Best Deep Linking Alternatives for Small Teams in 2026

TL;DR: Every result for "best deep linking tools" today is a vendor's own list, and none of them take submissions. This is WarpLink's roundup, and it names competitors, cites primary sources for every claim, and states clearly which kind of team each option serves best. Seven vendors are compared in depth, with prices checked in October 2026: WarpLink, ChottuLink, Linkrunner, Detour, Airbridge, Branch, and AppsFlyer. If you want the short version: WarpLink, Linkrunner, and Detour publish a free plan with no card required, and each is a real option for a small team. Create a free account and compare the real thing against this table.

The Deep Linking Landscape for Small Teams in 2026

Thirteen vendors were checked against primary sources: their own pricing pages, docs, and, where public, GitHub repositories. Six were dropped, for stated reasons. Adjust, Singular, and Kochava are mobile measurement partners built for paid acquisition, covered in a short section below, and Adjust also has its own dedicated comparison. Bitly, Dub, and URLgenius are link management products rather than mobile deep linking SDKs with install attribution, and get a short callout instead. Smler's pricing page returned a redirect loop on the day of research, so it is left out rather than guessed at.

That leaves seven: WarpLink, ChottuLink, Linkrunner, Detour, Airbridge, Branch, and AppsFlyer. The table below was checked in October 2026.

Vendor	Entry price	Free tier	Deferred deep links	Install attribution	SDK platforms	Open source	Sales call required
WarpLink	$19/mo	$0, 10,000 clicks/mo, no time limit	Yes	Yes, referrer > device ID > probabilistic match > raw signals cascade	iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter	Yes, MIT, zero dependencies	No
ChottuLink	See vendor page	See vendor page	Vendor markets deferred deep links	Vendor markets "Link Attribution"	See vendor page	Not stated by vendor	No
Linkrunner	$0.010 per install (pricing page calculator) above free	$0, first 25,000 attributed installs, one-time, no card	Yes, per the vendor's comparison table	Yes, core attribution	iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, Expo (vendor-published)	Not stated by vendor	No on Free/Growth; custom quote for Enterprise
Detour	$19/mo (70,000 clicks)	$0, 1,500 clicks/mo, one app, 50 short links	Yes, its core purpose	No, full attribution is on its roadmap	iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter (vendor-published)	Not checked	No
Airbridge	$40+/mo (Core)	None, 30-day trial only	Yes, Core includes deferred deep links	Yes, tracking-link attribution	Android, iOS, React Native, Cordova-Ionic, Unity, Flutter, Expo, Unreal (vendor-published)	Not stated by vendor	No for Core; custom quote for Growth
Branch	$39/mo Intro (after trial)	None, 30-day trial only	Yes, included in Intro	Yes, last-touch on Intro	Not checked	Not checked	No for Intro and Basics; demo request for Essentials and Enterprise
AppsFlyer	$0.07 per measured conversion on Growth, after the Welcome Package	Zero, plus a Welcome Package of 12,000 conversions or one year, whichever comes first	Not on Zero; custom-priced OneLink plans	Yes, its core product	Not checked	Not checked	No for Zero and Growth; custom quote for Enterprise and OneLink

WarpLink

WarpLink is link infrastructure covering deep linking, install attribution, and real-time analytics in one SDK. The free tier is $0 for 10,000 clicks a month with no time limit, and paid plans are $19, $49, $99, or $149 a month for 100K, 500K, 2M, and unlimited clicks, all on the pricing page, month to month, no sales call.

Attribution runs a match cascade: the Play Install Referrer on Android is deterministic, the IDFV on iOS recognizes an install asking again, and a probabilistic match with a raw-signals fallback can match first installs on iOS. The full match cascade is documented, including how confidence scores work. SDKs are iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter, MIT-licensed, and zero third-party dependencies, so the code is fully readable.

WarpLink is built for teams whose installs come from their own links: shares, emails, QR codes, creators, and organic search. It answers "which link drove this install" directly. Analytics lives in the dashboard and is also available to AI clients through the WarpLink MCP server.

ChottuLink

ChottuLink markets deferred deep linking, real-time analytics, and install attribution under the name "Link Attribution." It prices by monthly active users rather than clicks, a different cost curve from WarpLink worth modeling against your own traffic. Read its pricing page directly before you compare headline numbers.

Linkrunner

Linkrunner offers a free tier covering 25,000 attributed installs with no card required and no expiry, with core attribution on the free plan. The 25,000 installs are a one-time allowance, not a monthly one. Above it, Growth is postpaid and priced per install rather than per click: the pricing page calculator shows $0.010 per install for the first 50,000 monthly installs, falling to $0.007 above 500,000, while Linkrunner's startup page quotes $0.012, so confirm the opening rate with the vendor. Its pages list iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, and Expo SDKs. Enterprise is a custom quote; Free and Growth need no sales call.

Detour

Detour, built by Software Mansion, is honest about attribution: full marketing attribution is a roadmap item, not a shipped feature. What it does ship is deep and deferred linking with analytics, a free tier at $0 for 1,500 clicks a month with one app and 50 short links, Starter at $19 a month with 70,000 clicks, and Scale at $79 with 350,000 clicks and a custom domain. Past the free click limit, standard redirects continue but deep-link matching stops. Its SDKs cover iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter. Detour's own billing docs and landing page disagree on overage rates, so we do not quote one. If you need routing and deferred context without attribution, Detour is a legitimate, honestly-scoped free option. If attribution is a requirement, it is not there yet.

Airbridge

Airbridge is a mid-market MMP with a rare feature for this category: published starter pricing. There is no permanent free tier, only a 30-day trial, after which the Core plan runs $40 or more a month and includes 500,000 "data points" and two third-party integrations, billed at $0.0001 per extra data point. Its Core table lists deep linking, branded short links, QR and web-to-app routing, and tracking-link attribution, with paid-ad integrations limited to Google, Meta, Apple Ads, and TikTok. Its Core plan also lists deferred deep links. Its pricing page lists mobile SDKs for Android, iOS, React Native, Cordova-Ionic, Unity, Flutter, Expo, and Unreal. Open-source status is not stated. The Core plan needs no sales call; Growth is custom-quoted.

Branch and AppsFlyer, Briefly

Branch and AppsFlyer are both mobile measurement partners, and both are covered in full-depth comparison posts already, so this section stays short rather than repeating that work.

Branch publishes no free plan, only a 30-day trial that settles at $39 a month if you never choose a plan. Intro includes deep linking, deferred deep linking, and last-touch attribution, with no custom domain and no Short Link API. Activation Basics at $199 a month adds one custom domain and a web-only Short Link API, and the Performance and Engagement packages are $499 a month each. Essentials and Enterprise are demo requests. Full breakdown: Branch.io Alternative for Indie Developers and Branch Pricing in 2026.

AppsFlyer bills its Growth plan at $0.07 per measured conversion after a Welcome Package of 12,000 free conversions or one year, whichever comes first, and Enterprise is custom-priced. The updated free Zero plan does not include deferred deep linking; that sits on custom-priced standalone OneLink plans. Cost scales with success rather than with traffic, which is the opposite of a click-based or MAU-based model. Full breakdown: AppsFlyer Alternative for Small Teams.

Other Measurement Partners

Three more mobile measurement partners come up in these searches, each with a free allowance as of October 2026. Adjust Base is free for up to 12 months, with up to 1,500 monthly attributions or 18,000 annual conversions; Core and Enterprise are quote-based. Kochava Free App Analytics covers up to 10,000 attributed conversions or 500,000 app events a month, and Foundation starts at $500 a month. Kochava's own pages disagree on whether the free plan includes SmartLinks, so check with them if that matters. Singular gives 15,000 attributed conversions in total on signup, a one-time bucket and not a monthly one, then lists Growth at $0.05 per conversion.

Shorteners Are Not Deep Linking

Three names come up often in "deep linking" searches that do not belong on this list.

Bitly is a link shortener first. Mobile deep links start on its Premium plan at $199 a month billed annually ($300 billed monthly), and reporting of app installs from those links is listed only on Enterprise. Dub includes mobile deep links from its Pro plan at $25 a month billed yearly. It has announced deep-link attribution, but we could not confirm that install attribution is available today, so we do not compare it with WarpLink's. URLgenius is marketed as SDK-free, marketed at creators and marketers routing links into apps without touching code, a different category from a developer SDK with attribution. None of the three are wrong for their actual job. None of them is built as a deep linking and attribution SDK for a mobile app.

Who WarpLink Is Built For

WarpLink is built for mobile teams that grow through links they own: shares, referrals, email, QR codes, creators, and organic search. For those teams it covers the whole path in one SDK, from the tap, through the install, to the numbers in the dashboard, on iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter.

How This Roundup Differs From Our Other Comparisons

WarpLink already publishes single-vendor comparisons against Branch, AppsFlyer, and Adjust, and a Firebase Dynamic Links migration roundup. Those posts exist for readers who already know which vendor they are evaluating, or who are migrating off a shut-down product and need a checklist against that migration. This post is for the reader shopping across the whole category from a blank page, and it is the only one of the five that covers the newer indie-focused entrants, ChottuLink, Linkrunner, Detour, and Airbridge, none relevant to a Firebase migration or a head-to-head against one enterprise vendor.

Sources

All checked October 2026.

• WarpLink pricing: warplink.app/pricing
• ChottuLink pricing page, linked without quoted figures: chottulink.com/pricing.html
• Linkrunner free allowance, Growth bands, and the startup page rate conflict: linkrunner.io/pricing, linkrunner.io/mmp-for-startups
• Detour free, Starter, and Scale limits: detour.swmansion.com/docs/platform/fundamentals/billing, roadmap statement: detour.swmansion.com
• Airbridge Core price and features: airbridge.io/en/pricing
• Branch Intro, Basics prices, trial, and limits: help.branch.io/docs/branch-intro-plan, help.branch.io/docs/activation-basics-package, help.branch.io/docs/free-trial
• AppsFlyer Growth rate and Welcome Package: appsflyer.com/pricing, support.appsflyer.com account plans and billing; Zero without deferred deep linking: appsflyer.com/zero-update-2026
• Adjust Base, Core, and Enterprise: adjust.com/pricing
• Kochava free and paid plans: kochava.com/get-started
• Singular free tier and Growth rate: Free Tier FAQ, singular.net/pricing
• Bitly deep link plans: bitly.com/pages/pricing
• Dub plans and deep link attribution status: dub.co/pricing, dub.co/changelog/deep-links
• URLgenius: api.urlgeni.us/pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

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

There is no single best option, because teams need different things. WarpLink covers deep linking, install attribution, and real-time analytics for $0 to $149 a month with no sales call, and fits teams whose installs come from their own links. Detour is a strong free choice for routing without an attribution requirement. ChottuLink and Linkrunner are worth evaluating on their own published pricing.

Is there a free deep linking tool with install attribution?

Yes, several. WarpLink's free tier includes 10,000 clicks a month with install attribution and real-time analytics, no time limit. Linkrunner's free tier is 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 tier covers 1,500 clicks a month but has no install attribution today, so it does not qualify if attribution is a requirement.

What is the cheapest deep linking option for indie developers?

As of October 2026, WarpLink has a free tier with 10,000 clicks a month and a $19 Starter plan, and Detour has a free tier with 1,500 clicks and a $19 Starter plan. Linkrunner is free for the first 25,000 attributed installs, then bills per install. Branch settles at $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?

If your installs come from links you created yourself, shares, emails, QR codes, or organic search, a link service with attribution, such as WarpLink, answers "which link drove this install."

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

The Firebase post targets one reader, a team migrating off a shut-down product, and compares four options against that checklist. This roundup targets a reader shopping across the whole category from scratch, and covers vendors like ChottuLink, Linkrunner, and Detour that the Firebase post does not mention because they are not relevant to that migration.

Which deep linking option has an open source SDK?

WarpLink ships MIT-licensed SDKs with zero third-party dependencies.

Related Guides

• Branch.io Alternative for Indie Developers: the full comparison against the MMP that came out of deep linking.
• AppsFlyer Alternative for Small Teams: the full comparison against the largest MMP by revenue.
• Adjust Alternative for Small Teams: the full comparison against Adjust's TrueLink and Conversion Hub.
• Bitly Alternative for Mobile Deep Linking: the comparison for the link shortener whose mobile deep links start on Premium and install reporting appears on Enterprise.
• Kochava Alternative for Small App Teams: the comparison for the MMP with SmartLinks and a free tier.
• Detour Alternative: the comparison for the React Native deep linking library.
• Best Firebase Dynamic Links Alternative in 2026: the migration-focused roundup for teams replacing a shut-down product.
• Install Attribution: the full match cascade behind WarpLink's attribution.
• Install Attribution Without an MMP: what an MMP is genuinely for, and how to attribute link-driven installs without one.
• 5 Deferred Deep Linking SDKs Compared: the SDK side of the choice, vendor by vendor.
• 6 Install Attribution Options for Small Apps: from free store reports to full measurement partners.
• 5 Mobile Link Analytics Services Compared: clicks, installs, exports, and pricing for five services.

Getting Started

If WarpLink's shape fits, the free tier is a five-minute integration: 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 tier's 10,000 monthly clicks, deferred deep links, and attribution are enough to evaluate against everything else here before you decide.