Free QR Code Generator
Make a QR code for a link, WiFi network, vCard, YouTube video, playlist or any of 15 content types. Pick your colours, drop in a logo, and download it as a print-ready PNG or vector SVG. No sign-up and no expiry.
1. Choose content type
2. Enter content
3. Customise the look
Drop logo here
PNG, JPG or SVG (Max 2MB)
Max 1 files, up to 50MB each
Live preview
Applies to PNG and JPEG. Around 2000px suits most printing. For posters and large signage take the SVG instead, which scales to any size.
Scan it with your own phone before you send it to print. It is the only check that matters and it takes five seconds.
15 things you can turn into a QR code
A QR code is just a container for a short piece of text. What makes each type different is the prefix in front of that text, which tells the phone whether to open a browser, a dialler, a mail app or the WiFi settings. Every type below is generated in the tool above.
Links & files
Contact & messaging
Social & media
Network & payments
How to make a QR code
Four steps, and the fourth is the one people skip and regret.
Pick the content type
Choose what the code should do. A website link, a WiFi login, etc. This determines the structure of the code.
Fill in the details
Type or paste your content. The preview redraws and gets denser as you type.
Style it
Set the pattern and background colours and add a centre logo. Keep strong contrast between the two, because that is what scanners read.
Download, then test
Take the PNG for screens or the SVG for print, then scan the file with your own phone before use.
Static and dynamic QR codes, and which one this is
This generator makes static QR codes. Your content is encoded directly into the pattern, so the code works on its own forever with nothing in between. It cannot expire, it cannot be switched off, and no service can start charging you to keep it alive.
A dynamic QR code encodes a short redirect link owned by the provider. Because that link is a middle step, the destination can be changed after printing and scans can be counted. The catch is that the code only works while the provider keeps that redirect running and your subscription is current, which is why most dynamic codes sit behind a paid plan.
| Static (this tool) | Dynamic | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free forever | Usually a monthly subscription |
| Expiry | Never, nothing to keep alive | Stops working if the plan lapses |
| Edit after printing | No, generate a new code | Yes, change the destination any time |
| Scan tracking | None, use a UTM link instead | Built in analytics |
| Dependency | None | The provider's redirect service |
| Pattern density | Grows with content length | Always short and sparse |
There is a middle path worth knowing. Encode a link to a page you control, such as yoursite.com/menu, and you get the editable destination of a dynamic code without depending on anyone else. Change where that page points and every printed code follows, at no cost. Add UTM parameters to the link and your normal analytics will count the scans.
Design and export options
Your brand colours
Set the pattern and background to any hex value. We check the contrast between them as you go and warn you when a combination is too subtle for a scanner to read reliably.
Logo in the middle
Drop a PNG, JPG or SVG into the centre. Codes are generated at the highest error correction level, which is what lets roughly a fifth of the pattern be covered and still scan.
Vector SVG for print
SVG has no resolution at all, so the same file works on a business card and a billboard with perfectly sharp edges. Most free generators only give you a bitmap.
PNG and JPEG up to 4000px
Pick the pixel size on the slider. PNG suits screens and most print work, JPEG is there for systems that will not take anything else.
Nothing leaves your browser
The code is drawn on your own device. Your WiFi password, contact details and wallet addresses are never sent to us, because there is no upload step to send them through.
No account, no limits
No sign-up, no daily cap, no watermark and no attribution. Use what you generate commercially without asking us.
Printing and scanning, the practical rules
Almost every QR code that fails in the wild fails for one of these reasons.
Size it for the scanning distance
The rough guide used in print is that the code should be about a tenth of the distance it will be scanned from. Read at arm's length on a flyer, roughly 2cm to 3cm across works. Across a room on a poster, think 20cm. On a billboard, far bigger again.
Leave the quiet zone alone
QR codes need a clear margin of about four modules on every side, which is the empty band the standard calls the quiet zone. Crop it away or run text right up to the edge and scanners lose the pattern boundary.
Keep the pattern dark on a light field
Most scanners expect a dark pattern on a light background. Inverting it works on some phones and fails on others, so unless you have tested widely, keep the dark part dark.
Say what the code does
A bare code on a wall gets ignored. A short label such as "Scan for the menu" or "Scan to join our WiFi" measurably lifts scans, because people need a reason before they lift their phone.
Mind the surface
Glossy laminate throws glare that blinds the camera, and curved surfaces such as bottles and mugs distort the grid. Matt finishes and flat panels scan far more reliably.
Shorten the content
The more characters you encode, the denser the grid and the harder it is to read at small sizes or on cheap print. A short link beats a long one with a query string trailing off it.
Where QR codes earn their place
Restaurants and cafes
Table menus that update without a reprint, WiFi codes on the counter, and a review link on the receipt. Point the menu code at a page on your own site so seasonal changes never need new stickers.
Retail and packaging
Care instructions, ingredient lists, reorder links and warranty registration, all without printing more text on a box that has run out of room.
Events and venues
Tickets, schedules, speaker profiles and feedback forms. A vCard code on a badge means a contact is saved in one scan instead of typed in during a conversation.
Marketing and print ads
Posters, flyers, direct mail and vehicle livery. A QR code turns something someone glanced at into a page they are actually on, which no printed URL manages.
Education and training
Link a worksheet to the video that explains it, or a lab bench to a safety sheet. Students reach the right resource without a typed URL going wrong.
Creators and musicians
A music code on a gig poster or merch table drops people straight into the release. An app code on a slide gets the install without anyone searching the store.
What is a QR code generator?
A QR code generator turns a piece of text into the square black and white pattern a phone camera can read. You supply the content, the generator encodes it using the QR standard, and you get back an image you can put on a screen, a poster or a product.
QR stands for Quick Response. The format was created in 1994 by Denso Wave, a Toyota subsidiary, to track car parts faster than a traditional barcode could. A barcode holds data in one direction only, so it runs out of room quickly. A QR code stores data across two dimensions, which is why it can hold thousands of characters in a small square.
The three large squares in the corners are finder patterns. They let a scanner work out where the code is and which way up it is, which is why a QR code reads from any angle and even upside down. The rest of the grid holds your data alongside error correction information, and that redundancy is why a code still scans with a logo over the middle or a scuff across one corner.
What the phone does after reading it depends on how the text begins. Content starting with https:// opens a browser, tel: opens the dialler, mailto: opens a mail draft, and WIFI: triggers the network join prompt. That prefix is the only real difference between the content types listed further up this page, and getting it right is the whole job of a generator.
Because the pattern contains your content directly, a code made here does not depend on this site continuing to exist. Download it once and it will keep working for as long as whatever it points to keeps working.
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Printing without scanning first. The most expensive mistake in this whole category, and the easiest to avoid. Test the exported file, at the size you plan to print it, on more than one phone.
- Sending scans to a page that is not built for phones. Every scan arrives on a mobile screen. A destination that needs pinching and zooming wastes the scan you just earned.
- Styling it past the point of readability. Low contrast colours, a logo covering half the grid, or a gradient behind the pattern all look good on screen and fail on a wall.
- Putting a code where phones cannot use it. Underground trains, lift interiors and remote venues often have no signal. If the destination needs data, a code there is decoration.
- Encoding a very long URL. Long content makes a dense grid that needs to be printed larger to stay readable. Shorten the link, or point at a tidy page on your own domain.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is this QR code generator free?
Yes, completely. There is no account, no credit system, no daily cap and no watermark. Generate as many codes as you like and use them commercially without attribution or a licence fee.
Do the QR codes expire?
No. These are static codes, which means your content is encoded directly into the pattern rather than pointing at a redirect we host. Nothing on our side has to stay running, so a code you download today keeps working indefinitely, for as long as whatever it points to still exists.
How many types of content can I encode?
Fifteen: website links, plain text, PDF links, email, phone, SMS, WhatsApp, WiFi, vCard contacts, crypto wallets, YouTube, music streaming links, app store listings, X profiles and Instagram profiles. Each one is formatted with the prefix that tells a phone what to do with it.
Can I add my logo and change the colours?
Yes. Set the pattern and background to any hex colour and upload a PNG, JPG or SVG logo for the centre. Codes are generated at the highest error correction level, which is what allows part of the pattern to be covered and still read correctly.
Why will my QR code not scan?
The usual causes are too little contrast between the two colours, a logo covering too much of the grid, the quiet zone margin being cropped away, or the printed size being too small for the scanning distance. Reverting to a dark pattern on a light background and printing it larger fixes the large majority of failures.
What size should I print a QR code?
The working rule in print is roughly a tenth of the distance it will be scanned from. Something read at arm's length on a flyer works at about 2cm to 3cm across, a poster read from a few metres wants around 20cm, and billboards need considerably more. When in doubt, print it bigger.
Can I edit a QR code after I have printed it?
Not the code itself, because the destination is baked into the pattern. The practical workaround is to encode a link to a page you control and change what that page does. Every printed code follows the change, and it costs nothing because you are not paying anyone for a redirect.
Can I track how many people scan it?
Not directly, since a static code involves no middle step that could count anything. Add UTM parameters to the URL you encode and your existing analytics will report the traffic. That gives you scan volume without a subscription or a dependency on someone else's redirect.
Should I download PNG, JPEG or SVG?
PNG for screens and most printing. SVG for anything that will be scaled, such as posters, signage or professional print work, because a vector stays perfectly sharp at any size. JPEG is only worth using when a system refuses to accept anything else.
Is my data sent to your servers?
No. The code is generated in your browser using JavaScript on your own device. That matters for the sensitive types in particular, since your WiFi password, personal contact details and wallet addresses never travel anywhere.
Do QR codes work without an internet connection?
Scanning always works offline, because reading the pattern is just decoding text. Whether anything useful happens next depends on the type. Text, WiFi, phone and vCard codes work with no signal at all, while anything pointing at a web address needs a connection to load the page.
Can one QR code open the App Store on iPhone and Google Play on Android?
Not on its own, because a code holds a single destination and cannot detect the device. The standard solution is to encode a link to a page on your own site that checks the device and redirects accordingly, which keeps one printed code working for both platforms.
Related Tools
Explore more tools to enhance your productivity, creativity and marketing efforts.
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Build the icon set for the page your QR code sends people to.
Open Graph Previewer
Check how your destination page looks when someone shares it after scanning.
Image Compressor
Shrink the artwork around your code before it goes into a digital campaign.
Hashtag Generator
Build the platform-tuned hashtag set for the campaign the code belongs to.
Image to PDF Converter
Turn your finished artwork into a PDF ready to send to a printer.