Firebase Dynamic Links alternatives in 2026: a checklist for choosing one
Dynamic Links is gone and every replacement claims to do the same thing. Here are the seven things that actually separate them — and the questions to ask before you move your links.
Firebase Dynamic Links shut down on 25 August 2025. If your app still has page.link URLs in old emails, QR codes or social posts, those links are dead — and if you relied on them for deferred deep linking, new users now land on your home screen instead of the product, referral or invite they tapped.
There are plenty of replacements. Most landing pages read the same, so here is the checklist we'd use to compare them.
1. Does it survive the install?
Opening the app when it's already installed is the easy part — Universal Links (iOS) and App Links (Android) do that on their own. The hard part is deferred deep linking: the user taps a link, installs from the store, opens the app for the first time, and still lands on the right screen with the right data.
Ask: how does it match the install to the click? Android's Play Install Referrer gives an exact match. On iOS there is no referrer, so services match on signals like IP, device and timing within a short window. Ask how long that window is and whether you can change it.
2. Can you import your old links?
If you have hundreds or thousands of Dynamic Links, recreating them by hand isn't realistic. Look for a CSV import that keeps each link's path, parameters and social preview, so shared content still makes sense when opened.
3. Whose domain are the links on?
You'll get a subdomain of the provider (for example yourapp.codeonair.com). For brand trust — and so you never have to migrate links again — check whether you can use your own domain (link.yourbrand.com), what it costs, and whether the provider hosts the apple-app-site-association and assetlinks.json files for you.
4. SDKs for the stack you actually use
Check for maintained SDKs for your platforms: native Android (Kotlin), iOS (Swift), React Native, Expo. A REST API matters too, so your backend can create links (referral links, order links) without the app.
5. Analytics you'll really look at
Clicks are table stakes. What you want is clicks → installs → opens per link and per campaign, plus a CSV export and webhooks so the data can reach your own analytics.
6. Pricing that fits a growing app
Many deep-linking platforms are priced for large enterprises and quote on request. Before you commit, check:
- Is there a public price, and can you pay in rupees if you're in India?
- What happens when you go over the limit — do links break, or do they keep working?
- Is there a trial long enough to test a real release cycle?
7. Will they help you move?
The migration is where things go wrong: a forgotten domain, an old app version still opening page.link. A provider that helps with the move is worth a lot in the first month.
How CodeOnAir answers the checklist
- Deferred deep linking with Play Install Referrer on Android and a configurable attribution window on iOS
- Firebase CSV import that keeps paths, parameters and previews
- A free
yourapp.codeonair.comdomain; your own domain with the Custom domain add-on - SDKs for Android, iOS, React Native and Expo, plus a REST API
- Clicks, installs, opens, campaigns, CSV export and webhooks
- Pricing in ₹ and $, and links that keep redirecting even when you go over your plan
Want help moving? Request access — every new workspace gets 30 days of Pro free, and we'll help you import your links.