QR Code Generator

A QR code (Quick Response code) is a two-dimensional barcode that stores data as a pattern of black and white squares. When you scan it with your phone camera or a QR code reader, the pattern is decoded to reveal the original URL or text.

QR codes can encode up to 4,296 characters in UTF-8. For URLs, most links fit well within this limit. For longer text, you may need to shorten URLs or split into multiple QR codes.

QR codes automatically choose the smallest "version" (grid size, from 21×21 up to 177×177 modules) that fits your content at the selected error correction level. Longer input or a higher error correction level both push the code to a larger version with more modules, which is why a link with tracking parameters produces a visibly denser pattern than a short one.

This tool encodes text as UTF-8 bytes, which supports the full range of Unicode characters, including accented letters and emoji, up to roughly 2,900 bytes at the lowest error correction level, well beyond what any realistic URL or short message needs. Numeric-only content (like a phone number) and uppercase alphanumeric content can pack more densely than mixed-case text under the QR specification, though this tool always uses the general-purpose byte mode for consistency across input types.

A QR code that looks fine on a screen can fail once it is printed small. Two rules of thumb help: each individual module (the smallest black or white square in the pattern) should print at least 0.75mm wide for a phone camera to resolve it reliably, and the overall code should rarely go below roughly 2cm × 2cm (0.8in × 0.8in), even for close-range uses like a business card or product label.

Scanning distance scales with size: a modern phone camera can typically read a QR code from a distance of up to about 10 times the code's width. A code meant to be scanned from across a room, like on a poster or storefront window, needs to be printed several times larger than one meant to be read from arm's length, like a receipt or table tent.

Planning to place a logo in the center after downloading the PNG? This tool does not add one automatically, so overlay it yourself in an image editor and keep the covered area small, since the logo blocks modules that would otherwise carry data. Regenerate the code at error correction level Q or H first, that extra redundancy is what keeps the code scannable once part of it is hidden.