How to add a custom domain to Dub

Learn how to add a custom domain to your Dub workspace for free - no credit card required.

Whenever you’re creating a short link for marketing purposes, it is important to use a custom domain for better brand recognition and click-through rates.

At Dub, we have one of the most generous custom domain limits in the industry – you can add up to 3 custom domains to your workspace for free, and even more with our paid plans.

• Pro plan: 10 domains
• Business plan: 100 domains
• Advanced plan: 250 domains
• Enterprise plan: Unlimited domains

In this guide, we will learn how to add a custom domain to your Dub workspace.

Not sure which custom domain to use? Check out our guide on choosing a custom domain for some tips.

Complimentary .link custom domain

If you’re on a paid plan on Dub (Pro plan and above), you can claim a complimentary .link custom domain and use it as your short link domain – no DNS setup needed.

Read our guide on how to claim your free .link domain on Dub.

Step 1: Add a custom domain

Once you have a custom domain, you can add it to your Dub workspace by following these steps:

1. Navigate to your workspace’s Domains page – you can do that by clicking on the Domains link in the menu bar at the top of your workspace dashboard.
2. Click on the Add Domain button.
3. Enter the domain you want to use and click Add domain.

Step 2: Configure your domain

After adding your domain, you’ll be presented with a DNS record that you’ll need to add to your domain’s DNS settings.

If your domain is hosted on Vercel or Cloudflare, you can skip manual DNS setup entirely. Click Auto configure with Vercel or Auto configure with Cloudflare on the domain configuration screen, approve the request on your provider’s side, and the correct records (including TXT verification, if needed) will be added for you automatically.

If you don’t have access to your domain’s DNS settings yourself, click Forward instructions to email the exact records needed straight to whoever manages your DNS (e.g. your IT team or domain registrar) - no manual copy/pasting required.

Otherwise, follow the manual steps below based on whether you’re adding an apex domain or a subdomain.

Step 2a: Adding an apex domain

If you’re adding an apex domain (e.g. example.com), you’ll need to add an A record with the following values:

• Name: @ (or leave it blank)
• Value: 76.76.21.21
• TTL: 86400 (or the highest value possible)

Step 2b: Adding a subdomain

If you’re adding a subdomain (e.g. go.example.com), you’ll need to add a CNAME record with the following values:

• Name: go (or whatever subdomain you want to use)
• Value: cname.dub.co
• TTL: 86400 (or the highest value possible)

Note that we do not support using www. as a subdomain, since the www. subdomain will always redirect to the apex domain instead.

We recommend using the following variations for your subdomains:

• go.example.com
• try.example.com
• links.example.com
• l.example.com

If you’re using Cloudflare as your DNS provider, you might need to configure some extra steps for it to work properly. Please refer to our guide on using Cloudflare domains with Dub for more information.

Step 3 (optional): Verify domain ownership

This step is only applicable if you are adding a domain that is currently being used on Vercel.

Since we use Vercel as the DNS provider for Dub, you’ll need to verify that you own the domain before you can add it to your Dub workspace.

If you used Auto configure in Step 2, this TXT record is added automatically and you can skip the rest of this step.

To do that, you’ll need to add a TXT record with the following values:

• Name: _vercel
• Value: vc-domain-verify=go.yourdomain.com... (the value will be provided to you on the Dub dashboard)

Warning: If you are using this domain for another site, setting this TXT record will transfer domain ownership away from that site and break it. Please exercise caution when setting this record.

For example: Make sure that the domain that is shown in the TXT verification value (e.g. go.yourdomain.com) is actually the domain you want to use as a custom domain on Dub – and not your production site.

How long do I have to wait for my domain to work?

Domain configuration can take anywhere between 1 to 24 hours to complete. If your domain still doesn’t work after 24 hours, please reach out to us and we’ll be happy to help you out.