WordPress Plugins
GuardPress ForgeCache SiteVault SiteVault Lite SEObolt Royal Links Royal Affiliates FormForge Royal MCP Royal SMTP RoyalComply Royal Access Royal Ledger
Free Tools
SERP Preview Schema Validator Meta Tag Checker SSL Checker HTTP Headers Site Scanner Plugin Scanner Royal Links (Chrome) Royal Access (Chrome)
Pricing Blog Case Studies Switch to Royal Plugin Graveyard Support My Account Cart
🔗 100% Free • No Premium Tier

Every link feature you need. Completely free.

By Jameson · Founder & Lead Developer · Updated May 2026

Geo-targeting, A/B testing, QR codes, auto-linking, product displays — features competitors charge $200/yr for. Royal Links gives you everything. No catch.

security security passed passed Code Scanned
WordPress compatibility PHP compatibility Tested by plugintests.com
Royal Links walkthrough
Royal Links walkthrough thumbnail
Watch the walkthrough 4:36
Get on WordPress.org TRY IT LIVE

“Try it live” launches a real WordPress admin in your browser with 10 sample links pre-loaded — no signup, closes when you leave the tab.

14+ Features
A/B Testing Built-in
QR Codes Built-in
Key Features

What Can You Do with Royal Links?

Everything competitors charge $200/yr for, included free.

🌐

Geo-Targeting

Redirect visitors based on their country. Set rules per link to send US visitors to Amazon.com and UK visitors to Amazon.co.uk automatically.

⚖

A/B Split Testing

Test multiple destinations for any link and track which converts best. Set traffic splits and see real-time performance data.

▩

QR Code Generation

Generate downloadable QR codes for any short link. Perfect for print materials, business cards, and physical marketing.

🔗

Automatic Keyword Linking

Define keywords and Royal Links automatically converts them to links across your content. Set frequency limits and exclusion rules.

🛒

Product Displays

Beautiful product cards with images, prices, and call-to-action buttons. Embed anywhere with shortcodes or Gutenberg blocks.

📈

UTM Builder

Build campaign-tagged URLs without leaving WordPress. Add source, medium, campaign, and content parameters with a visual builder.

Every Feature

21 features. Zero paywalls.

Here's the complete list, grouped by what it does.

Link Management

  • Branded short URLs on your own domain
  • 301, 302, & 307 redirect types per link
  • Categories & tags (taxonomies)
  • Nofollow / Sponsored / UGC attributes
  • Password-protected links
  • Link scheduling (start & end dates)
  • Affiliate disclosure shortcode

Click Tracking & Analytics

  • Browser, device, OS, referrer, country
  • Dashboard widget with period-over-period comparison
  • QR scan tracking (separate from web clicks)
  • UTM parameter builder

Advanced Redirects

  • Geo-targeting by visitor country
  • Device-based redirects (desktop / mobile / tablet)
  • Time-based redirects (auto-swap on schedule)
  • A/B split testing with traffic weights

Content & Display

  • QR code generator (PNG download)
  • Product display boxes (image, price, CTA)
  • Automatic keyword linking with frequency limits
  • Gutenberg block + Classic editor support

Site Health

  • Broken link checker (auto-monitors destinations)
  • Link health dashboard with status at a glance

Migration Wizard

  • Pretty Links — full import (groups + clicks)
  • ThirstyAffiliates — full import (categories + click data)
  • BetterLinks — full import (analytics)
Screenshots

What Does Royal Links Look Like?

A clean, intuitive interface for managing all your links.

Royal Links Dashboard

Link Dashboard

Manage all your links with click stats at a glance.

Royal Links Analytics

Analytics

Detailed click analytics with charts, referrers, browsers, and devices.

Royal Links Geo-Targeting

Geo-Targeting

Country-based redirects with searchable multi-select.

Royal Links A/B Testing

A/B Testing

Split test results with variant performance comparison.

Royal Links QR Codes

QR Codes

Generate and download QR codes for any short link.

Royal Links Settings

Settings

Configure all features from one clean settings page.

Royal Links WordPress Dashboard Widget

WP Dashboard Widget

30-day clicks, top performers, and broken-link alerts on every wp-admin load.

Click Analytics

Every click, explained

Five dimensions per click, period-over-period comparisons, and QR scan tracking pulled out separately. No external analytics service required.

🌐

Country

Geo-located via ip-api.com (only when geo-targeting is configured). Surface-level country code — no IPs stored unless you opt in.

📱

Device type

Desktop, mobile, or tablet. Useful for spotting which channel a campaign actually lands in.

💻

Operating system

Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux. Essential for app-install campaigns and OS-specific landing pages.

🌐

Browser

Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, Brave, in-app browsers. Catch broken redirects on niche browsers fast.

🔗

Referrer

Where the click came from — social platforms, search engines, your own posts, or direct. UTM params are parsed and grouped automatically.

▩

QR scans (separate)

Every QR code scan is logged separately from web clicks, so you can measure print campaigns independently.

Period-over-period built in. The dashboard widget compares this week vs last week, this month vs last month, this quarter vs last quarter — no spreadsheet exports needed. Drill into any single link to see hourly traffic patterns and which referrer is sending the most converters.

Side by Side

Royal Links vs the paid plugins

Same features, different price tag.

Feature Royal Links Pretty Links Pro ThirstyAffiliates Pro BetterLinks Pro
Branded short URLs ✓ Free ✓ ✓ ✓
Click analytics & charts ✓ Free Pro tier Pro tier Pro tier
Geo-targeting ✓ Free Pro tier Pro tier —
A/B split testing ✓ Free Pro tier — Pro tier
QR code generator ✓ Free — — —
Auto-linking keywords ✓ Free Pro tier Pro tier —
Product display boxes ✓ Free Pro tier Pro tier —
UTM campaign builder ✓ Free Pro tier Pro tier Pro tier
Device-based redirects ✓ Free — — Pro tier
Time-based redirects ✓ Free — — —
Broken link checker ✓ Free Pro tier Pro tier —
One-click migration from these plugins ✓ Built in — — —
Yearly cost $0 forever ~$99–$249/yr ~$79–$149/yr ~$79–$149/yr

Pricing accurate as of May 2026. Tier names and exact pricing change — check vendor sites for current details. “Pro tier” means the feature exists but is gated behind a paid upgrade.

📥

Already on Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, or BetterLinks?

Royal Links includes a one-click migration wizard that imports your links, categories, and click history with zero downtime. Old short URLs keep working. Most users finish in under two minutes.

Get on WordPress.org →

Use Cases

Who Is Royal Links For?

Built for anyone who needs to manage, track, and optimize links.

Affiliate Marketers

  • Cloak affiliate links with branded short URLs
  • Track commissions with detailed click analytics
  • Auto-link keywords across all your content
  • A/B test landing pages to maximize conversions

Content Creators

  • Branded short URLs for social sharing
  • QR codes for print materials and business cards
  • Click analytics to see what resonates
  • Product displays for monetization

Marketing Teams

  • UTM campaign tracking built into every link
  • Geo-targeting for regional campaigns
  • Device-based redirects for app installs
  • Product displays for promotions
Embeds

Drop-in shortcodes

Three shortcodes cover product cards, QR codes, and FTC disclosure. Or insert any of them as a Gutenberg block — no code needed.

Product card

Eye-catching product box with image, price, and call-to-action button. Pulls everything from the link — or override per-shortcode.

[royal_link_product id="42"
  title="WP Engine Hosting"
  price="$25/mo"
  button_text="Try free for 60 days"
  style="card"]

Styles: card, inline, banner.

QR code

Generate a downloadable QR code for any link. Scans count separately from web clicks so you can measure print campaigns on their own.

[royal_link_qr id="42" size="240"]

Pair with a [royal_link_product] in flyers and packaging copy.

FTC disclosure

FTC-compliant disclosure block. Drop it into any post that contains affiliate links — or set the master toggle and let Royal Links inject it sitewide.

[royal_links_disclosure
  text="This post contains affiliate links."
  style="box"]

Styles: box, inline, subtle.

Or skip the shortcodes entirely. Every shortcode has a matching Gutenberg block in the editor's block inserter — search “Royal Links” and pick the one you want. Auto-linking keywords runs as a setting; you don't insert anything in the post body, just define the keyword and the destination once and Royal Links handles every match across your content.

Resources

Learn, link, grow

Articles, docs, and a place to get help.

📚

From the blog

📝

Documentation

💬

Get help

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Royal Links really free?
Yes, 100% free. Every feature is included — geo-targeting, A/B testing, QR codes, auto-linking, product displays, migration wizard, and more. There is no Pro tier, no premium upsell, and no feature gating. We make our revenue from other premium plugins in the Royal Plugins suite.
Can I import from Pretty Links or ThirstyAffiliates?
Yes. Royal Links includes a one-click migration wizard that imports all your links, categories, and settings from Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, and BetterLinks. Just go to Royal Links → Migration, select your source plugin, and click Import.
How does geo-targeting work?
Royal Links uses ip-api.com to detect the visitor's country, then redirects them based on rules you set per link. For example, you can send US visitors to Amazon.com and UK visitors to Amazon.co.uk. You can set multiple country rules per link with a searchable multi-select interface.
Is there a limit on links?
No. There are no limits on the number of links, clicks, redirects, QR codes, A/B tests, or any other feature. Everything is unlimited, forever.
Will there be a paid version later?
No. Royal Links is the full version, forever. We retired the Pro tier and made everything free. We make our revenue from other premium plugins like GuardPress, SEObolt, and ForgeCache. Royal Links will always be 100% free with all features included.
How does Royal Links compare to Pretty Links Pro?
Royal Links includes every feature that Pretty Links Pro charges $200/yr for — geo-targeting, A/B testing, QR codes, auto-linking, product displays — completely free. You also get a one-click migration wizard to import all your existing Pretty Links data with zero downtime. Read the full Royal Links vs Pretty Links comparison →
Will Royal Links slow down my site?
No. Redirects are handled with a single indexed database lookup, then a standard HTTP redirect — the visitor's browser never loads any Royal Links code on the destination. The admin scripts only load on Royal Links admin pages, not the rest of WP-Admin or your frontend. The frontend impact for visitors who don't click a Royal Link is effectively zero.
Does it work with caching plugins and Cloudflare?
Yes. Royal Links short URLs are excluded from page caching automatically (caches don't store redirects anyway), so your cache plugin and Cloudflare won't break clicks or skew analytics. If you use full-page caching from Cloudflare APO or LiteSpeed Cache, click counts are still recorded server-side because the redirect path bypasses the cache.
Will my old Pretty Links / ThirstyAffiliates URLs keep working after I migrate?
Yes. The migration wizard preserves the original slugs, so yoursite.com/go/product keeps redirecting to the same destination. No 404s, no broken backlinks, no need to update existing posts or social-media bios. Click history is imported alongside the links so your historical analytics stay intact.
Can I use a custom short-link domain?
Royal Links uses your existing WordPress domain by default (e.g. yoursite.com/go/product). If you want a separate dedicated short domain like yoursi.te/p, you can point it at the same WordPress install and configure the redirect prefix in Royal Links settings — no second WordPress site or paid add-on required.
What happens to my data if I uninstall the plugin?
Deactivating the plugin leaves all your links and click history in place — you can reactivate at any time and resume where you left off. Deleting the plugin removes the database tables and options only if you've enabled the “Remove all data on uninstall” setting (off by default). You can export everything to CSV before uninstalling if you want a backup.
Can I export my links and click data?
Yes. CSV export is built in for both links (with all metadata) and click logs (with browser, device, OS, country, referrer columns). No row caps, no premium-tier gate. Useful for backups, BI tools, or migrating to another plugin if you ever want to.

Start Managing Links Like a Pro. For Free.

Download Royal Links from the WordPress Plugin Directory. No account required, no premium upsells, no limits.

DOWNLOAD FROM WORDPRESS.ORG TRY IT LIVE VIEW DOCUMENTATION

Royal Links

Version 2.0.2
✓ PASSED
Scan Date April 24, 2026
Files Scanned 25
Lines of Code 8,994
Scan Engines Regex, PHPCS
Learn about our security methodology →