Free online QR code generator. Make a QR code for a link, text, WiFi, vCard or location, set colors and size, then download PNG or SVG. No sign-up.
Encoding tools by OnlinePCApps since 2013
A QR code printed on a thousand flyers is a promise. The free online QR code generator makes static codes, which skip the ways that promise breaks after the ink dries.
A free dynamic code routes through a provider. When the trial ends, the plan lapses or the scan cap is hit, the redirect dies and every printed copy leads nowhere.
A dynamic code sends every scan through a server that records the time, the place and the device. That record belongs to the provider rather than to the person who made the code.
A WiFi password or a private link typed into a hosted generator is transmitted to a server to build the image. The secret has left the device before the code exists.
Select a data type: URL, Text, Email, Phone, SMS, WiFi, vCard or Location. Fill in the fields for that type. The live preview redraws the code after every change.
On the Design tab, set the size from 128 to 600 pixels, the foreground and background colors and a dot style. On the Advanced tab, select error correction level L, M, Q or H and set the quiet zone.
Select Download PNG or Download SVG. PNG suits a screen or a document. SVG stays sharp at any print size, from a business card to a poster. Copy image puts the PNG on the clipboard.
A generator encodes content into a grid of modules. The online QR code generator does it as a static code that the maker fully owns.
Tabs for URL, Text, Email, Phone, SMS, WiFi, vCard and Location show their own fields. The online QR code generator builds the right format for every one, from a mailto link to a WiFi login.
Levels L, M, Q and H recover from roughly seven, fifteen, twenty-five and thirty percent damage. M is the start value. H switches on by itself when a logo is added.
The Design tab sets the size from 128 to 600 pixels, the foreground and background colors by picker, hex value or preset, and Square, Dots or Rounded modules.
Download PNG gives a ready image for a screen or a document. Download SVG is vector, so the code holds its edges from a business card up to a banner. Copy image puts the PNG on the clipboard.
A QR code, a quick response code, a 2D barcode and a matrix barcode all name one thing. The online QR code generator makes a static symbol, with the content inside the code and not behind a provider link.
Both make a scannable code. They differ in who owns it afterward and what it costs to keep alive.
| Point of comparison | This tool Online QR code generator Content baked into the code | Dynamic services Content behind a hosted redirect |
|---|---|---|
| Keeps working over time | Forever, no plan needed | Dies if the plan lapses |
| Scan activity | Nobody tracks it | Logged by the provider |
| Sign-up or watermark | Neither | Common on free tiers |
| Edit the destination after printing | Reprint to change it | Change it without reprinting |
| Scan counts and analytics | None recorded | Counts and locations |
The last two rows go to the dynamic services, and they are the real reason to pay for one. A code whose destination must change after printing, or whose scans must be counted, needs that hosted layer. For a code that only has to work and keep working, the online QR code generator wins on every other row. Online file tools and whether yours uploads covers where a web tool sends its input.
Building a QR code is arithmetic that lays out modules from the characters given. The browser can do all of it, so a WiFi password or a private link is turned into a code without ever being sent to encode it.
A static code carries no redirect, so there is no server between a phone and the content. Nobody counts a scan, records a location or holds the power to switch the code off later.
A QR code is a defined structure, not a picture. Every part has a job the standard sets out, and the online QR code generator follows it.
| Part of the code | Detail | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Modules | black and white cells | The square dots that make up the grid. A dark module is a one and a light module is a zero, and together they hold the data. |
| Versions | 1 to 40 | The size, from 21 by 21 modules at version 1 up to 177 by 177 at version 40, growing four modules a side every step. More data needs a higher version. |
| Error correction | L, M, Q, H | Four Reed-Solomon levels recovering about seven, fifteen, twenty-five and thirty percent of a damaged code. The tool starts at M and uses H when a logo is added. |
| Encoding modes | numeric to kanji | Numeric, alphanumeric, byte and kanji modes pack their character sets efficiently. Byte mode carries UTF-8 text, and the mode is selected from the content. |
| Finder patterns | three corners | The large square eyes in three corners let a scanner find the code and read it at any angle. |
| Alignment patterns | version 2 and up | Smaller squares that help a reader correct for a code that is curved or viewed at a slant. |
| Timing patterns | alternating line | A row and column of alternating cells that tell the scanner how large one module is. |
| Quiet zone | 4 by default | The clear margin around the code. The Advanced tab sets it from 0 to 10 modules. Without at least four modules of space a scanner can fail to locate the code. |
| Masking | applied automatically | A pattern laid over the data to balance dark and light, which keeps the code easy for a reader to lock onto. |
| Data capacity | up to ~7089 digits | At the largest version and lowest error correction a code holds about 7089 numeric or 4296 alphanumeric characters. A typical URL uses a small fraction of that. |
| Payload | static or dynamic | A static code stores the content itself. A dynamic code stores a redirect address whose target lives on a server. |
| Size | 128 to 600 px | A slider on the Design tab. It starts at 320 pixels. |
| Colors | foreground, background | Set by picker, hex value or preset. Keep a dark code on a light background for the best scans. |
| Dot style | square, dots, rounded | Shows in the preview, PNG and Copy image. The SVG download always uses square modules. |
| Logo | 8 to 18 percent | An uploaded image sits in the center. Error correction switches to H, and Remove logo undoes it. |
The Standards This Follows
A QR code is an international standard, which is why one made by any tool scans in any conformant reader. The documents below define the symbology that the online QR code generator follows.
The choice is not about design. It is about who holds the content once the code is out in the world.
For most needs a static code is the safer choice, because it belongs to the person who made it rather than to a service that can switch it off. The online QR code generator makes static codes.
A code that scans on a screen can still fail on paper. These three checks catch most of it.
A code needs roughly a one inch side to scan from arm's length, and more for a poster viewed across a room. Print a test from the online QR code generator at the real size before the full run.
Keep a clear margin of at least four modules on every side, and keep the code dark on a light background. A busy border or a low contrast pairing stops a scan. The online QR code generator sets the quiet zone on the Advanced tab.
A logo over the center covers modules. Level H error correction recovers about thirty percent, which is what makes a centered logo safe to add. The tool switches to H by itself when a logo is uploaded.
The online QR code generator makes one code at a time. A list of asset tags, seat labels or product links is work for the desktop edition, which takes a spreadsheet and makes a code for every row in one pass.
Point it at a CSV and every row becomes its own code, named from a column so the files are easy to sort.
Every code is written as vector, ready for a print sheet at any size without a loss of sharpness.
A saved job regenerates an entire batch when the source list changes, without touching every code by hand.
Free, no sign-up and no tracking. Open the online QR code generator, enter the content and download a code that is yours to keep forever.