Is Bitly Good Enough for QR Code Tracking?
Bitly QR code tracking works for a few codes and basic scan counts, but monthly code caps, short data history and Premium-only city data limit print use.
Nookesh Karri · 6 min read 
Bitly QR code tracking is good enough if you print a handful of codes and only need total scans for a few weeks. It falls short for ongoing print campaigns: the plans cap new codes per month, limit how often you can change a destination, keep scan history for 30 to 120 days on the cheaper tiers, and save city-level data for Premium.
What Bitly QR code tracking includes
The link shortener counts every scan of its QR codes, and paid plans add scan history, location, browser and operating system. Its QR product page lists total scans, scan history, scans by day, by location, by browser and by OS for every code on a paid plan.
Scans are unlimited on every plan, and codes don’t expire on their own. What the plan decides is how much detail you see and for how long.
The plan limits that matter for printed QR codes
For print, the limits that bite are the monthly code cap, the monthly destination-change allowance and how long scan data is kept. Here’s the pricing page as of November 2026, annual billing:
| Plan | Price | New QR codes | Destination changes | Scan data kept |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 (with ads) | 2/mo | None | None listed |
| Core | $10/month, annual only | 5/mo | 5/mo | 30 days |
| Growth | $29/month ($348/year) | 10/mo | 20/mo | 120 days |
| Premium | $199/month ($2,388/year) | 200/mo | 110/mo | 1 year |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | 2 years |
City-level and device-type data appear as a Premium bullet. A UTM builder starts on Core, and a complimentary custom domain plus bulk QR creation start on Growth.
A real example: a year-long sign campaign
Short data history is the limit most people miss, because printed codes stay in use far longer than a month. Picture a real estate agent who puts a code on 8 yard signs in January and wants to know which neighborhoods produced the most scans by December.
On Core, the agent only ever sees the last 30 days. The January spike is gone by March. On Growth, 120 days still doesn’t reach back to spring. Only Premium’s 1 year covers the whole campaign, at $199 a month.
The 8 signs also need 8 codes, which takes two months on Core’s 5-a-month cap. Comparing towns needs city-level data, which is Premium again. How to track QR code scans lists what a tracking setup should record.
Where it works well
The service is a good fit when your QR codes are an add-on to links you already manage there. If your team already shares short links in emails and social posts, a few QR codes can sit in the same dashboard.
Short campaigns work too. A 2-week event flyer fits inside Core’s 30-day window, and UTM tags let Google Analytics attribute visits to parameters like utm_source and utm_campaign, so the reporting lives outside the shortener anyway. Our guide to UTM parameters for QR codes shows how to tag each print piece.
Where it falls short
The tool struggles when you print many codes, edit them often, or need to look back months later. Three cases where it breaks:
- Restaurants that print a code per table hit the monthly cap fast, and swapping seasonal menus eats the redirect allowance.
- Agencies reporting quarterly to clients need history past 120 days, which means Premium.
- Multi-location businesses comparing cities need city-level data, also Premium.
If you’re weighing a short link against a QR code for print in the first place, QR code vs short link covers when each one makes sense.
My take
I’d use the link shortener’s QR codes only if I already paid for it for links and needed a couple of codes for a short promo. For menus, signs or packaging, I wouldn’t use it. I’d pick a QR-first tool where the code count isn’t monthly and location data isn’t locked behind the top tier.
How QRAnalytica compares, and its limitation
QRAnalytica gives you a total code allowance rather than a monthly one, with city and device data from its first paid plan. Starter is $15/month or $150/year for 20 codes and short links, with scan time, city and device. Pro is $39/month for 50 codes, 1 custom domain, GA4 and Meta pixels and bulk CSV. Scans are unlimited on every plan, you can change a code’s destination at any time, and there’s a 7-day free trial with no credit card required.
The limitation: QRAnalytica’s dynamic codes depend on its redirect servers, like any dynamic QR tool. If you also need a full link-management suite for social and email, the shortener has more of that. If your subscription ends, existing QRAnalytica codes keep working on the free plan. Compare plan limits on the pricing page, and read unique vs total scans before you judge any tool’s numbers.
FAQ
Does the free plan track QR code scans?
The free plan lets you make 2 QR codes a month with unlimited scans, but its pricing table shows no data history on Free, and its QR page lists scan details for codes on paid plans.
How long is QR scan data kept on each plan?
As of November 2026, the pricing page lists 30 days on Core, 120 days on Growth, 1 year on Premium and 2 years on Enterprise.
Can I change where the QR code points after printing?
Yes, on paid plans, within a monthly allowance of redirects: 5 a month on Core, 20 on Growth and 110 on Premium. The free plan doesn’t include redirects.
Do these QR codes expire?
Not on their own. They keep working while the account stays active, and paid plans can set an expiry date if you want a code to stop.