Zippy vs Dub
Dub is a developer-first link platform with deferred deep linking and conversion analytics; Zippy is a short-link engine that opens the real native app from a social in-app browser. Both measure app opens and both are open source (AGPL) — the real difference is which app. Dub's deep linking tracks opens of the app the customer owns, via a Dub Mobile SDK or a /track/open endpoint; Zippy measures opens of apps the customer will never own (Instagram, TikTok, Spotify) from its own interstitial on the device, where no SDK is possible.
Zippy vs Dub, row by row.
Every cell links its source. Where Dub genuinely wins a row, the green check is theirs — check us, it is the reason to believe the rest.
| Zippy | Dub | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measures app opens | Yes — of apps you don't own, from its interstitial | Yes — of your own app, via SDK or /track/open | source → |
| Needs an SDK in the destination app | No — the signal comes from Zippy's interstitial | Yes — Dub Mobile SDK (iOS/React Native) or /track/open call | source → |
| Opens into apps you don't control (IG/TikTok/Spotify) | Yes — the core job | No — deep linking is scoped to the app you own | source → |
| Best fit | Creators/affiliates sending traffic into others' apps | App developers attributing installs & opens of their app | source → |
| Entry paid price | Hero $19/mo ($15 annually) | Business $90/mo; Advanced $300/mo | source → |
| Deferred deep linking (survive an install) | Not offered — the ICP opens apps already installed | Yes — Install Referrer / clipboard matching into your app | source → |
| Open source | AGPL — self-host the engine | AGPL — self-host too | source → |
| Android app-open outcome | Unmeasured (no reliable signal) — excluded from rates | Tracked into your own app via Install Referrer API | source → |
Every claim last verified 2026-07-20. Prices and tiers change — the source link on each row is the live authority; re-check it before you buy.
The verdict.
This is the comparison where the honest answer is 'they measure different things, pick by which one you need'. Dub answers 'did my app open, and which install came from where' — real install attribution for a company that ships its own app and can embed an SDK. Zippy answers 'did the app I pointed at open', where that app is Instagram, TikTok, Spotify or YouTube and embedding an SDK inside it is not a thing that can exist. Neither is a better version of the other.
If you build an app and want to attribute installs and opens to campaigns, Dub is the stronger, more developer-complete tool, and its deferred deep linking (which Zippy does not offer) is exactly the piece an app owner needs. If you are a creator or affiliate sending followers into apps you do not own, an SDK-based approach cannot reach your case at all, which is the gap Zippy is built for.
When Dub is the better choice.
We would rather you pick the right tool than the loud one. If any of these is you, Dub is the honest answer:
- You own a mobile app and want install attribution — which ad, post or channel drove each install and first open. That is Dub's core, and Zippy does not do it.
- You need deferred deep linking (a tap that survives an App Store install and lands on the right screen). Dub ships it via the Install Referrer API and clipboard matching; Zippy deliberately does not, because its ICP opens apps that are already installed.
- You want reliable Android app-open measurement into your own app. Dub gets it from the Install Referrer API; Zippy's interstitial cannot observe Android opens at all and reports them as unmeasured.
- You are a developer who wants conversion and revenue analytics wired into your own product with an SDK you control.
Questions people actually type.
- Does Dub measure app opens like Zippy?
- Yes, but a different kind. Dub's deep linking measures opens of the app the customer owns, via a Dub Mobile SDK or a /track/open endpoint (dub.co/docs, verified 2026-07-20), and it cannot track opens into third-party apps the customer does not control. Zippy measures opens of apps you don't own — Instagram, TikTok, Spotify — from its own interstitial on the device, which needs no SDK. So the accurate statement is not that only one of them measures app opens; it is that they measure different apps.
- Is Zippy or Dub the open-source one?
- Both are. Dub is open source under AGPL-3.0 (github.com/dubinc/dub) and Zippy's redirect engine is AGPL as well — either can be self-hosted. Open source is not the deciding factor between them; the deciding factor is whether you are measuring opens of your own app (Dub) or of apps you don't own (Zippy).
- Should a creator use Dub or Zippy?
- If you are a creator or affiliate sending followers into apps you do not own (Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon), Zippy fits, because its measurement comes from the device and needs no SDK in the destination. If you build your own app and want to attribute installs and opens to it, Dub is the stronger tool. Pick by which app you are trying to open, not by which brand is louder.
- Does Zippy do deferred deep linking like Dub?
- No. Deferred deep linking — routing a tap to the right screen after an App Store install — requires an SDK inside the destination app to read the match, which is Dub's approach for apps you own. Zippy's users open apps that are already installed, so it does not offer deferred deep linking. If surviving an install into your own app is the job, Dub is the right tool.
See it on your own link.
Paste any link into the Deep Link Debugger and watch whether it springs the real app or dies in the in-app browser — no account, nothing to install.