Free QR code generator
Make a QR code for a link, text, a Wi-Fi network, an email address, a phone number, a WhatsApp chat, a contact card, a map location or a calendar event. Change the colors, size, error correction and logo, then download it as a PNG, SVG or JPG. The code is built by your own browser, so nothing you type is uploaded and there is no account to create.
What does this QR code generator do?
It builds a scannable QR code for a website, plain text, a Wi-Fi network, an email address, a phone number, an SMS message, a WhatsApp chat, a contact card, a map location or a calendar event, and lets you change the colors, size, error correction and logo before downloading it as a PNG, SVG or JPG. The code is generated in your browser, so nothing you type is uploaded and there is no account to create.
Your Wi-Fi password, phone number and contact details never leave this device. The QR code is drawn by your own browser from code served with this page. There is no upload, no third-party QR service and no storage, so there is no request that could carry what you type.
https://example.com
Any message, note or code you want to share
The name shown in your Wi-Fi list
The security your router uses
Leave empty for a network with no password
who@example.com
Optional
Optional, pre-filled when the code is scanned
Include the country code
Include the country code
Pre-filled when the code is scanned
Digits only, starting with the country code. No plus sign.
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Between -90 and 90
Between -180 and 180
Optional, shown on the map
Which map a phone should use
What the event is called
Optional
Local time
Optional
Optional
The code already appears as you type. Use Generate QR code to rebuild it and jump straight to it โ on a phone the preview sits below the form.
Empty state. No QR code yetFill in one of the fields above and your code appears here.
What this code contains
How to create a QR code
Choose what the code should do
Pick one of the ten types above. Each one asks for different fields: a URL needs an address, Wi-Fi needs a network name and a password, and a contact card needs at least a name. Switching tabs keeps what you have already typed.
Fill in the fields
The preview updates as you type. Fields are checked as you go, so a missing network name, an incomplete email address or coordinates outside the world are reported under the box that caused them rather than producing a code that scans to nothing.
Set the size, colors and error correction
Choose 128, 256, 512 or 1024 pixels, set a foreground and background color, and pick an error correction level. The contrast readout shows how much separation the two colors have, because a code needs far more contrast than ordinary text to scan.
Download it
Save the code as a PNG for screens, an SVG for printing at any size, or a JPG where a small file matters. Nothing is uploaded at any point: the code is built by your own browser and closing the tab discards it.
What each QR code type does when it is scanned
Every QR code is the same square of modules. What differs is the text inside it, and that text decides what a phone does when it reads the code. Choosing the right type is most of the work: a Wi-Fi code scanned by a laptop camera does nothing at all, because joining a network is something a phone has to be asked to do.
| Type | What a phone does | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| URL | Opens the address in the browser. | Posters, packaging, menus and anything printed. |
| Text | Shows the text, usually with a button to copy it. | Wi-Fi instructions, a serial number, a short note. |
| Wi-Fi | Offers to join the network on an Android phone, with the password filled in. | Cafรฉs, offices and guest networks where nobody wants to type a password. |
| Opens a new message addressed to the address you set. | Feedback on a product, an enquiry on an advert. | |
| Phone | Offers to dial the number. | Shops, restaurants and service businesses. |
| SMS | Opens a new text with the message already written. | Short codes to join a service, or a message people should not retype. |
| Opens a chat with that number, message ready to send. | Business cards, restaurant tables and event badges. | |
| Contact card | Asks whether to save the contact. | Conferences and meetings, where typing a card is a nuisance. |
| Location | Opens the place in a map app, or in Google Maps. | Store finders, directions to an event, a shop locator. |
| Event | Asks whether to add the event to a calendar. | Flyers and posters for anything people should diarise. |
Why the Wi-Fi code needs a phone
A laptop camera reads a Wi-Fi QR code as a block of text, because the operating system is what joins a network, not the camera. On an Android phone scanning the same code offers a "join network" button with the password already filled in. iPhones read the code too, but the prompt to join is Apple's own rather than part of the code, so it appears a moment later and looks different. This is the most common reason a visitor says a code "does not work": it is being opened on a computer.
Why a WhatsApp number needs its country code
A WhatsApp QR code is a link, and a link needs a destination it can name without guessing. That means the number in full international form, digits only, starting with the country code and with no plus sign: 15551234567, not 555-123-4567 and not +1 555 123 4567. Given a national number, the link still opens WhatsApp and then cannot find anyone, which is a worse failure than an error because it looks like it worked. This tool refuses a number that is too short rather than quietly building a link that goes nowhere.
How a contact card differs from a vCard file
A QR code holding a vCard is not a file you download. The text inside it is the contact itself, so the phone reads it, shows the name and asks whether to save it. That is why the card can be edited on this page and rescanned: the code holds whatever the fields say at the moment you generated it, not a link to a copy somewhere else.
How to keep a customized QR code scannable
A QR code is a machine-readable pattern, not a picture, and the changes that make it look better are the same changes that stop it reading. Three rules cover almost every failure.
Keep the contrast high
A scanner has to tell dark modules from light ones. The page shows the contrast ratio between your two colors and warns below 4.5:1, which is the same figure used for ordinary text. In practice a code needs more than that: a light gray on white looks perfectly legible on screen and simply fails on a phone in daylight. Dark blue, dark green or black on white are all safe; pastel on pastel is not.
Do not cover a quarter of the code with a logo
A logo hides modules, and error correction is what puts them back. At the high level a scanner can reconstruct about 30 percent of a code, which is why this tool refuses a logo larger than that and warns past 20 percent, and why adding a logo raises the level for you. A smaller logo on a plain plate, with the level at high, is reliable; a logo filling the middle third of the code is a picture of a QR code, not a QR code.
Leave the quiet zone alone
Around any QR code there has to be a clear margin at least four modules wide on every side, and this tool always adds it. It is the single most common casualty of a code that works on a website and fails when printed: the design places the code flush against a background image or a coloured panel, and the scanner loses its edge. The quiet zone is not part of the code and has to be plain, empty space.
Make it big enough to see
Scan distance depends on size. The rule of thumb that holds up in practice is that the printed code should be at least a tenth of the distance it will be read from, so a poster read from two metres wants a code at least 20 cm across. That is what the 512 and 1024 pixel sizes are for, and SVG is the right format for print because it stays sharp however large it is scaled. Printing a 128-pixel code onto a shop window is why shop-window codes so often do not work.
Everything above is about the code itself. If you want the words inside a code to be the thing people read, this site's fancy text generator turns any text into thousands of Unicode styles, and the font index lists them by category. The style guides put 25 words in 25 styles side by side, and the font studio renders a finished line to a 1200 by 630 PNG. For images rather than text, the image compressor shrinks JPG, PNG and WebP files and reports the real size saved, which is useful before embedding one next to a code. Counting and cleaning up copy for a code is what the text tools are for.
Common questions
What is a QR code?
A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode that a phone camera can read to open a link, send an email, join a Wi-Fi network, save a contact or add an event. It is made of black and white squares called modules, arranged in a square with three large squares in the corners so a camera can find and orient it. Any device with a camera can read one, with no app installed.
How do I create a QR code for free?
Pick one of the ten types at the top of the page, fill in the fields, and the code appears as you type. Then choose Download PNG, SVG or JPG. There is no account, no sign-up, no trial, no watermark and no limit on how many you make.
How do I create a QR code for my website?
Choose the URL type and type your address. If you leave off the https:// the tool adds it, because a code holding a bare domain is read by many phones as a search term rather than as a link. The finished code points at the address you typed and nothing else, so it will keep working as long as that page does.
Can I create a QR code for Wi-Fi?
Yes, using the Wi-Fi type. Enter the network name, choose the security and type the password, and scanning the code joins the network on a phone without anyone typing the password by hand. An open network with no password is also supported, in which case no password field is written into the code at all. The password never leaves your browser.
How do I download a QR code?
Use the Download PNG, Download SVG or Download JPG button under the preview. PNG is the right choice for sharing on a phone or a website, SVG is a vector file that stays sharp at any size and is what you want for printing, and JPG is useful where a file has to be small. The size you pick in the settings is the pixel size of the file you get.
Can I customize QR code colors?
Yes. Set a foreground and a background color and the preview updates immediately. The tool shows the contrast ratio between the two, because a QR code needs a much stronger contrast than ordinary text to scan reliably, and it warns you below 4.5:1. Black on white is the safest choice and is what most printed codes use.
Do QR codes expire?
A QR code never expires by itself. It holds a piece of text, not an address on a server, so it keeps working indefinitely. A code stops working when the thing behind it changes: if the link points at a page you later delete, or the Wi-Fi network is renamed, or the phone number is reassigned, the code will scan but lead somewhere else. Nothing here is hosted, so there is no subscription to lapse.
Is this QR code generator safe?
Yes, and the reason is structural rather than a promise. The code is built by your own browser using code that is served with the page, so a URL, a Wi-Fi password or a contact card never reaches a server. There is no upload, no third-party QR service and no storage, and closing the tab discards everything. A generator that uploads what you type could read anything you entered, which is why this one has no way to.
Can I create a QR code without an account?
Yes. There is no account, no sign-up and no email address required. Open the page, make as many codes as you like, and close the tab. Nothing is kept between visits and there is nothing to log out of.
How do I create a WhatsApp QR code?
Choose the WhatsApp type and enter the number in full international form, starting with the country code and without a plus sign, for example 15551234567 for a US number. A national number is refused, because a link built from one opens WhatsApp and then cannot find the contact. Type an optional message and scanning the code starts that chat with the message already written.
Why will my QR code not scan?
Almost always one of four things. Too little contrast, which the contrast readout on this page will flag for you. A logo covering too much of the code, which is why the tool warns past 20 percent and will not produce a code above 30 percent. Too few quiet-zone modules around the edge, which this tool always adds. Or the code was reprinted too small or on a busy background, which no amount of editing the code can fix.
What error correction level should I choose?
High, unless you have a reason not to. The level decides how much of the code can be covered or damaged and still scan: Low recovers about 7 percent, Medium 15, Quartile 25 and High 30. Higher levels make the code denser, so it needs a little more space to scan from, which is a good trade for a code that has to survive being printed, stuck on a bottle or shown on a screen in bright light. Adding a logo raises the level automatically.