QR code generator
Paste a URL, get a high-error-correction QR code, download it as a PNG. Renders entirely in your browser — your URL never leaves the page.
Paste a URL to render
Renders client-side. Nothing about your URL is logged on our end.
Want more than a black-and-white square?
Branded colors, logo embed, dynamic targets (re-route the QR after print), and per-scan analytics live in the QR Studio inside the dashboard. Free up to 50 active QRs — no credit card.
How to make a QR code that scans on the first try
- 01
Decide what the code points at
If the destination might ever change - a menu, an event page, a campaign landing page - point the code at a short link instead of the final URL. The pattern printed on paper can never be edited; where it forwards to can.
- 02
Size it for the scanning distance
A workable rule is one tenth of the distance: a code read from 30 cm needs about 3 cm across, from 3 m about 30 cm. Print smaller than that and phone cameras start guessing at the modules.
- 03
Leave the quiet zone alone
The empty margin around the pattern is part of the code, not padding. Four modules' worth is the specification; crop it to fit a layout and scanners lose the boundary they use to lock on.
- 04
Test it the way people will use it
Scan the printed version, not the screen mockup, on an older phone in ordinary indoor light and at an angle. Most failures show up in exactly those conditions and nowhere else.
Why QR codes fail in the field
Too much data in the pattern
Every extra character adds modules, and a long URL with campaign parameters produces a dense grid that needs to be printed larger to stay readable. Encoding a short link instead is the single most effective way to keep a code sparse.
A logo where the data is
Error correction lets a code survive some damage, but a logo that covers much more than the reserved area eats real data. If you place one, raise the error-correction level and re-test rather than assuming it still reads.
Inverted or low-contrast colours
Dark modules on a light background is what scanners expect. Light-on-dark works on some phones and fails on others, and mid-tone brand colours on a coloured background often fail everywhere.
A static code with no way back
A code that encodes the destination directly cannot be repointed, so a broken URL means reprinting everything that carries it. That is a decision to make before the print run, not after.
Questions people ask about QR codes
Is this generator really free, and does it watermark the code?
It is free, needs no account, and adds nothing to the image. A QR code is a public standard - there is nothing to license.
Do QR codes expire?
The pattern does not. What expires is the destination: a code outlives the page it points at, which is the usual reason an old code stops working. Pointing it at a link you control keeps that fixable.
PNG or SVG?
SVG for anything that goes to print or gets resized, because it stays sharp at any scale. PNG is fine for screens and for tools that will not accept vectors.
Can I see how many people scanned it?
Not from the image itself - a QR code is just an encoded string, with no callback. Scans become countable when the code points at a link that logs them, which is what a short link does.
What size should a printed QR code be?
Start from the scanning distance and divide by ten, then add the quiet zone. For a table tent read at arm's length, 2.5 to 3 cm across is usually enough; for a poster read from across a room, plan on 25 cm or more.