QR codes that never expire

Updated 28 September 2026

Creating a QR code is quick: enter a link or some text, choose PNG or SVG, and click Generate. The code is static, meaning the content is written into the image itself, so nothing can switch it off later.

A phone camera pointed at the code offers to visit the link, connect to the Wi-Fi network or display the text. Everything it needs is in the pattern, with no lookup anywhere else.

How to create a QR code

1. Enter the web address or text the code should hold.
2. Select the file format, size, error correction level and colors.
3. Click Generate.
4. Save the code and scan it with a phone camera before it goes to print.

Why a static code keeps working

There is no short link or redirect between the code and its destination, no plan that can lapse and no service that could go offline. The code lives exactly as long as its link does.

Dynamic codes, which many online generators produce, work differently: every scan passes through the generator's own short link first. When a free plan runs out, that link may stop working or start serving ads. The price of a static code is that its destination cannot be changed after printing, so test it first.

PNG or SVG, and how big

PNG is the everyday choice for web pages, documents and social media. Its size runs from 64 to 4096 pixels, with 512 as the default; choose 1024 or more if the PNG is going to print. Pick SVG for posters, packaging and flyers. As a vector format it scales up without losing sharpness, and it is what print shops and designers prefer to receive.

Error correction, colors and length

Each code includes redundant data, which lets a phone read it even when a piece is smudged, torn or hidden behind something. You choose how much:

• L: roughly 7 percent of the code can be lost.
• M: roughly 15 percent, the default.
• Q: roughly 25 percent.
• H: roughly 30 percent.

More correction packs the pattern tighter. If a small logo will cover the middle, choose H, while a long link is better off at L or M, where the pattern stays easier to scan.

Code and background colors can both be changed. Contrast matters more than style: dark on light reads best, while pale colors or a light code on a dark background trip up many phones.

Capacity tops out at a few thousand characters and drops as error correction rises. Short content is the better choice anyway, since a brief link is read faster, and from a greater distance, than a long one.

A code for every table or product

Upload .txt files rather than typing, and every file turns into a separate code: one for each restaurant table, say, or one for each product. Without an account, 5 codes per batch are free; a free account allows 10, and Pro goes up to 500 per batch. Download the codes one by one or together as a single ZIP. Credits cover one large batch without a subscription, at 25 files per credit.

Where the codes are made

On our servers in Germany. The text you enter travels over an encrypted connection, and it is deleted along with the finished code automatically within two hours. Nobody is tracked when the code is scanned.