Compare · Deep linking and attribution platform
DeepLinkNow vs Branch
I used Branch on a real startup. It worked, mostly, until the bill and the ad blockers showed up. Branch is a fine product if you're a marketing team that wants attribution and campaign analytics. If you just want a link to open the right screen after install, you're paying for a lot you'll never open.
Side by side
As of October 19, 2026.
| Topic | DeepLinkNow | Branch |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free up to 25,000 monthly active users, deferred deep links included. No card. | None. A 30-day trial needs a work email and a card, then moves to Intro at $39/mo.[1][2] |
| Usage over the plan | Links and SDK calls keep working. I'll ask you to upgrade. | Billed per extra volume credit, link and click, uncapped.[3] |
| Plan with a custom domain | $49/mo (Startup) | $199/mo (Activation Basics)[4] |
| iOS clipboard handoff | Included on every plan, free one too | NativeLink, a premium feature[5] |
| Making links | Any path on your domain is already a link. Nothing to create. | Created in the dashboard or API, or long links with /a/key_live_… on a custom domain. Routing by path needs $deeplink_path and custom logic.[6][7] |
| Advertising IDs | Never read. No ATT prompt. | Collected by default (FULL protection level: advertising IDs and device IDs)[8] |
| Ad-blocker lists | Not on any of them | Branch domains and its web SDK are on AdGuard and EasyPrivacy, and EasyPrivacy blocks about 4,195 Branch customer link domains.[9][10] |
| Typical contract | $0, $49 or $149 a month, published, billed monthly. Enterprise from $500 a month | Median about $55K a year (Vendr, 61 deals)[11] |
- Free plan
- DeepLinkNow: Free up to 25,000 monthly active users, deferred deep links included. No card.
- Branch: None. A 30-day trial needs a work email and a card, then moves to Intro at $39/mo.[1][2]
- Usage over the plan
- DeepLinkNow: Links and SDK calls keep working. I'll ask you to upgrade.
- Branch: Billed per extra volume credit, link and click, uncapped.[3]
- iOS clipboard handoff
- DeepLinkNow: Included on every plan, free one too
- Branch: NativeLink, a premium feature[5]
- Making links
- DeepLinkNow: Any path on your domain is already a link. Nothing to create.
- Branch: Created in the dashboard or API, or long links with /a/key_live_… on a custom domain. Routing by path needs $deeplink_path and custom logic.[6][7]
- Advertising IDs
- DeepLinkNow: Never read. No ATT prompt.
- Branch: Collected by default (FULL protection level: advertising IDs and device IDs)[8]
- Ad-blocker lists
- DeepLinkNow: Not on any of them
- Branch: Branch domains and its web SDK are on AdGuard and EasyPrivacy, and EasyPrivacy blocks about 4,195 Branch customer link domains.[9][10]
- Typical contract
- DeepLinkNow: $0, $49 or $149 a month, published, billed monthly. Enterprise from $500 a month
- Branch: Median about $55K a year (Vendr, 61 deals)[11]
Where DeepLinkNow is ahead
- A free plan up to 25,000 monthly active users, with deferred deep links and no card.
- Your own domain from $49 a month on Startup, set up in the dashboard.
- No DeepLinkNow domain is on AdGuard or EasyPrivacy, so ad blockers don't stop the link page.
- iOS clipboard handoff on every plan: the link page copies the link and the SDK reads it on first launch.
- Any path on your link domain is already a link, with no prefix and nothing to create first.
- No attribution, no advertising IDs, no ATT prompt. A deferred link can be claimed for 1 hour after the click, and stored fingerprints are deleted within 30 days.
- Free AASA, assetlinks.json and ad-block list checkers, no sign-up needed.
Pick Branch if…
- You need attribution, ad network integrations and campaign analytics, and someone else's budget pays for it.
- You want Journeys web banners and a marketing team running links without developers.
If you just need links that open the right screen after install, don't pay for the rest.
The pricing math
Branch's Intro plan is $39 a month with 5,000 volume credits, 500 links or QR codes and 25,000 clicks. Past that it bills $0.01 a click, $0.05 a link and $0.05 a volume credit, with no cap. I bill on monthly active users instead.[1][3]
Say your links get 40,000 clicks a month. On Intro that's $39 plus 15,000 extra clicks at $0.01, so $189 before any volume-credit overage, and still no custom domain. On DeepLinkNow it's free while the app stays under 25,000 monthly users and 1,000 distinct paths, or $49 on Startup with your own domain. A custom domain on Branch means Activation Basics, $199 a month.
Switching from Branch
- 1Add the DLN SDK next to the one you have and ship it.
- 2Point your link domain at DLN. Paths on it work straight away.
- 3Read the link with checkDeferredDeepLink() on first launch.
- 4Remove the Branch SDK in the next release.
Questions
- How does Branch's pricing compare with DeepLinkNow's?
- Branch's Intro plan is $39 a month with 5,000 volume credits, 500 links or QR codes and 25,000 clicks. Past that it bills $0.01 a click, $0.05 a link and $0.05 a volume credit, with no cap. I bill on monthly active users instead. Say your links get 40,000 clicks a month. On Intro that's $39 plus 15,000 extra clicks at $0.01, so $189 before any volume-credit overage, and still no custom domain. On DeepLinkNow it's free while the app stays under 25,000 monthly users and 1,000 distinct paths, or $49 on Startup with your own domain. A custom domain on Branch means Activation Basics, $199 a month.
- When is Branch the better choice?
- You need attribution, ad network integrations and campaign analytics, and someone else's budget pays for it. You want Journeys web banners and a marketing team running links without developers.
- Can I run DeepLinkNow next to Branch?
- Yes. The SDK doesn't depend on any other deep linking SDK, so you can ship both, move your link domain over, and remove the old one later.
Sources
Checked on October 19, 2026 against each vendor's public pricing pages and docs. Prices and plans change. If something here is out of date, email me and I'll fix it. Trademarks belong to their owners. DeepLinkNow isn't affiliated with any of them.
Try it next to Branch
Free plan, no credit card, no sales call. Add the SDK next to what you have and compare for yourself.