One link for the App Store and Google Play: how to make it for free

How one link can reach two stores

Every browser sends a user agent with each request. It names the device and operating system, roughly. A smart link reads it on the server and answers with a redirect. An iPhone goes to apps.apple.com, an Android phone to play.google.com, and a laptop to your website. The visitor sees one quick hop, then the right page.

Two details make this harder than it sounds. First, Safari on iPad asks for desktop sites by default and sends a Mac user agent, so a simple check sends iPad owners to your website instead of the App Store. This is still true on iPadOS 26. Second, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn open links in their own in-app browsers, which behave a little differently from Safari and Chrome. Both are worth testing, whichever tool you use.

Step 1: Copy your two store URLs

You need the public listing address from each store. Open each one in a private browser window to make sure it loads for someone who isn't signed in to your developer account.

• App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1234567890. The number after id is your app's Apple ID. You'll find it in App Store Connect under App Information, or at the end of your listing's URL.
• Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yourapp.android. The id is your package name.
• Website: the page desktop visitors should see. A page that explains the app and shows both store badges works well.

Keep the store URLs plain: no tracking parameters you don't need and no shortened versions of them. If you want campaign tracking inside the stores, both Apple and Google have their own formats for that. Our guide to tracking which post brought your installs covers them.

Step 2: Make the link

With URX, the free plan includes store routing. The steps:

1. Create a free account. No card is needed.
2. Add a project for your app. Paste the App Store URL under iOS, the Google Play URL under Android, and your website.
3. Pick a slug. For an app called yourapp that would be urx.si/yourapp. Short, lowercase and the same as your app name is easiest to say out loud.
4. Use the preview to check iPhone, Android and desktop, then save.
5. Download the QR code (PNG or SVG) from the link if you need one for print.

The Smart Links page shows what happens on each device. You can change the destinations later without changing the link, which matters once it's printed or in a pinned post.

URX Free includes 25 Smart Links and 1,000 human clicks a month. Bot clicks such as link-preview fetchers don't count. After the monthly allowance, visitors see a short URX page before they continue, until the month resets. Pro removes that page.

Other free ways to do it

URX isn't the only option. Here is what each common route gives you for free, as each provider's own pricing page or documentation described it on 22 October 2026. Check the current page before you decide, because free plans change.

If you'd rather host it yourself, a script on your own website can do the basic split. Check for iPhone or iPad in the user agent and redirect to the App Store, check for Android and redirect to Google Play, and show your normal page to everyone else. Add a client-side touchscreen check for iPads that look like Macs. You'll also want click counts, which means logging or an analytics tool. That's where a ten-line script tends to grow.

Step 3: Test it where people will tap it

A preview in a dashboard is not the same as a tap on a phone. Before you post the link, run these checks and write down what happened:

1. Open the link in Safari on an iPhone. It should land on your App Store listing, with the right app name and developer.
2. Open it in Chrome on an Android phone. It should land on your Google Play listing.
3. Open it on a laptop. It should show your website.
4. If you have an iPad, open it in Safari there too.
5. Post the link somewhere private, such as a DM to yourself on Instagram, and tap it from inside the app.
6. Scan the QR code with both phones' cameras.

Our launch checklist has a fuller worksheet you can copy, with space for the device, browser and result of each check.

When a store link isn't enough

A store link answers one question: where should this person download the app? It doesn't open your app if it's already installed, and it can't take someone to a particular screen. For that you need deep links. People who already have your app could tap a link and land on a specific video instead of the App Store page.

On URX, deep links, Universal Links, deferred deep links and routing rules by country, source or device are part of Pro at $9 a month. Pro also never shows a URX page before your link. The deep-linking page explains the difference between the link types. For most launches, start with the free store link and add deep links when you have screens worth linking to.