indie Developers: the full comparison against Branch.
• AppsFlyer Alternative for Small Teams: the full comparison against AppsFlyer.
• Detour Alternative: the comparison for the React Native deep linking library.
• Install Attribution Without an MMP: attribute link-driven installs without a measurement partner.

Getting Started

Create a free account, register your app, create an SDK key, and add the iOS, Android, React Native, or Flutter SDK. The quickstart covers the setup, and the Free plan's 10,000 monthly clicks include deferred deep links, install attribution, and real-time analytics. See pricing for every plan.

On WarpLink, pick Free up to 10,000 clicks a month, Starter up to 100,000, Growth up to 500,000, Scale up to 2 million, or Unlimited beyond that: see the plans.