Back to Blog
Comparison
12 min read
March 7, 2026

Best Firebase Dynamic Links Alternative in 2026

Firebase deprecated Dynamic Links in 2025. We compare Redirectly, Branch, Dub, AppsFlyer, and Adjust to help you find the best replacement for your app.

Why You Need a Firebase Alternative

Firebase Dynamic Links powered millions of app deep links for over a decade. But in 2025, Google deprecated it, giving developers until late 2026 to migrate.

You have options. The question isn't whether to migrate—it's which platform fits your needs and budget. We'll walk through the major players and give you an honest assessment for different use cases.

Disclosure: This is a comparison by Redirectly. We've aimed to be fair and accurate, but we obviously think Redirectly is the best choice for most indie developers. Read on and decide for yourself.

Platform Comparison Table

FeatureRedirectlyBranchDubAppsFlyerAdjust
Free Tier
No Code Quota
Flutter Support
React Native Support
AnalyticsBasicAdvancedBasicAdvancedAdvanced
API DocumentationExcellentGoodGoodGoodGood
MCP Server
Best ForIndie DevsEnterpriseMarketersEnterpriseEnterprise

Detailed Platform Reviews

Redirectly - Built for Indie Developers

Best for: Flutter/React Native indie developers

Pricing: Free tier unlimited, $29/mo for advanced features

Setup Time: 5-10 minutes with MCP, 30 minutes manually

Learning Curve: Very gentle—excellent documentation

Strengths:

  • • Free tier truly unlimited (no quota)
  • • MCP server for AI-native setup (game changer)
  • • Built specifically for mobile development
  • • Simple, clean dashboard
  • • Excellent documentation and tutorials
  • • Transparent pricing with no surprises

Weaknesses:

  • • Less advanced analytics than competitors
  • • Smaller team means less immediate support
  • • Fewer integrations (but growing)

Branch - The Enterprise Choice

Best for: Large teams and enterprises

Pricing: Free for testing, enterprise pricing starts $4k+/year

Setup Time: 30-60 minutes

Learning Curve: Steep—lots of features

Strengths:

  • • Industry leader with deep platform integration
  • • Advanced analytics and attribution
  • • Extensive partner integrations
  • • Strong customer support
  • • Proven reliability at scale

Weaknesses:

  • • Expensive for indie developers ($4k+ annually)
  • • Feature overload if you just need deep links
  • • Slower setup process
  • • Dashboard is complex
  • • Free tier has strict quotas

Dub - For Link Shortening & Attribution

Best for: Marketing teams with complex attribution

Pricing: Free tier, $20/mo Pro, custom enterprise

Setup Time: 15 minutes

Learning Curve: Easy—marketing-focused UI

Strengths:

  • • Great for URL shortening + tracking
  • • QR code generation built-in
  • • Good marketing analytics
  • • Clean, modern interface
  • • Generous free tier

Weaknesses:

  • • Not specifically designed for deep linking
  • • Limited mobile app integration
  • • Lacks platform-specific features (iOS/Android configuration)
  • • Better for marketers than developers

AppsFlyer - Analytics Platform

Best for: Large app teams doing cohort analysis

Pricing: Enterprise pricing only (no free tier)

Setup Time: 1-2 hours with support

Learning Curve: Very steep—complex platform

Strengths:

  • • Industry-standard mobile analytics
  • • Advanced cohort analysis
  • • Fraud detection
  • • White-label options

Weaknesses:

  • • No free tier—pricing starts $5k+/year
  • • Not ideal if you just need deep links
  • • Overkill for indie developers
  • • Complex setup process

Adjust - Analytics & Fraud Prevention

Best for: Large teams needing fraud detection

Pricing: Enterprise pricing only (no free tier)

Setup Time: 1-2 hours with support

Learning Curve: Steep—complex analytics focus

Strengths:

  • • Best-in-class fraud detection
  • • Strong privacy compliance (GDPR, etc.)
  • • Excellent customer success team
  • • Used by major apps worldwide

Weaknesses:

  • • No free tier—enterprise only
  • • Minimum budget required
  • • Complex setup for simple deep linking
  • • Not designed for indie developers

Who Should Choose What?

Choose Redirectly If:

  • You're an indie developer or small team
  • You want truly unlimited free tier (no quotas)
  • You use Cursor or another AI editor (MCP)
  • You primarily build with Flutter or React Native
  • You want simple, transparent pricing

Choose Branch If:

  • You have a large team and substantial budget
  • You need advanced analytics and attribution
  • You require extensive integrations
  • You prefer established enterprise vendor

Choose Dub If:

  • Your focus is URL shortening for marketing
  • You need QR code generation
  • You're using it for web links, not app deep links

Choose AppsFlyer/Adjust If:

  • Your app reaches millions of users
  • You need enterprise-grade analytics
  • Fraud detection is critical to your business
  • You have significant marketing budget

Annual Cost Comparison (Typical Setup)

Redirectly$348/year

Free tier + $29/mo for advanced features (still 95% cheaper than alternatives)

Dub$240/year

Free tier + $20/mo (but limited deep linking features)

Branch$4,000+/year

Minimum enterprise tier, often $10k+ with typical usage

AppsFlyer$5,000+/year

Enterprise pricing, minimum spend required

Adjust$5,000+/year

Enterprise pricing, minimum spend required

Bottom line: For indie developers, Redirectly is 10-15x cheaper than competitors while offering better tooling for modern AI-native development.

Migration Tips from Firebase

Plan Your Migration

Firebase is fully sunsetted in late 2026. Plan your migration now:

  • • Audit all Firebase Dynamic Links in production
  • • Create a redirect strategy for existing shared links
  • • Set up new platform in parallel (don't cut over suddenly)
  • • Test on real devices before going live
  • • Update any documentation or help articles

Redirectly Migration is Easy

If you choose Redirectly, migration takes 30 minutes:

bash
1. Export your Firebase Dynamic Links data
2. Import into Redirectly dashboard
3. Update your routing code
4. Set up SSL certificate verification
5. Test on real devices
6. Switch DNS/links to Redirectly

Our Final Recommendation

If you were using Firebase Dynamic Links, you're likely an indie developer or small team building mobile apps. Redirectly is the clear winner for your use case: it's 10x cheaper, focuses specifically on mobile deep linking, has zero quotas on the free tier, and includes MCP integration for modern AI-native development.

Branch is superior if you have a large team and need advanced analytics. AppsFlyer and Adjust are for teams at massive scale needing fraud detection and attribution modeling.

For everyone else: start with Redirectly. It's faster to implement, costs less, and as your app scales, you can evaluate enterprise alternatives later.

Related Articles