Download Manager vs PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links

WordPress Download Manager is a Files/Documents Management Plugin designed to manage, track, and control file downloads from your WordPress Site. You can use passwords and user roles to control access to your files, manage download speeds, and limit the number of downloads per user. It also offers features such as Captcha Lock or IP Block to block bots, unwanted users, or spammers. You may even require users to agree to your terms and conditions before downloading. Need to sell digital products? You may use WordPress Download Manager as a complete e-Commerce Solution for selling digital products. Simply put a price when you need to sell a digital item. You also may use license ( ex: Simple, Extended, Unlimited ) based prices for a product. Users can directly download free items and when an item has a price user will have to go through cart & checkout. WordPress Download Manager has the easiest checkout option to give the user better experience in purchasing an item and which always increase the probability of successful completion of an order. Features Custom post type and taxonomy, adding a download is just like creating a post Drag and Drop File Upload Chunk upload support to override http max upload limit Attach file directly from your server using server file browser Media library file protection Integrated document viewer ( DOC, PDF and POWERPOINT ) Quick add panel with tinymce editor button to create and insert a download easily when you are editing a post or page Google Drive support to store your files in Google drive ( 15 GB of space for free) DropBox support to store your files in DropBox ( 2 GB of space for free ) Box.com support to store your files in Box.com ( 10 GB of space for free ) OneDrive support to store your files in onedrive.live.com ( 15 GB of space for free ) Option to “Open in Browser” or “Download” files ( PDFs or images ) Control who can access to download Category level access control Download speed control Password protection CAPTCHA protection Ad blocker detection IP block option to prevent bot downloads or downloads from unwanted IP addresses Download logs to check who is downloading which file from where and when Terms protection – Agree with Terms & Conditions before download Download counter to see total download count for each file Custom download link icon File type icon support Full Featured User Dashboard ( use short-code [wpdm_user_dashboard] ) Custom front-end login / signup form short-code Custom oEmbed template Responsive DataTable support ( use short-code [wpdm_all_packages jstable=1 items_per_page=20] ) Searching and Sorting Option Custom link label Short-code for download link Short-code for direct link to downloadable file [wpdm_direct_link id=file_id_required link_label=any_text_optional] Widget for new files Widget for top downloads Widget for searching downloads Multi-level Categories Custom TinyMce Button Category embed short-code Advanced server file browser Complete category and file tree using a simple short-code [wpdm_tree] MP4 video upload and play support Video file download protection, allow visitors to play but block download Translation Ready Digital Asset Manager Server file manager Create new file and folder easily Move, copy, edit files Integrated file editor with syntax highlights Asset shortcode to embed a file/asset easily in a page or post Upload, Download and Delete operations Video and audio preview/play Digital Asset Manager ( Pro Features ) File tagging Sharable link generator Bookmarking, Comments and discussions Front-end asset management Custom asset metadata Asset archive and version management Complete Digital Store Solution: Use Premium Package – Complete Digital Store Solution Add-on (free) if you need to sell your digital items. The add-on has all features you will ever need to build a perfect online shop for your digital downloads: Single Click Activation ( Auto-install & Activate ) Sell Digital Products Securely Easy Administration PayPal Integrated User-role Based Discount Management Coupon Management Sales Tax Save Cart and Checkout Later Email Saved Cart Product & Price Variations ( License Based Pricing / Sell Extra Gigs with Product ) Promotional Pricing for Your Digital Products “Pay As You Want” pricing Invoice Generation Easiest Checkout System Guest Checkout and Guest Download Order expiration option ( Like 1 year support & update access, then expire ) Auto-renew order option ( Accept Recurring Payment for Orders ) Easy Order Management Sales Notifications via Email Sales Notification Directly in Your Mobile with Push Message Very Detailed Sales Reports Order Notes & Messaging System Extended Product Licensing System License Level Pricing Easy to implement license API for license system integration Full-featured Digital Products Marketplace with Front-end product submission & payout management ( This Feature Requires WPDM v4+ ) Sell individual files ( like single song from an album ) ( This Feature Requires WPDM v4+ ) and much more… Gutenberg Blocks Gutenberg Blocks for gutenberg editor Gutenberg Blocks and Page Layouts – Attire Blocks Elementor Addons Download Manager Addons for Elementor – Use the plugin if you are using Elementor Website Builder. The plugin provides elementor addons for all wordpress download manager shortcodes you were writing manually. Google Drive Use Google Drive Explorer add-on ( free ) to store your files in google drive and link with download manager, get 15 GB free storage space and save your server bandwidth DropBox Use DropBox Explorer add-on ( free ) to store your files in dropbox and link with download manager, get 2 GB free storage space and save your server bandwidth Box.com Use Box.com Explorer add-on ( free ) to store your files in Box.com and link with download manager, get 10 GB free storage space and save your server bandwidth OneDrive Use OneDrive Explorer add-on ( free ) to store your files in Microsoft OneDrive and link with download manager, get 15 GB free storage space and save your server bandwidth pCloud Use pCloud Connector add-on ( premium ) to store your files in pCloud and link with download manager, get 10 GB free storage space and save your server bandwidth Add-ons Download and Install following free add-on to add additional features as per your need Advanced Tiny-Mce Button for editor button to generate short-codes Extended Short-codes for tree view ( [wpdm_tree] ), slider ( [wpdm_slider] ) & carousel ( [wpdm_carousel] ) WPDM Image Button to replace download link label with a custom designed image WPDM Button Templates for pre-designed colorful button styles Mobile Apps Check download stats and get a push notification when someone downloads, install: WPDM API – install this add-on on your site and configure API key WPDM for Android – Install the app on your android phone WPDM for iOS – Check download and sales stats directly from your iPhone or iPad Free Themes Attire – perfect theme for any site like blog, portfolio, photography, stock image, music, video archive, software download directory, ecommerce, and it is free. More Themes & Add-ons Add-ons – 100+ add-ons Themes – Themes Specially Optimized for Download Manager External Service Disclosures This plugin utilizes external services to enhance its functionality. Please review the following disclosures regarding the use of these services: Google reCAPTCHA This plugin may utilize Google reCAPTCHA to enhance security by protecting against spam and unauthorized access. Google reCAPTCHA is subject to Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, which you can review at https://policies.google.com/privacy and https://policies.google.com/terms, respectively. Microsoft Office Doc Preview Our plugin provides the ability to preview Microsoft Office documents for user convenience. This feature may rely on Microsoft services. Users may be subject to Microsoft’s privacy policies and terms when accessing and previewing Office documents through this plugin. Please consult Microsoft’s Privacy Statement and Terms of Use for further information. Google Doc Preview This plugin may offer Google Doc preview functionality for certain file types. Users may interact with Google’s services during the preview process. Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply when using this feature. You can find these policies at https://policies.google.com/privacy and https://policies.google.com/terms. By using this plugin, you acknowledge and agree to the terms and policies of these external services as outlined above.

PrettyLinks takes any long, ugly URL and turns it into a short, branded link on your own domain. So instead of sharing some endless affiliate string, you share yoursite.com/recommends/widget — clean, memorable, and unmistakably yours. No more renting your links from bit.ly, tinyurl.com, or whichever shortener raised its prices this year. Here’s the part people love most: your links and your click data live on your site, not someone else’s. You own the branding. You keep the analytics. And if a destination URL ever changes, you update it once and every link you’ve ever shared just keeps working. Why people pick PrettyLinks 🌠 If you share links for a living — affiliate marketers, bloggers, podcasters, social media folks — you want three things: links that look professional, the freedom to change where they point, and a real picture of what’s getting clicked. PrettyLinks does all three. Every click is logged with referrer, browser, OS, and host, so you’re never guessing about what’s working. And version 4.0 is a big one. We rebuilt the whole thing from scratch on a fast, modern React admin, then added smarter bot filtering, built-in privacy controls, and CSV link importing — all of it free. PrettyPay™ Links 💵 Want to sell something? PrettyPay™ lets you spin up a one-click Stripe checkout link and share it anywhere — e-books, courses, downloads, subscriptions, you name it. It all runs through your own domain and brand. Share the link, get paid. No store required. Lite Features ✔️ 🔗 Branded Short Links on Your Own Domain Turn any long URL into a clean, branded short link in seconds. 💰 PrettyPay™ Stripe Checkout Links* Create one-click payment links with Stripe. Share anywhere and start selling instantly. 🔃 301, 302 and 307 Redirects Choose between Permanent (301) and Temporary (302/307) redirects per link. ⚙️ Custom or Auto-Generated Slugs Pick your own slug or let PrettyLinks generate one. Reserved Slug Patterns protect critical WordPress paths from accidental collisions. 🔎 Click & Unique-Click Tracking Every click logged with referrer, IP, browser, OS, and host data. 🤖 Modern Bot Filtering Keep AI crawlers and bots out of your stats out of the box — with Cloudflare bot-header support and your own custom user-agent rules. 🔐 Built-In Privacy Controls IP anonymization and a configurable click-retention window help you stay GDPR-friendly. 📊 Customizable Click Reports Filter charts by date range, link, and unique vs. total clicks. ⬆️⬇️ CSV Import & Export Bulk-import links from a spreadsheet and export click history to CSV anytime — link importing is now free. 🖱️ One-Click Sharing & Copy Copy any link to the clipboard from the links list, the editor, or a Gutenberg block. 💡 Modern Admin Experience A fast, clean React-based admin UI with bulk actions, one-click duplicate, and auto-saving options. … and much more. Visit our site to see everything PrettyLinks can do. * Pro users pay no added processing fees. Free users have a small 3% per-transaction fee added on PrettyPay™ links. PrettyLinks Pro 💪 When you’re ready for more, PrettyLinks Pro adds the automation, advanced redirects, and deeper reporting that power users tend to grow into: Keyword & URL Replacements Map keywords to links and PrettyLinks automatically turns them into your branded links across your site’s content. Advanced Redirect Types Cloaked, JavaScript, Meta-Refresh, Tracking Pixel, and branded Splash Page redirects on top of the standard 301/302/307. Geographic, Device & Time Targeting Send visitors to different destinations based on country, device, browser, OS, day, or hour. Link Rotation & A/B Split Testing Distribute traffic across multiple destinations by weight or round-robin, and split-test which one converts. Expiring Links Set an expiry date or click limit and choose where expired traffic goes. Categories & Tags Organize and filter a large link library with full taxonomy-style grouping. Auto-Create Links for Posts & Pages A pretty link is created automatically every time you publish. Link Health Monitoring Scheduled scans flag broken destinations, with email digests so you can fix them fast. QR Codes Auto-generate a downloadable QR code for every link, with an optional inner logo. Pretty Bar Branding Frame third-party destinations in a branded top, bottom, or floating bar with your CTA. Advanced Reports & Conversions Rich click-history breakdowns, KPI cards, charts, and a conversion-tracking pixel for your thank-you pages. Redirect Turbo Mode Answer link requests before the rest of WordPress loads — built for high-traffic affiliate sites. Pro Add-ons 🧩 Pro plans come with a handful of optional add-ons. Install the ones you need, skip the ones you don’t: Link in Bio — Build customizable “link in bio” landing pages for Instagram, TikTok, and other social profiles, hosted on your own domain. Product Displays — Drop styled, responsive product cards into any post or page to showcase affiliate products. Splash Pages — Show a branded interstitial (with optional CTAs) before forwarding visitors, with a per-link conversion funnel report. UTMs — Build and append Google Analytics UTM parameters from a dedicated tab on the link editor. User Links — A front-end dashboard letting logged-in visitors create and manage their own pretty links. Developer Tools — API tokens and webhooks for integrating PrettyLinks with external systems. See Why Upgrade | Pricing Integrations ⚡ MonsterInsights — Surface PrettyLinks click data inside the MonsterInsights dashboard. CookieYes — Automatic cookie consent compliance for click tracking. Easy Affiliate — Use PrettyLinks as the affiliate link layer in your Easy Affiliate program. Gutenberg & Classic Editor — Native block + toolbar buttons for inserting links inline. What’s Next 🤩 Enjoying PrettyLinks? Check out our other plugins: MemberPress — Full-featured membership and course platform for WordPress with Stripe, PayPal, and Authorize.net support. Easy Affiliate — Run your own self-hosted affiliate program and grow your traffic with referral marketing. Members — Roles and capabilities management plugin for fine-grained access control.