Free QR Code Generator — No Signup, No Expiry







No signup. No expiry. No tracking redirect. The codes are static, generated in your browser, and will keep working forever because they point straight at your data rather than through our servers.

How to use it

  1. Pick what the code should contain — a URL, plain text, WiFi credentials or an email address.
  2. Fill in the fields. For WiFi, the network name is case-sensitive.
  3. Choose a size. Use 1024 px or larger for anything that will be printed.
  4. Click Generate, then Download PNG.

Which error correction level should I pick?

Error correction decides how much of the code can be damaged, smudged or covered by a logo while still scanning. Level H tolerates about 30% damage, which is why it is the right default for print. On a screen, level L is fine and produces a visually simpler code.

Static vs dynamic QR codes

A static code encodes your data directly in the pattern. It cannot be edited afterwards, but it never expires and depends on nobody. A dynamic code encodes a short redirect URL owned by the provider — editable, trackable, and dead the moment that provider shuts the link off or moves it behind a paywall. This tool makes static codes on purpose.

How much data fits in a QR code?

A QR code is not one format but forty, called versions. Version 1 is a 21×21 grid; version 40 is 177×177. The generator picks the smallest version that holds your data at the error-correction level you chose, which is why a long URL produces a visibly busier code than a short one.

These are the absolute maximums at version 40, from the ISO/IEC 18004 specification:

Error correction Damage tolerance Numeric digits Alphanumeric Bytes (URLs, mixed case)
L ~7% 7,089 4,296 2,953
M ~15% 5,596 3,391 2,331
Q ~25% 3,993 2,420 1,663
H ~30% 3,057 1,852 1,273

Two practical consequences. First, alphanumeric mode only covers digits, uppercase A–Z, space and $ % * + - . / : — a URL with lowercase letters falls back to byte mode, which is why the byte column is the realistic one for links. Second, capacity is not the constraint you will hit. A 100-character URL fits comfortably at level H; the real limit is physical, because every extra character adds modules and each module needs enough printed area to be resolved by a camera.

What size should a QR code be printed?

The working rule is scanning distance ÷ 10. A code read at arm’s length (about 30 cm) needs to be roughly 3 cm wide. A poster scanned from 3 m needs 30 cm.

To stay sharp in print you then need enough pixels for that physical size at 300 dpi (300 dots per inch, the standard for commercial printing):

Scanning distance Minimum printed width Pixels needed at 300 dpi Download size to pick
10 cm (product label) 1 cm ~118 px 256 px
30 cm (business card, menu) 3 cm ~354 px 512 px
1 m (table tent, flyer) 10 cm ~1,181 px 1024 px
3 m (poster, window) 30 cm ~3,543 px 2048 px
10 m (billboard, banner) 1 m ~11,811 px 2048 px, vector redraw preferred

Downloading larger than you need costs nothing. Downloading smaller and scaling up in a layout program is what produces the soft, unscannable codes you see on printed menus.

Why a QR code fails to scan

Almost every failure traces to one of six causes, and five of them are design decisions rather than bugs.

Symptom Cause Fix
Nothing detected at any distance Missing quiet zone — the code needs 4 modules of clear margin on all sides Keep the white border; do not crop tight to the pattern
Works on screen, fails in print Printed too small, or upscaled from a low-resolution file Use the size table above
Scans slowly or only sometimes Insufficient contrast between dark and light modules Keep the dark colour genuinely dark; aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4:1 against the background
Never scans despite looking correct Inverted colours — light pattern on a dark background Dark pattern on light background. Most scanners will not read the inverse
Stopped working after a logo was added Logo covers more of the pattern than the error correction can reconstruct Use level H and keep coverage under ~25% of the area, centred
Worked, then died months later It was a dynamic code and the provider’s redirect expired Use static codes — see below

The WiFi QR format, and why it behaves differently on iPhone and Android

A WiFi QR code is a plain-text string in a documented format, not a proprietary payload:

WIFI:T:WPA;S:NetworkName;P:Password;;

T is the security type (WPA covers WPA, WPA2 and WPA3; WEP for legacy; nopass for open networks), S is the SSID and P is the password. Note the two semicolons at the end — one closes the final field, one terminates the record. A single trailing semicolon is the most common reason a hand-written WiFi code fails.

Characters that carry meaning in the format — \ ; , : and " — must be escaped with a backslash when they appear inside an SSID or password. This tool does that for you, which matters because passwords containing a semicolon are otherwise silently truncated.

Behaviour then differs by platform:

  • iOS recognises WiFi codes in the native Camera app and offers to join the network directly.
  • Android supports this too, though on some manufacturer camera apps you need the dedicated scanner in Settings → Network rather than the camera.
  • Hidden networks need H:true; added, and support is inconsistent. Broadcasting the SSID is more reliable.
  • Enterprise networks (WPA2-Enterprise, the kind with a username) cannot be encoded this way at all.

The SSID is case-sensitive and must match exactly, including spaces.

Frequently asked questions

Do these QR codes expire?

No. A static QR code contains your data in the pattern itself, so there is nothing to expire and no account to keep alive.

Is there a scan limit?

No. Nothing routes through us, so there is nothing for us to meter.

Can I use these commercially?

Yes — on packaging, menus, business cards, signage, anything. No attribution needed.

Is my data uploaded anywhere?

No. Generation happens entirely in your browser. Close the tab and it is gone.

What size should a printed QR code be?

A common rule is that the code should be at least one tenth of the scanning distance. For a code scanned at 30 cm, print it at roughly 3 cm across. Download at 1024 px or larger so it stays sharp.

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