Typed payloads, not just text
Wi-Fi codes use the correct WIFI: syntax, contacts use vCard, and email uses mailto: — so the receiving device opens the right app instead of showing a raw string.
QR Code Generator
Create QR codes for URLs, text, Wi-Fi, contacts and more.
- Input
- No upload needed — instant
- Privacy
- Nothing is uploaded
- Cost
- Free · no sign-up · no watermark
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Processed entirely on your device
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Overview
About the QR Code Generator
Generate QR codes free for URLs, plain text, Wi-Fi networks, vCards, email, SMS and phone numbers. Choose size, colours and error correction, then download PNG or SVG.
A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode: a grid of black and white modules that encodes a byte string, plus a set of structural features that let a camera find it, orient it and correct errors in it. Understanding those features explains most of the practical rules.
Anatomy
Finder patterns are the three large squares in the corners. They let the decoder locate the symbol and determine its rotation. Damage any one and scanning fails.
Alignment patterns are the smaller squares scattered through larger versions. They correct for perspective distortion when the code is photographed at an angle.
Timing patterns are the alternating lines between the finders, used to determine the module grid spacing.
Format information stores the error-correction level and the data mask, duplicated in two places for redundancy.
Version information appears on versions 7 and above and encodes the grid size.
Data and error-correction codewords fill the remaining modules in a specific zigzag pattern that skips the structural features.
Versions and capacity
A QR code's version runs from 1 (21×21 modules) to 40 (177×177). The version is chosen automatically from the amount of data and the error-correction level. Approximate capacities at level M:
More data means a denser grid, which means a larger physical print size is needed for reliable scanning. This is the core tension in QR design: every character you add makes the code harder to read at a fixed size.
Error correction
QR codes use Reed–Solomon error correction, the same mathematics that protects CDs and satellite transmissions.
Encoding modes
The standard defines four: numeric (digits only, most efficient), alphanumeric (uppercase, digits and a few symbols), byte (arbitrary data, usually UTF-8) and kanji. A URL in lowercase must use byte mode, which costs about 40% more capacity than alphanumeric would. Uppercasing a URL can therefore produce a noticeably smaller code — worth trying if the destination is case-insensitive.
Design rules that actually matter
- Keep contrast high. Dark modules on a light background. Reversed schemes work on modern phones but fail on older scanners.
- Never colour the background with anything patterned or mid-tone.
- Print at least 25 mm square for a typical URL, larger if the scan distance exceeds about 30 cm. A common rule of thumb is a 1:10 ratio of code size to scanning distance.
- Leave a quiet zone — a clear margin of four modules on every side. Designers crop this away constantly and break the code.
- Test on a real device at the real size and the real distance. A screen preview tells you nothing about how it prints.
- Avoid dynamic codes unless you genuinely need to change the destination, and never for anything where the provider disappearing would strand your printed material.
Step by step
How to use the QR Code Generator
Choose the content type — URL, text, Wi-Fi, contact, email, SMS or phone.
Fill in the fields; the QR code updates as you type.
Set the size, error-correction level, and foreground and background colours.
Scan it with your phone to confirm it decodes to what you expect.
Download as PNG for print and screen, or SVG if you need to scale it.
Why use it
Benefits and common use cases
What this tool is good for, and what it deliberately does not try to do.
Error correction you control
Four levels from L (7% recovery) to H (30%). Higher correction keeps codes scannable when damaged or printed small, at the cost of density.
SVG and PNG output
PNG for anywhere a raster is expected, SVG for print and large-format use where a raster would pixelate.
Contrast checking
Warns when foreground and background colours are too close, which is the most common reason a beautifully designed QR code will not scan.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short, honest answers about quality, limits and privacy.
Do QR codes expire?
A static QR code is just an encoding of text — it has no expiry and no server behind it. It works as long as the content it points to does. Dynamic QR codes, offered by paid services, encode a redirect URL that the provider can change or deactivate, which is where expiry and tracking come from.
What error correction level should I use?
Level M (15%) is the sensible default. Use Q or H if the code will be printed small, placed outdoors, overlaid with a logo, or otherwise likely to be damaged. Higher levels add modules, making the code denser and harder to scan at small physical sizes — so there is a trade-off, not a free upgrade.
Can I put a logo in the middle of a QR code?
Yes, if you use error correction level H and keep the logo under about 20% of the code's area. The H level can recover 30% of the modules, so a centred overlay is survivable. Cover any of the three corner finder patterns, though, and the code becomes unscannable regardless of correction level.
Why will my QR code not scan?
The usual causes, in order: insufficient contrast between foreground and background, printing too small (below about 20 mm for a URL), a coloured or patterned background, glare on laminated or glossy stock, damage to a finder pattern, or an inverted colour scheme that some older scanners cannot handle.
Is it safe to scan unknown QR codes?
Treat them like unknown links. A QR code can encode any URL, including a phishing page, and the content is invisible until scanned. Check the destination before entering credentials. This tool generates codes locally and does not route them through any redirect service, so what you encode is exactly what the code contains.