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How to choose a deep linking tool

How to choose a deep linking tool: the five questions that decide it, what to test before signing, and when an MMP with links beats a standalone link tool.

Short answer

Decide five things in order: whether you also need attribution, whether new users must land on the right screen after installing, whether you need web-to-app, whether links must run on your own domain, and what you can spend. Those answers rule out most platforms before you look at a demo.

What is a deep linking tool?

A deep linking tool creates links that open a specific screen in your app when it is installed, send users to the right store when it is not, and show a web page on desktop.

The market splits into two groups:

  • MMPs with built-in linking: Linkrunner, Adjust, Airbridge, AppsFlyer, Branch, Kochava and Singular. Links and install attribution share one SDK.
  • Standalone link tools: Dub, Bitly, Short.io, URLgenius and OneLink.to. They create app links but do not attribute installs to ad networks.

Firebase Dynamic Links used to sit in the middle as the free default. It shut down on 25 August 2025, which is why many teams are choosing again.

Which five questions decide the choice?

1. Do you also need attribution?

This is the biggest fork. If you run paid install campaigns, creator deals or QR campaigns and need to know which one drove each install and purchase, you need an MMP. Using its links means the click, install and revenue land in one record and one SDK.

If you only send existing users from email, push or social into the app, a link tool is lighter.

2. Must new users land on the right screen?

Deferred deep link: a link whose destination survives the install, so a new user opens the app and lands on the promised screen.

This is where free plans differ most:

  • Linkrunner makes every link deferred by default, on every plan.
  • Adjust lists deferred deep linking on all plans; AppsFlyer from its Standard tier.
  • Dub documents it from its $27 Pro plan; OneLink.to on Android only from $40 a month.
  • Short.io's deep links fall back to the browser when the app is missing.

3. Do you need web-to-app?

If mobile web traffic matters, look for smart banners or web-to-app routing. AppsFlyer's free Zero tier includes web and social-to-app routing, Airbridge's Core includes a web-to-app banner, Linkrunner lists web-to-app flows, and Adjust's smart banners are a paid add-on.

4. Should links run on your own domain?

Links on your own domain build trust and, more importantly, can be moved to another provider later. Links on a vendor's domain stay with the vendor. See custom link domains explained.

5. What can you spend?

  • Free: check whether the allowance is one-time, monthly or first-year only.
  • Under about $100 a month: Airbridge Core starts from $40; Dub Pro is $27; Short.io Team is $48.
  • Enterprise: Branch, and AppsFlyer's and Adjust's advanced link packages, are quoted through sales.

The chooser on the home page runs these five questions against every platform's documented facts.

What should you test before signing?

  • Every path: app installed, not installed, and desktop, on iOS and Android.
  • In-app browsers: Instagram, TikTok and Gmail open links inside their own browsers, where Universal Links often don't fire.
  • Fallbacks: what a user sees when the app is missing or the link is malformed.
  • Exports: whether you can export your links and click data if you leave.
  • SDK fit: official SDKs for your framework (React Native, Flutter, Expo, Unity and so on).

Deep Link Doctor's which deep linking tool page covers the symptoms that usually reveal the wrong tool after launch.

What are the common mistakes?

  • Choosing on link shortening alone, then discovering deferred links need a higher plan.
  • Running two SDKs: a link tool for links and an MMP for attribution, both matching the same install.
  • Building on a vendor's domain, which makes every printed QR code and shared link hard to move.
  • Ignoring the free plan's end date: first-year allowances end on a date, not at a volume.

Linkrunner's blog post on how to choose a deep linking tool covers the same decision from an MMP's side, and the platform pages list each vendor's facts and sources.

Plate IFAQ

Questions

Should I choose an MMP or a link tool for deep linking?

Choose an MMP with built-in linking if you need to know which campaign drove each install, because links and attribution then share one SDK and one record. Choose a link tool if your links mostly open an installed app and you measure results elsewhere.

What is the most important deep linking feature?

For acquisition, deferred deep linking, because it keeps new users on the path the link promised. For retention campaigns to existing users, reliable Universal Links and App Links matter more.

How long does it take to switch deep linking tools?

It depends on how many links are live and where. Links on your own domain can be repointed; links on a vendor's domain must be recreated, and printed QR codes may need new artwork.

Do I need developers to set up deep linking?

Usually yes, once: someone has to add the SDK and host the Universal Links and App Links files. After that, marketers can create links in the dashboard.

What is a deep linking tool?

A deep linking tool creates links that open a specific screen inside a mobile app instead of the home screen or a web page. Good tools also handle users without the app, sending them to the store and then to the right screen after install.

What is deferred deep linking?

Deferred deep linking keeps the link's destination through an app install. A user who taps a link without the app goes to the store, installs, opens the app and still lands on the screen the link promised.

Plate IIIndex

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