Free QR Code Generator

A URL code is the most common: it opens a web page. Use it on packaging, posters, business cards or a shop window. A plain text code shows a short message without opening anything, which suits instructions or a serial number.

Email, phone and SMS codes start an action in the right app — a new email with your subject prefilled, a call to your number, or a text message ready to send. These save people from mistyping contact details.

A Wi-Fi code lets guests join your network by scanning instead of typing a long password. Keep in mind that the password is stored inside the code in plain form, so anyone who can see or photograph the code can read it.

QR scanners rely on contrast between the pattern and its background. A dark pattern on a light background is the safest combination. Inverting that — light on dark — fails on some older scanners, so test before you print a run.

The quiet zone is the blank border around the code. Scanners use it to find the code's edges, so keep at least two modules of margin and do not crop into it or place the code flush against other artwork.

Error correction decides how much of the code can be damaged or covered while still scanning. Higher levels tolerate scratches and let you place a logo over the centre, but pack more dots into the same area, which makes the code harder to scan when printed small.

Download the SVG when the code will be printed. It is a vector, so it stays perfectly sharp at any size — from a business card to a shopfront banner — while a PNG will look soft if you enlarge it beyond its pixel size.

For print, a code should generally be at least 2 × 2 cm, and larger if people will scan it from a distance. A rough guide is that the code should be about a tenth of the scanning distance: a code scanned from one metre away wants to be around ten centimetres across.