Create short, memorable youtu.be links for your YouTube videos. Generate QR codes for easy sharing on print materials and social media.
YouTube provides official short links through the youtu.be domain.
Compare different YouTube URL formats and when to use each.
| Format | Example | Length | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short Link | youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ |
~23 chars | Social media, SMS, print |
| Standard URL | youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ |
~40 chars | General web use |
| Embed URL | youtube.com/embed/dQw4w9WgXcQ |
~38 chars | Website embeds |
| With Timestamp | youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?t=30 |
~28 chars | Linking to specific moments |
More than just shortening - get QR codes and multiple formats.
Copy any YouTube video URL and paste it into the input field above. Works with all YouTube link formats.
Click the button and we instantly create your youtu.be short link plus a QR code for easy sharing.
Use one-click copy to grab your short link or download the QR code for print materials.
Short links and QR codes are perfect for many situations.
A YouTube short link uses the youtu.be domain instead of youtube.com/watch. It's YouTube's official URL shortening service. For example, https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ is the short version of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ. Both links go to the same video.
Yes, youtu.be is YouTube's official short link domain, owned by Google. These links are completely safe, permanent, and will work as long as the video exists on YouTube. They're not third-party shorteners - they're built into YouTube itself.
No, YouTube short links never expire. They will continue to work for as long as the original video is available on YouTube. If the video is deleted or made private, the short link will show an error - but this is the same behavior as the full URL.
Yes! You can add ?t= followed by the number of seconds to link to a specific time. For example, youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?t=30 starts the video at 30 seconds. You can also use hours, minutes, and seconds format like ?t=1m30s.
Simply paste your YouTube video URL into our tool and click "Shorten Link". We automatically generate a QR code that you can download as a PNG image. This QR code links directly to your video and can be scanned by any smartphone camera.
Both are official YouTube domains that go to the same videos. The main difference is length: youtu.be links are about 40% shorter. For example, youtu.be/VIDEO_ID (23 chars) vs youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID (40 chars). Short links are better for social media and print materials.
YouTube short links use the video's unique 11-character ID, which cannot be customized. This ensures every video has a permanent, unique URL. If you need a custom short URL, you would need to use a third-party service like bit.ly and redirect to your YouTube video.
Yes, our YouTube Link Shortener is completely free with no limits. Generate as many short links and QR codes as you need. No account or signup required. Your data is processed in your browser - we don't store your links.
YouTube's youtu.be links don't provide click tracking. However, you can see traffic sources in YouTube Analytics under "Reach" > "Traffic Sources" > "External". For detailed click tracking, consider using a third-party URL shortener that provides analytics.
Yes! YouTube Shorts have the same video ID format, so short links work identically. A Shorts URL like youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID can be shortened to youtu.be/VIDEO_ID. The short link will open the video in the appropriate player based on the content type.
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