Contact QR code generator
Type your details and get a QR code that adds you to a phone's contacts when scanned - in your colours, with your logo. As you type, it shows how big the code has to be printed to scan reliably.
- Saves to contacts in one scan
- Works offline
- vCard 3.0 or 4.0
- Made on your device
Your name and work
How to reach you
Address, note and format optional
Colours and shape
Colours
Shapes
Logo optional
PNG, JPG, WebP or SVG. A square logo on a plain background works best. It stays on your device, and the code switches to its strongest error correction to make room for it.
Your QR code
- Strong contrast between pattern and background
- Error correction M (15%), the usual level
- Prints clearly from about 11 mm wide
Fill in a name and a number to see the file.
How to make a contact QR code
A contact QR code holds your details inside the code as a vCard file, so a scan offers to save you to contacts with no web page in between. Type your name and number, add only the fields people need, check the print size the tool shows, and download the code. Test it on two phones before you print.
- Fill in what people save
A name and a mobile number are enough to make the code. Email, company and job title are worth adding; a long address and a note make the code much bigger.
- Watch the size
The panel shows the file size, the QR version and the smallest width the code prints clearly at. If it says dense, take a field out or use a link instead.
- Download and test
Take the PNG or the SVG for the printer, and the .vcf file if you also want to send the contact on WhatsApp or email. Scan the printed code with an iPhone and an Android phone.
Every field you add makes the code bigger
A QR code is a grid of small squares called modules. DENSO WAVE, which created the code, says each module should be at least four printer dots, and the code needs a white margin four modules wide around it. On a 300 dpi printer, four dots is 0.33 mm. So more modules means a bigger printed code, and the table below shows how fast it grows. We built each row with the same encoder this tool uses, on error correction level M.
| You add | File size | QR version | Modules per side | Smallest width at 300 dpi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and mobile number | File size90 bytes | QR version6 | Modules41 | Smallest width16.2 mm |
| File size124 bytes | QR version8 | Modules49 | Smallest width18.8 mm | |
| + organisation and job title | File size159 bytes | QR version9 | Modules53 | Smallest width20.1 mm |
| + website | File size184 bytes | QR version10 | Modules57 | Smallest width21.4 mm |
| + office address | File size246 bytes | QR version11 | Modules61 | Smallest width22.8 mm |
| + a one-line note | File size312 bytes | QR version13 | Modules69 | Smallest width25.4 mm |
| For comparison: a short profile link | File size36 bytes | QR version3 | Modules29 | Smallest width12.2 mm |
The whole of that table is one person's card. The format itself allows a great deal more: a QR code can hold at most 2,953 characters of 8-bit data. The limit is never the problem for a visiting card. The problem is that the fullest card here needs a code 25.4 mm wide at the smallest, against 12.2 mm for a link, on a card that has a few centimetres to spare. For more on placing the code, read the visiting card QR code guide.
What each box writes into the vCard
vCard is described by its own specification as a format "for representing and exchanging a variety of information about individuals". The file is plain text, one property per line. Text values escape the backslash, comma and semicolon, and the tool does this for you, which is why a comma in a company name does not break the file.
| Box | Property written | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First and last name | PropertyN and FN | WhyFN is the display name and is required in both versions. N splits the name into parts, and vCard 3.0 requires it. |
| Organisation, job title | PropertyORG and TITLE | WhyShown under the name in the contacts app. |
| Mobile number | PropertyTEL;TYPE=CELL | WhyWritten with the country code, so the number still works when the contact is saved abroad. |
PropertyEMAIL | WhySaved as an email address the phone can write to. | |
| Website | PropertyURL | WhyA link stored with the contact. It is a URI, so it is not escaped like text. |
| Address | PropertyADR;TYPE=WORK | WhyStreet, city, state and PIN code in the seven fixed slots the format defines. |
| Note | PropertyNOTE | WhyFree text. It is the easiest field to overfill, and it adds size like any other. |
Version 3.0 follows RFC 2426 and version 4.0 follows RFC 6350. The two differ in small ways, such as how a phone number is written, and the tool handles those for you. If you only want the file and not a code, the PDF visiting card guide has a .vcf maker and explains why a contact file beats a PDF.
When a contact QR code is the right choice
Use a contact QR code when the details will not change and the scan might happen with no signal, such as a conference badge or a one-off event. For a visiting card you will hand out for years, a code that holds a link to a profile is smaller, scans more easily and stays right when your number changes.
- Saves your details with no internet and no web page
- Bigger code, so a bigger print for the same scan
- Frozen at print: a new number means a new code
- Best for badges, events and short runs
- A small, easy code: 29 modules a side for a short profile link, against 69 for a full vCard
- Opens a page you can change any time
- The page can carry a Save to contacts button too
- Best for visiting cards, boards and anything printed in bulk
Make one with the free QR code generator, or read how a QR code business card stays right after you print it.
From details frozen in a code to a profile that stays current
A contact QR code is a good tool for one moment: you scan, they save. It does that job without an internet connection, and it holds nothing that can change later. That is also its weakness.
- Works with no internet, because the details are in the code
- Saves your name and number when scanned
- Every extra field makes the code bigger
- Frozen at print: a new number means a new print run
- No way to see who scanned it
- One tap or scan opens a profile you can edit any time
- The printed QR and the chip carry a link that never changes
- One-tap save puts your name and number in their contacts
- Everyone who saves your contact lands in a list you can export
- WhatsApp, call and email buttons, an enquiry form and booking on the same page
₹1,898
The card once, plus your first year of Basic. Then ₹199 a year.
Get the NFC cardSee the digital visiting cardContact QR code questions
What is a contact QR code?
A QR code that contains a contact file inside it, which is why it is also called a vCard QR code. When someone scans it, their phone reads the file and offers to add the person to contacts, with no web page in between. vCard is the standard format for contact details.
Sources: IETF (RFC Editor)
Should I choose vCard 3.0 or 4.0?
Both are real standards. vCard 4.0 is RFC 6350, and vCard 3.0 is the older RFC 2426. The tool writes 3.0 by default, the same version as the contact-file maker on the PDF visiting card page, and offers 4.0 as a choice. Whichever you pick, scan the printed code on your own phone and one other before you print a batch.
Sources: IETF (RFC Editor), IETF (RFC Editor)
How much can a QR code hold?
At most 2,953 bytes of 8-bit data, and less once you choose a higher error correction level. A vCard for one person is a few hundred bytes, so it fits. The trouble is not the limit but the size: every byte adds modules, and more modules mean a bigger print for the same scan reliability.
Sources: DENSO WAVE, DENSO WAVE
Which error correction level should I pick?
M is a sensible default for a clean printed card. Q recovers more damage, which helps on a sticker or a card that will get scuffed, but it adds modules and so makes the code bigger.
Sources: DENSO WAVE
Will a Malayalam or Hindi name work?
Yes. The tool writes the file in UTF-8, so Malayalam, Hindi and the rupee sign are stored as written. Scan the printed code once to make sure your contacts app shows the name the way you typed it.
What is the catch with putting my details in the code?
The details are frozen when you print. If your number, email or job title changes, every printed code still shows the old one. A code that holds a link to a profile page has no such problem, because the page can change while the code stays the same.
Does a contact QR code need the internet?
No. The contact details are inside the code itself, so the phone can save them with no connection at all. That is the one thing a contact QR code does better than a code that holds a link.
Can I put a photo in a contact QR code?
Not in practice. vCard does define a PHOTO property, but even a small photo is usually bigger than the 2,953 bytes a whole QR code can hold. Keep the photo on a profile page and put a link to it in the code instead.
Sources: IETF (RFC Editor), DENSO WAVE
Can I make contact QR codes for my whole team?
Make one per person here, one at a time. For a team, a profile per person is easier to keep current: Beeps Card Enterprise covers 20 profiles for ₹5,000 a year, and each card's printed QR stays the same when someone's number changes.
Is anything I type sent anywhere?
No. The file and the QR code are built in your browser, and nothing you enter leaves your device.
More free tools: a free QR code generator for links and Wi-Fi, a WhatsApp link and QR maker, a UPI payment QR generator and an email signature generator. The NFC versus QR guide compares the two ways of sharing a card, and the glossary explains words such as vCard, quiet zone and QR version.
Sources
The vCard formats come from their RFCs and the QR limits from DENSO WAVE, the company that created the QR code. Each was read on the date shown.
- IETF (RFC Editor), RFC 6350 - vCard Format Specification. Checked .
- IETF (RFC Editor), RFC 2426 - vCard MIME Directory Profile (vCard 3.0). Checked .
- DENSO WAVE, QR Code Standardization. Checked .
- DENSO WAVE, Point for setting the module size. Checked .
- DENSO WAVE, Point for determining the code area. Checked .
- DENSO WAVE, Error correction feature. Checked .