FREE QR CODE GENERATOR
Turn a URL or any text into a high-resolution QR code and download it as a PNG. No sign-up, no watermark, no limits.
Generate a QR code from any URL or text. Download as PNG.
QR CODE GUIDE
A square barcode that any phone camera can read, and what makes the difference between a code that scans and one that does not.
A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode that encodes text into a pattern of black modules on a light background. A QR code generator takes whatever you type into it, encodes that text, and produces the image. Point a phone camera at the result and the phone reads the text back and acts on it — usually by opening the link.
The useful part is what the reader does not have to do. Nobody wants to type a forty-character address off a table menu. With a code, the camera opens it. That single step is why QR codes work on printed material, packaging and receipts, where typing is not realistic.
Creating a code takes about twenty seconds.
Copy the address of the page you want to send people to. Paste it into the field above and press Generate. The code appears immediately, and the download button saves it as a PNG at high resolution. From there you can place it in a design, a document or a web page.
If the address is long or carries tracking parameters, shorten it first with the free URL shortener and encode the short link instead. A shorter link produces a simpler code, which is the difference between a code that reads from across a table and one that needs to be tapped.
A web address is the most common payload, but it is far from the only one. Anything that fits in a short piece of text works.
Every extra character in the payload makes the code denser. A dense code has more modules packed into the same square, and each module becomes smaller. Small modules are the first thing a camera struggles with, so a dense code needs to be read close up, square on, in good light.
A short link removes that pressure. Instead of encoding something like https://example.com/page?utm_source=poster&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=summer, the code carries a ten-character address. Fewer modules means larger ones, which means a code that still scans when the paper is slightly creased, slightly dirty, or lying flat under a coffee cup rather than held up to the light.
There is a second reason. A short link can be changed in meaning without changing the print. If the code points at /menu rather than a deep page path, you decide later what /menu means.
A code that fails on a poster is worse than no code, because the person has already pointed their phone at it. A few habits fix almost every scanning problem.
Keep the printed code at least about 2cm across, and considerably larger if people will be reading it from a distance. Leave a clear margin of plain background around it — a quiet zone — rather than butting the code up against text or an image edge. Print it in high contrast, dark modules on a light background, because inverted codes are read far less reliably by older camera software. And test the printed code with a real phone before sending several thousand to a printer, not just the screen version.
A plain black-and-white code is the most reliable option, and it is genuinely fine for most uses. If a code needs to carry your colours or your logo, the QR code artist handles it properly: the data modules stay black and high-contrast while the background takes your colours or logo, so the styling changes the look without compromising what the camera has to read.
What to avoid is changing the modules themselves. Recolouring the data, rounding the finder patterns, or adding effects across the code all reduce the contrast a decoder depends on, and a code that looks fashionable on a screen is the code that fails in a restaurant.
Sometimes you are given an image rather than a link. If you have a QR code image and want to know where it goes, the QR code decoder reads the text back out of it, entirely in your browser without uploading the image anywhere.
That is worth doing before you act on a code. A QR code in a poster or an email is a link you have not inspected, and reading it first is the quickest way to know whether it points where you expect.
Yes. No account, no trial and no cap on how many codes you generate. There is no watermark across the image and no forced branding, so the code you download is the code you can print.
Paste a link above and download a high-resolution QR code as a PNG. Free, no sign-up, no watermark.
FAQ
Answers about creating, printing and reading QR codes.
A QR code generator takes text — usually a web address — and encodes it into a square barcode. Any phone camera can then read the code and open the link, which lets someone go from a piece of paper to your page without typing an address.
Copy your page address, paste it into the field above and press Generate. The code appears immediately and you can download it as a PNG. For long or parameter-heavy URLs, shorten the link first so the code stays simple and scans reliably.
Yes, with no sign-up and no limit on how many codes you make. There is no trial, no card and no watermark stamped across the image.
Yes. The code is generated at high resolution and downloads as a PNG, which stays sharp when enlarged for print. Keep the printed code at least about 2cm across and test it with a real phone before committing to a large print run.
Usually yes. A long URL with tracking parameters produces a dense code with many small modules, which scans less reliably from a distance. A short link gives a simpler code that is easier to read, especially in print.
Any text works, including a phone number, a wifi password, a street address, a line of instructions or a short note. The field accepts plain text as readily as a URL.