Shorten URLs in Google Sheets in Bulk

To shorten URLs in bulk in Google Sheets you have three options: paste links into a shortener one by one (fine for under ten links), write a Google Apps Script that calls a shortener API (free but needs coding and upkeep), or install a Google Sheets add-on that converts a whole column in one click. For regular or large lists, an add-on such as Shortly is the fastest. Disclosure: Synbus Solutions, the publisher of this blog, makes Shortly.

Marketing, community and operations teams often keep hundreds of long URLs in a spreadsheet: campaign links with UTM parameters, product pages, shared documents, or links for WhatsApp and SMS broadcasts. Long links look messy, break in messages and are hard to read in reports.

Google Sheets has no built-in link shortener, so you need either a manual routine, a script, or an add-on. The right choice depends on how many links you have and how often you add new ones.

Open a URL shortener website, paste a link, copy the short version and paste it into the next column of your sheet. Repeat for every row.

This is fine for five or ten links. Beyond that it is slow, easy to get wrong, and nothing updates when new rows are added.

If you are comfortable with code, Google Apps Script can loop through a column and call a shortener's API with UrlFetchApp. It costs nothing beyond your time and the shortener's own API limits.

In practice a reliable version needs much more than a loop. You have to create and protect an API token, work within Apps Script's execution time limit (about six minutes per run on most accounts), batch the rows, retry failed requests, skip links that are already short, and keep the script working when the API changes. Many teams start here and move to an add-on once the sheet grows.

Shortly (formerly TinyURL for Sheets) is a Google Workspace add-on that shortens a whole column from a sidebar, with no code and no separate shortener account. It runs inside your own Google account, so your spreadsheet data stays in your Drive.

The free Starter plan includes 15 short URLs per month and one-click column shortening, so you can test it on a real sheet. Shortly Pro adds unlimited shortening, automatic background shortening for new rows, scheduled runs, and support for sheets with 10,000+ rows.

Here is how the options compare. The details for other add-ons come from their public Google Workspace Marketplace listings and may change, so check them before you buy.

Not on its own. You need a script with triggers or an add-on. Shortly Pro can shorten links automatically as you paste them into a sheet or when new Google Forms responses arrive.

Manual shortening is free, and an Apps Script costs only your time plus any API limits. Shortly's free Starter plan covers 15 short URLs per month; Pro is $5.99 per year and the Lifetime plan is a one-time $39.99.

It depends on the add-on, so read its privacy policy. Shortly runs inside your own Google account and does not store or share your spreadsheet data on outside servers.

Basic scripts can stop when they hit Apps Script's time limit. Shortly is built to process thousands of rows, and its Pro plan supports sheets with 10,000+ rows with a live progress indicator.