Free QR code generator
Make a QR code for a link, Wi-Fi, email or SMS. Pick your colours, add your logo, and download a sharp PNG at 1000 or 2000 pixels, or an SVG for print.
- No sign-up
- No watermark
- Never expires
- Made on your device
What should the code open?
No website yet? A Beeps Card profile gives you one link for your number, WhatsApp, location and enquiry form, from ₹199 a year.
More free QR codes: WhatsApp chat · UPI payment · Contact card (vCard) · Google review
Your QR code
- Strong contrast between pattern and background
- Error correction M (15%)
- Prints clearly from 12.2 mm wide
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.
How to make a QR code for free
Choose what the code should open, type it in, pick your colours and eye shape, add a logo if you have one, and download the PNG or SVG. The code is drawn on your own device as you type, so there is no account to create and nothing to wait for.
- Type what it opens
A link, a Wi-Fi login, an email address or an SMS. The preview turns into your code as you type, and a link typed without https:// gets it added for you.
- Make it yours
One tap on a colour set, or pick each colour yourself. Choose the pattern and the shape of the three corner eyes, and upload your logo. The check under the preview warns you if a choice will make it hard to scan.
- Download and test
Take the 1000 px PNG for screens, the 2000 px PNG or the SVG for print. Then scan the file on your screen with your own phone once, before it goes to a printer.
Before this page went live we made 312 codes with it - every pattern, eye frame and eye centre, with and without a logo, holding links from 22 to 130 characters, a Wi-Fi login, and a message in Malayalam and Hindi with a rupee sign - and read each one back with ZXing, an open-source barcode decoder. All 312 read correctly. In a second test we shrank, blurred and tilted codes the way a phone camera sees one from across a counter: round eye frames were read 58% of the time, against 99% for square and rounded ones, so this tool does not offer round frames.
What to check in any free QR code generator
Check whether the code is static or runs through the maker's server, whether you need an account or get a watermark, whether you can download a large PNG and a vector file, and where what you type is sent. A code you will print hundreds of times should not depend on anyone else's account.
| What to check | This generator | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Static or dynamic | This generatorStatic. The link is in the pattern, so the code never expires. | Why it mattersA dynamic code runs through the maker's server. Ask what happens to every printed copy if you stop paying. |
| Sign-up | This generatorNone. Open the page and make a code. | Why it mattersAn account ties your codes to someone else's login and password. |
| Watermark | This generatorNone, on any size or file. | Why it mattersA name you did not choose ends up on everything you print. |
| Print-ready files | This generatorPNG at exactly 1000 or 2000 px, and an SVG. | Why it mattersA small PNG blurs when a printer enlarges it. Print shops often ask for a vector file. |
| White border | This generatorFour modules on every side, in every file. | Why it mattersScanners need the quiet zone; a cropped code fails. |
| Logo handling | This generatorError correction raised to H, logo kept under 7% of the code. | Why it mattersA logo hides part of the pattern. Without enough error correction, it will not scan. |
| Your data | This generatorStays on your device. Nothing is uploaded. | Why it mattersYour Wi-Fi password and links should not sit on a stranger's server. |
| Tested styles | This generatorAll 312 style combinations decoded before release. | Why it mattersFancy shapes can break scanning. Round eye frames did in our tests. |
| Business use | This generatorFree for personal and business use. | Why it mattersA code on a shop board, product or advert has to be allowed for commercial use. |
Beeps Card makes this generator, and sells the NFC card and digital profile mentioned on this page. The generator itself is free, with no conditions.
Codes made here never expire
Every code this page makes is static: your link or details are stored in the pattern itself. There is no short link on someone else's server in between, so there is nothing that can expire, be paused or be held back until you pay. The trade-off is that a printed static code cannot be pointed somewhere else.
- Holds your link or details directly
- Works as long as the link inside it works
- Free, with no account behind it
- Cannot be edited once printed
- Cannot count scans on its own
- Holds a short link on the provider's server
- The provider forwards each scan to your page
- Can be re-pointed and can count scans
- Needs that account and that service to stay alive
- If either goes, every printed copy opens a dead link
The editable way to use a free code
Put a link to a page you control in a static code: your own website, or a Beeps Card profile. The code never changes; you edit the page. A Beeps profile link is permanent - it is the same link the NFC card and its printed QR carry - so a code made here with the Beeps option switched on keeps opening your profile after every edit. The profile is a yearly plan: while it is active the code opens it, and if it lapses, renewing within 12 months brings the same printed code back.
What you can put in a QR code
Most codes hold a link, but a QR code can also carry a Wi-Fi login, or an email or SMS that is written and ready to send. Each type makes the phone do something different when it scans. For WhatsApp, UPI payments, contact cards and Google reviews, the specialised tools below build the code in the exact format those apps expect.
| Type | When someone scans it | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Link | When someone scans itOpens the web page | Good forA website, a menu, a Beeps profile, a form, a video, a Google Maps pin |
| Wi-Fi | When someone scans itOffers to join the network, with the password filled in | Good forA shop, clinic, office or homestay guest network |
| When someone scans itOpens a new email to you, subject and message ready | Good forSupport requests, orders, feedback | |
| SMS | When someone scans itOpens a new SMS to you, already written | Good forOpt-ins and "send this word to book" offers |
The Wi-Fi code uses the WIFI: format documented by ZXing, the open-source barcode library, with any semicolon, comma, colon, quote or backslash in the network name or password escaped the way it specifies. A password such as pass;word still works.
QR code ideas for a small business
Anything with a link can go in a QR code: your Google Maps location, a menu, an Instagram page, a booking or feedback form. Copy the link, paste it into the Link tab, and print the code where people wait or pay - the counter, the table, the bill, the delivery bag.
Open your business in Google Maps, use Share to copy its link, and paste it into the Link tab. Print it on flyers and delivery bags so new customers find the door.
A QR code cannot hold a PDF file itself. Put the PDF online, on your website or in a cloud drive shared so anyone with the link can view it, and make a code for that link. A Beeps profile can also hold a PDF catalogue on Basic.
Copy your profile or video link from the app's Share button. A code at the billing counter or on the packaging is the easiest follow a customer will ever give you.
Use the Wi-Fi tab. Guests join without asking for the password. Print it at reception, on the table tent or in the room folder.
Paste the link to a Google Form, a booking page or a survey. On a Beeps profile, appointment booking and an enquiry form come with Basic, from ₹199 a year.
Use the Email or SMS tab to open a message to you that is already written, such as "BOOK" or an order request. The customer only has to press send.
For these, use the tool built for the job
Six rules that keep a styled QR code scanning
A QR code can take your colours, rounded shapes and a logo and still scan every time, as long as the pattern stays darker than the background, the white border stays on, the logo stays small and the code is printed big enough for what it holds. The tool checks the first three for you as you design.
Scanners are built around dark modules on a light ground. When we reversed the colours of a test code, ZXing still read it, but OpenCV's QR decoder, another open-source reader, did not. Scanner apps on phones can differ in the same way, so do not gamble on a light-on-dark code.
Brand colours are fine if they are deep: navy, bottle green, maroon, a strong blue. Pale greys, yellows and pastels are not. The check under the preview turns amber when the colours get too close.
A QR code needs a quiet zone four modules wide on every side. Every file this tool makes includes it. Do not crop it off in Canva or Word, and do not print the code over a photo or a pattern.
A logo hides part of the pattern, and error correction rebuilds it. QR codes have four levels, from L (7%) to H (30%). With a logo, the tool switches to H and sizes the logo to cover under 7% of the code, well inside what H can recover.
DENSO WAVE recommends each module be at least four printer dots, 0.33 mm at 300 dpi. More data means more modules per side, so a long link needs a bigger print. The tool shows the smallest size for your code; the guide to QR code size on a visiting card goes further.
Scan the printed code from the distance people will stand at, with two different phones, before you print a full batch. In our blur tests, dot-shaped eye centres were read less often than square or rounded ones, so pick those if the code will be printed small.
1000 px, 2000 px or SVG: which to download
Use the 1000 px PNG on screens and in documents, the 2000 px PNG for most printing, and the SVG when a print shop or designer asks for a vector file or the code will be printed large. Each PNG is exactly that many pixels square, with every module drawn to whole pixels so the edges stay sharp.
PNG, 1000 x 1000
WhatsApp, Instagram, websites, slides, Word and Canva. Prints sharp up to about 85 mm wide at 300 dpi - a visiting card, a sticker or a table tent.
PNG, 2000 x 2000
Flyers, menus, posters and packaging. Prints sharp up to about 169 mm wide at 300 dpi, and gives room to crop or resize in a design app.
Vector, any size
Standees, banners, shop signs and anything a printer will scale. It is drawn as shapes, not pixels, so it never blurs, and it opens in Illustrator, Figma, Inkscape and CorelDRAW.
A QR code asks people to scan. A card lets them tap.
Beeps Card is the visiting card that takes payments, bookings, reviews and leads - for Indian professionals. The NFC card opens your profile with a tap, and the QR printed on its back covers every phone without NFC.
- Someone has to open the camera, aim and wait
- Opens one thing: a link, a Wi-Fi login or an email
- A static code cannot count its scans
- A new link means a new print
- A tap on their phone opens your profile, no app needed
- Call, WhatsApp, directions and Save to contacts on one page
- Pay via UPI and Google review buttons on the same profile
- Weekly visits by country, device and browser in your analytics
- Edit everything any time; the card and its QR stay the same
₹1,998
The card once, plus your first year of Pro. Then ₹299 a year.
Get the NFC cardNFC vs QR business card, comparedHow to scan a QR code on iPhone and Android
No scanner app is needed. On an iPhone, open the Camera app, point it at the code and tap the link that appears. On Android, Google Lens in Chrome reads codes on any phone with Chrome, and many phones do it straight from the camera. Use both to test your code before it goes to print.
Open the Camera app, hold the phone so the code is on screen, and tap the link that appears. The Code Scanner in Control Centre does the same, and you can add it there if it is missing.
Open Chrome, open a new tab and tap Google Lens in the search bar, then fit the code in the box and tap the link that pops up. Your phone's own camera app may read codes too - try it first.
Scan the file on your screen with one iPhone and one Android phone. Then scan the printed proof from where customers will stand, in the light they will have. If either phone hesitates, make the code bigger or shorten what it holds before you print a batch.
Is it safe to scan a QR code?
Usually, but a QR code can hide any link, so treat one in an unexpected place with care. The US Federal Trade Commission advises checking the link a code shows before you open it. If you print codes for customers, a few habits make yours the one they can trust.
- Look at the link your phone shows first. A misspelt name or a strange ending is the warning sign.
- Be wary of a code stuck over another one. The FTC describes scammers covering real codes on parking meters with their own.
- Do not scan a code that arrives in an unexpected email or message pushing you to act fast. Contact the company the way you normally would.
- Put your logo in the code and your name beside it, so customers know whose it is.
- Point it at a link they recognise: your own website or your Beeps Card profile.
- Check codes in public places now and then for a sticker placed over them.
- A static code has no account behind it, so nobody can quietly re-point it. Codes from this page are static.
QR code generator questions
Is this QR code generator really free?
Yes. Every code, both PNG sizes and the SVG file are free, for personal or business use, with no account, no watermark and no trial that runs out. Beeps Card makes its money from NFC cards and digital profiles, not from this tool.
Do the QR codes made here expire?
No. They are static codes: what you type is stored in the pattern itself, with no redirect server in between. A code keeps working for as long as the link or details inside it do, and nothing on our side can switch it off, because we never see it.
Can I change the link after I print the code?
Not in a static code - the link is part of the pattern. The way around it is to put a link to a page you can edit in the code, such as your own website or a Beeps Card profile (from ₹199 a year). Edit the page and every printed copy opens the new version.
Can I see how many people scanned my QR code?
A static code cannot count scans, because nothing sits between the scan and the page it opens. To get numbers, point the code at a page that counts its visitors. A Beeps Card profile on Pro (₹299 a year) shows weekly visits by country, device and browser.
Why is my QR code not scanning?
The usual causes, in order: a light pattern on a dark background, low contrast between the colours, the white border cropped off, a code printed too small for the amount of data in it, or a logo that is too large. Fix the first one that applies and test again on two different phones.
What size should I print a QR code?
As large as the space allows. DENSO WAVE, which created the QR code, recommends each module be at least 0.33 mm on a 300 dpi printer, with a white margin four modules wide around it. A short profile link at that size needs about 12.2 mm square; bigger scans more easily.
Sources: DENSO WAVE, DENSO WAVE
Can I put my logo in the middle?
Yes. Upload it and the tool clears a space in the centre, keeps the logo small, and switches the code to the highest error correction level (H), which can rebuild about 30% of the data. The logo never leaves your device.
Sources: DENSO WAVE
Should I download the PNG or the SVG?
The PNG for screens, WhatsApp, Word, PowerPoint and Canva: 1000 px is plenty for those, and 2000 px prints sharp up to about 16.9 cm at 300 dpi. The SVG for a print shop or a designer - it is a vector file, so it stays sharp at any size.
How do I make a QR code for a PDF?
A QR code cannot hold a PDF file, only a link to one. Put the PDF online, on your website or in a cloud drive shared so anyone with the link can view it, then paste that link into the Link tab. When the file changes, replace it at the same link and the printed code stays right.
How do I make a QR code for my Google Maps location?
Open your business or the place in Google Maps, use Share to copy its link, and paste the link into the Link tab here. The code opens the map pin, with directions a tap away.
Do I need an app to scan a QR code?
No. On an iPhone, the Camera app and the Code Scanner in Control Centre read QR codes. On Android, Google Lens in Chrome reads them, and many phones do it from the camera app as well.
How much can one QR code hold?
Up to 2,953 characters of 8-bit data, according to DENSO WAVE. In practice, keep it short: every extra character adds modules, the code gets denser, and it has to be printed bigger to scan. For anything long, put it on a web page and make a code for the link.
Sources: DENSO WAVE
Is it safe to scan a QR code?
Usually, but a code can hide any link. The US Federal Trade Commission advises checking the link a code shows before you open it, and not scanning codes that arrive in unexpected emails or messages that push you to act fast.
Sources: US Federal Trade Commission
Who invented the QR code?
DENSO WAVE, the Japanese company that still publishes the guidance on printing one, released the QR code in 1994.
Sources: DENSO WAVE
Is anything I type sent to Beeps Card?
No. The code is drawn by your browser, on your device. Your link, your Wi-Fi password and your logo are never uploaded or stored.
Putting a QR code on a card? Read the QR code business card page, or see all the free tools.
Sources
Facts about other companies and the wider market come from the pages below, as published by them. Each was read on the date shown. Beeps Card prices come from our own pricing page.
- DENSO WAVE, Point for determining the code area. Checked .
- ZXing project, Barcode Contents. Checked .
- DENSO WAVE, Error correction feature. Checked .
- DENSO WAVE, Point for setting the module size. Checked .
- DENSO WAVE, Information capacity and versions of QR Code. Checked .
- Apple, Scan a QR code with your iPhone or iPad. Checked .
- Google, Search with Google Lens in Chrome (Android). Checked .
- US Federal Trade Commission, Scammers hide harmful links in QR codes to steal your information. Checked .
- DENSO WAVE, QR Code Standardization. Checked .
- DENSO WAVE, History of QR Code. Checked .