How to generate a QR code
- Type or paste what the code should contain, or press one of the presets.
- Choose an error correction level. M is a sensible default.
- Set the module size, which controls how large the final image is.
- Adjust the colours if you need to, keeping strong contrast.
- Download as PNG for general use, or SVG if it will be printed at size.
What this generator produces
- Standards-compliant codes generated entirely in your browser.
- Four error correction levels from 7% to 30% damage tolerance.
- PNG for screens and SVG for print, where it scales without any loss.
- Custom foreground and background colours with a live preview.
- Presets for websites, Wi-Fi networks, email, phone numbers and contact cards.
- No tracking, no redirect, no expiry and no account.
Why most free QR generators are not free
A great many QR services encode a link to their own domain rather than to your destination, then redirect. That gives them analytics and gives you a code that stops working the moment they change their pricing, go out of business, or decide your free plan has expired.
Printed codes are the problem. A code on a poster, a business card or a restaurant menu cannot be updated once it is out in the world, and a redirect service that disappears takes every one of those with it. This generator encodes your data directly into the code, so nothing sits between the scanner and the destination.
Error correction, and why more is not always better
QR codes carry redundant data so they still scan when damaged. The four levels tolerate roughly 7, 15, 25 and 30 per cent damage.
The cost is density: higher correction means more data in the same message, which means a larger grid and smaller modules at the same image size. For a screen or a clean printed page, level M is right. Choose H for codes going onto packaging, outdoor signage, or anything likely to be scuffed, wet or partially covered, and for codes with a logo placed over the centre, since that is deliberate damage.
The quiet zone is not decoration
The blank border around a QR code is part of the specification, and four modules wide is the minimum. Scanners use it to find the code's boundary against the background.
Designers remove it constantly to make a code fit a layout, and the result is a code that scans unreliably or not at all, usually working fine on the designer's phone and failing on half of everyone else's. If space is tight, make the code smaller rather than trimming the border.
Contrast and colour
- Dark modules on a light background is what scanners expect. Inverting it breaks many readers.
- Contrast matters more than the specific colours. A dark navy on white is fine, mid-grey on beige is not.
- Avoid red on white: some laser scanners read red as white and see nothing at all.
- Gradients and patterned backgrounds reduce reliability even when they look striking.
Size in the physical world
The usual rule is that a code should be at least a tenth of the distance it will be scanned from. Scanned at 30 centimetres it needs to be about 3 centimetres across. On a poster read from 3 metres, 30 centimetres. Codes that are too small for their viewing distance are the second most common reason a printed code fails.
For print, download the SVG. It is vector, so it scales to any size without the softening that enlarging a PNG produces, and printers handle it properly. For screens the PNG is simpler. Both are generated locally, so whatever you encode, including a Wi-Fi password, is never transmitted anywhere. The password generator pairs well if you are setting up a guest network.