How to make a free QR code
- Choose a type: Link, Wi-Fi, Contact, Email, Phone, SMS, Location, Event or Text.
- Fill in the details. Nothing you type leaves this device.
- Change colours, shape and error correction under Style and size if you like.
- Download PNG or SVG. There is no limit on how many codes you make.
Good uses
- Small businesses: menus, reviews, Wi-Fi, contact cards
- Schools, clubs and charities on a zero budget
- Printed packaging and labels that must keep working for years
- Anyone who has been caught out by a "free" code that stopped working after a trial
What "free" means here
| Yuzool (static) | Typical "free trial" sites (dynamic) | |
|---|---|---|
| Account | None | Usually required |
| Expires | Never | When the trial or subscription ends |
| Scan tracking | None | Yes, through their redirect |
| Watermark or limit | None | Often |
| Edit the link later | No; make a new code | Yes, while you pay |
Some generators make dynamic codes by default, which send people through their own short link. If the trial ends, the code on your printed menus and flyers stops working. That can't happen to a static code, because there's nothing in between.
Static codes: no expiry, no tracking
Codes made here are static: everything you type is written into the code itself, not kept on a server. So the code never expires, works without an account or subscription, and nobody, Yuzool included, sees who scans it or when.
The trade-off is that a static code can't be edited after it's printed: make a new one instead. Dynamic codes from other services point to a short link they control, so they can count scans and change the destination, but they stop working if the service or your subscription ends.
Printing, size and error correction
- Size: at least 2 cm (about 0.8 in) square for anything held in the hand. For posters and windows, make it about a tenth of the scanning distance: 20 cm across to scan from 2 m away.
- Contrast and border: a dark code on a light background, with the plain border (the quiet zone) kept clear of text and pictures. The app warns you about low contrast and light-on-dark codes.
- Error correction (in Style and size) lets a code still scan when part of it is dirty, scratched or covered: Low recovers about 7%, Medium 15% (the default), Quartile 25% and High 30%. Higher levels make the code denser, so keep Low or Medium for small prints with a lot in them, and choose Quartile or High for stickers, outdoor signs and things that get handled.
- File: SVG stays sharp at any size, so use it for print. PNG (up to 2048 pixels) suits screens, documents and slides.
- Test with two different phones before you print a batch.
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. There is no account, trial, watermark or limit, and the codes are yours to use anywhere, including commercially.
Why do some free QR codes stop working?
Many sites make dynamic codes that go through their own short link. When the free trial or subscription ends, they switch the link off and the printed code stops working. Static codes like these have no link in between.
How is this free?
The codes cost nothing to make because everything runs in your browser: there's no server storing your codes or counting scans.