Generate QR codes in bulk from any list of URLs, text, or product IDs. Upload a CSV or Excel file, or paste values directly — export high-resolution PNG, scalable SVG, or print-ready PDF. No signup, no row limit, no watermark. Everything runs in your browser.
Generate QR Codes Free →QR codes are read natively by iPhone and Android cameras — no app required. Perfect for consumer-facing labels, packaging, and menus.
Store a product page URL, contact info (vCard), WiFi credentials, or any text string up to 4,296 characters.
Generate hundreds of unique QR codes from a spreadsheet. Download all as a ZIP of PNGs or a print-ready PDF.
Paste your URLs or text values one per line, or upload a CSV/Excel file. Each row becomes one QR code.
Choose QR Code from the format picker. Set label size and export format (PNG ZIP, Avery PDF, or SVG).
Download your ZIP or PDF. Each QR code is rendered at 300 DPI for crisp output on labels, packaging, or signage.
Print QR codes on packaging that link customers directly to product pages, user manuals, or warranty registration.
Generate unique QR codes for each table or location linking to your online menu — fast, touchless, and easy to update.
Create unique QR code tickets for events. Scan at entry to verify and check in attendees instantly.
Link physical packaging or print ads to landing pages, discount codes, or product videos with a scannable QR code.
A QR code (Quick Response code) is a two-dimensional matrix barcode invented by Denso Wave in 1994. It encodes data as a grid of black and white squares arranged in a square pattern, with three distinctive corner markers that allow scanners to read the code from any angle and orientation.
QR codes gained mass adoption when Apple added native QR scanning to the iPhone camera in iOS 11 (2017), followed by Android. Today, any smartphone can scan a QR code without a separate app, making them the preferred format for consumer-facing applications — restaurant menus, product packaging, event tickets, and marketing materials.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Symbology type | 2D matrix |
| Versions | 1 to 40 |
| Module grid | 21×21 (version 1) up to 177×177 (version 40) |
| Max numeric capacity | 7,089 digits |
| Max alphanumeric capacity | 4,296 characters |
| Max byte capacity | 2,953 bytes |
| Error correction | Reed–Solomon, four selectable levels |
| Quiet zone | 4 modules on all four sides |
| Minimum module size | 0.25 mm (10 mil) for reliable phone-camera reads |
| ISO standard | ISO/IEC 18004 |
| Licensing | Patent held but freely licensed — no royalty |
The version number determines the grid size, and the encoder picks the smallest version that fits your data at the chosen error-correction level. Every step up in version adds 4 modules per side, so a URL that just overflows version 3 jumps to a visibly denser version 4 symbol. Shortening a URL by even a few characters sometimes drops it back a version and makes the printed code noticeably easier to scan.
Three large squares in the corners are the finder patterns — they let a scanner locate and orient the symbol from any rotation, which is why QR codes read upside down while linear barcodes do not. The dotted lines running between them are timing patterns, establishing the module grid. From version 2 onward, smaller squares called alignment patterns appear inside the grid to correct for perspective distortion when the code is photographed at an angle or printed on a curved surface.
| Level | Recoverable damage | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| L (Low) | ~7 % | Clean digital display, maximum data in minimum space |
| M (Medium) | ~15 % | General print — the sensible default |
| Q (Quartile) | ~25 % | Labels exposed to handling, scuffing, or moisture |
| H (High) | ~30 % | Industrial surfaces, outdoor signage, codes with a logo overlaid |
Error correction is a genuine trade-off, not a free upgrade. Level H reserves roughly 30 % of the symbol's capacity for recovery data, so the same URL needs a higher version and therefore a denser grid at level H than at level L. For a printed poster or menu, level M is almost always right. Level H matters in two specific cases: codes that will get physically damaged, and codes with a logo placed over the centre — that logo is deliberately destroying modules, and the error correction is what lets the code still read.
Work backwards from the module size. Phone cameras need modules of at least 0.25 mm (10 mil) to read reliably; dedicated 2D imagers manage smaller. Multiply the module size by the grid dimension plus 8 (four quiet-zone modules each side) to get the minimum printed width. A version 3 code (29×29 modules) at 0.25 mm therefore needs about 9 mm square minimum, and in practice you should print at 15–20 mm to allow for scanning distance and imperfect lighting. For a poster read from two metres away, scale up to 100 mm or more — scanning distance is roughly 10× the code's width.
Our generator produces static QR codes: the URL is encoded directly into the black-and-white pattern. Once you save the PNG or SVG, that file works forever, with no server, account, or subscription involved. Many commercial "free" QR services instead issue dynamic codes, which encode a short link pointing at the provider's redirect server. That indirection is what enables scan analytics and editable destinations — and it is also what stops working when a trial ends or the provider shuts down. For a printed menu, label, or poster, static is the safer choice. See the symbology glossary for a fuller comparison.
History: QR Code was invented in 1994 by Masahiro Hara's team at Denso Wave, a Toyota subsidiary, to track automotive parts faster than the Code 39 labels then in use. Denso Wave holds the patent but has never enforced royalties, and that decision is the main reason QR became ubiquitous rather than remaining an automotive-industry format.