How to read your result
Getting it right before the print run
The expensive mistake with a QR code is not a plain design, it is a reprint. Almost every failure comes down to size, a crowded border, low contrast or a proof nobody scanned. The scan check covers the last of these on screen; the rest need a moment's thought about where the code will live.
How big it needs to be
A workable rule is about one centimetre of code width for every ten centimetres of scanning distance, as Scanova sets out. A table card someone leans over needs about two centimetres; a poster read from three metres needs about thirty. A dense code with a long link needs more than the rule says, which is why the tool warns when the printed width leaves each module very small. When in doubt, print it larger.
Static codes, and changing where one points
These codes are static: the destination is in the pattern itself. They never expire, there is nothing to subscribe to and nobody can switch them off. You cannot change where a printed static code points, but you can point it at an address you control, such as yourbrand.co.uk/menu, and change where that address sends people whenever you like. Paid dynamic codes do the same through their own domain, for a monthly fee and a dependency on that company.
Counting scans without paying for it
Point the code at a tagged link rather than a bare address, and every scan arrives in your analytics under the source and campaign you chose, so a poster can be compared with a flyer at no cost. The UTM link builder makes the link and hands it straight back to this tool.
If the thing on the other side needs building, that is our social media management UK plans and UGC (user generated content) rather than a generator: menu films, launch Reels and the landing content the code leads to.
Monthly plans
When the thing behind the code needs building too
Choose the plan that matches how much you want to post each month. Every plan runs month to month, with two months' notice and no setup fee.
Swipe to see all five plans
Small Business Social Pack
12 designed posts a month on one platform.
- Posts12 static
- Platforms1
- VideoNone
- CommunityNot included
£149a month
Add to basketGet this as a quote (PDF)
Social Media Management: Seed Plan
16 posts a month across 2 platforms, with a strategy behind them.
- Posts16
- Platforms2
- VideoNone
- CommunityMonitoring
£399a month
Add to basketGet this as a quote (PDF)
Social Media Management: Grow Plan
16 posts a month, 8 of them Reels.
- Posts16
- Platforms3
- Video8 Reels
- CommunityMonitoring
£799a month
Add to basketGet this as a quote (PDF)
Social Media Management: Scale Plan
12 Reels a month, Stories, and your comments answered Monday to Saturday.
- Posts16
- Platforms3
- Video12 Reels
- CommunityMon to Sat
£1,499a month
Add to basketGet this as a quote (PDF)
Social Media Management: Elite Plan
A post every working day on up to 5 platforms, with paid social and filming days.
- Posts20
- PlatformsUp to 5
- VideoReels and creator videos
- Community7 days
£2,499a month
Add to basketGet this as a quote (PDF)
For creators
A code for your media kit, your story or your stand
Choose Social profile above for a code that opens your profile, or Website link for your link in bio page. For a story, download the PNG at 1024 pixels and place it on a light patch of the frame; for a printed media kit, use the SVG at 25 to 30 millimetres. If a brand asks you to track a campaign, tag the link first in the UTM link builder.
The bio generator writes the profile the code leads to, the engagement rate calculator gives you the figure brands ask for, and our guides cover the rest.
When a code fails or looks wrong
Spotting a fake code
Scam codes are usually stickers placed over a real one on a parking meter, a poster or a restaurant table, or codes in emails and letters that ask for a payment or a login. Look for a sticker with raised edges, be wary of any code that leads to a payment page, and pay through the operator's own app or the machine when you are unsure. The checker on this page shows where a code goes before you open it, and flags short links it cannot see through.
What a QR code cannot fix
It cannot make a page worth landing on. A code that opens a slow home page instead of the thing you just advertised spends the scan and gets nothing. Decide the destination first, make sure it loads fast on a phone, and only then make the code.
How we worked it out
What is new here
A code you can trust before it goes to the printer, and a check for codes you did not make
Most failed QR codes are not broken by design. They are printed too small, crowded by artwork, matched to a pale brand colour, or never scanned before the run. And most harmful codes look exactly like honest ones. This page deals with both.
- Every code is read back before you download itThe page draws your finished code small, softens it as a phone camera would, and reads it with the reader built into the page. If the text it reads back is not exactly what you typed, it says so and says why, before you have paid for a print run.
- Any code can be checked without opening itGive the checker a photo, a screenshot or the camera. It shows the full destination with the owning site picked out, and warns about short links that hide where they go, plain http, look alike addresses and payment pages. Action Fraud recorded 3.5 million pounds lost to QR code scams in 2024, mostly through fake stickers on car park machines, as Which? reported.
- Both halves run in the pageThe encoder and the reader are part of this page, so nothing you type and no photo you give it is sent anywhere. That matters most for Wi-Fi passwords and for a code you suspect.
- Exact sizes for printThe PNG comes out at exactly the size you choose, and the SVG carries a real printed width in millimetres, so it lands on the page at the size you planned.
- Formats that work on today's phonesContact cards escape commas and semicolons, so "Smith, Jones and Co" stays one organisation. Wi-Fi codes keep a password's spaces and support hidden Wi-Fi. Events are stored in universal time from UK time, with summer time handled. Map codes open on any phone. LinkedIn company pages and the new Threads address are covered.
- It tells you when a setting is riskyA tight quiet zone, light on dark colours, low correction on a dense code, or a printed width too small for its grid. All are allowed, all cause real scan failures, and the tool says so before you export.
How the encoder and the reader were built and checked
The encoder. A QR encoder written for this page: Reed Solomon error correction over the standard finite field, byte mode across all forty versions and all four correction levels, and all eight mask patterns scored by the four penalty rules so the most readable one is chosen.
The reader. Also written for this page. It sharpens the picture into dark and light against its surroundings, finds the three corner squares, follows the code's own axes to the alignment square so a tilted photo still maps onto the grid, reads the format and version, corrects damage with Reed Solomon, and reads number, letter, byte, kanji and character set parts. It tries the picture as dark on light and as light on dark.
How it was checked. Codes from this encoder were read by an independent reader, OpenCV, at every correction level from version 1 to version 40, all correctly. Codes made by OpenCV's own encoder were then photographed in effect: rotated, tilted in perspective, blurred, unevenly lit, set on busy backgrounds and saved as JPEG. The reader on this page read 54 of 54 in the main set, and 28 of 30 in a harder set of small, blurred codes on cluttered pictures.
What the checker cannot see. It does not open links, so it cannot see past a short link or a QR code service's redirect, and it says so. Its look alike and payment checks look for known patterns and the names most often imitated in the UK; a clean result means none of those patterns was found, not that a page is safe.
What it will not do. Byte mode only, so a code holding nothing but digits is slightly larger than it strictly needs to be. No logo overlay yet. And no dynamic redirection, because that would mean routing your visitors through us.
Nothing here is transmitted. The code is made, read back and checked in your browser, including any photo you give the checker and any Wi-Fi password you type. There is no sign up, and nothing reaches us unless you ask us to email you the result.
Questions people ask
Is this QR code generator really free?
Yes, with no sign up, no watermark, no limit and no cap on how many codes you make. The codes are static, so they do not expire and there is nothing to keep paying for.
Do the QR codes expire?
No. The destination is in the pattern itself rather than redirected through anyone's server, so the code keeps working for as long as the page it points at exists. Nothing we do can switch it off.
How does the scan check work?
After every change, the page draws your finished code at four pixels a module, softens it with a slight blur as a phone camera would, and reads it with the QR reader built into this page. It then compares what it read with what you typed, character for character. If they match, the code reads; if not, it tells you why, for example that the corner squares could not be found or that too much of the code was lost.
How can I tell if a QR code is a scam?
Look at where it goes before you act on it. Choose Check a code at the start of this tool and give it a photo or the camera: it shows the full address with the owning site picked out, and warns about short links, plain http, look alike addresses and payment pages. Be most careful with codes on parking machines and stickers, and pay through the official app or the machine if you are unsure.
Is the photo I give the checker uploaded?
No. The picture is read inside this page, on your device, and is never sent anywhere. The checker also never opens the link it finds, which is why it says plainly when a short link hides the final page.
Can I change where a code points after I have printed it?
Not with a static code, and that is the honest trade off for it being free and permanent. Point the code at an address you control, such as a page on your own site, and change where that address sends people. That gives you the same freedom as a paid dynamic code without a subscription.
Can I track how many people scan my code?
Yes, without paying for a dynamic code. Point the code at a tagged link and every scan appears in your analytics under the source and campaign you set. The UTM link builder makes the link and can hand it straight back to this tool.
How big should a QR code be in print?
Allow about one centimetre of code width for every ten centimetres people will scan from. A table card needs about two centimetres, a poster read across a room about thirty. Type your printed width under Print size, once the code is made, and the tool tells you how far away it should still scan.
Should I download the PNG or the SVG?
SVG for anything going to a printer, PNG for a screen, a story or a document. The SVG is drawn as shapes, so it stays sharp at any size, and it carries the printed width you typed. The PNG comes out at exactly the number of pixels you chose.
What does error correction actually do?
It builds spare information into the pattern so the code still reads when part of it is damaged, covered or scuffed. Low recovers about 7 per cent of the code, medium 15, quartile 25 and high 30, according to KEYENCE. Higher correction means more modules, so print it a little larger. Medium suits most jobs.
Why does my code get denser when I paste a longer link?
A QR code comes in forty sizes and the tool picks the smallest that fits. More characters means more modules, which need to be printed larger to stay readable. Shorten the link at its source, for example by removing tracking clutter you do not need, before you make the code.
Will a Wi-Fi code work for a hidden Wi-Fi or a password with spaces?
Yes. Tick the hidden option and the code tells the phone to look for a Wi-Fi that does not appear in its list. Passwords are kept exactly as typed, spaces included, and special characters are escaped so they reach the phone unchanged.
Can I put a logo in the middle?
Not in this tool yet. A logo covers modules and relies on error correction to fill the gap, which works until the code is also printed small or scuffed. If you add one in design software, set correction to high, keep the logo under about a tenth of the area, and use the checker on this page to read the finished artwork before printing.
Can I use these codes commercially?
Yes. There is no licence, no attribution and no restriction. Print them on packaging, menus, vehicles and signs, and use them for clients as well as for yourself.
Who built this
If you would rather watch than read
Travel, food and influencer content from our founders, and the channel where the long form work lives.
The agency channel. Client work, examples and finished campaign videos.
