QR Code Generator
Turn text, a WiFi network or a contact card into a downloadable QR code.
Results are provided as is, for general information. Check anything important before relying on it. See the Terms of Use.
About this tool
Draws a QR code from three kinds of payload: plain text or a URL, a WiFi network join request (SSID, password, encryption, hidden flag), or a vCard contact card. WiFi payloads escape special characters the way scanners expect, so passwords containing semicolons or quotes survive the trip. Size (256–1024 px) and error-correction level (L, M, Q, H — the fraction of damage a scan can recover from) are selectable, and the result downloads as a PNG. Codes render from a data URL in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
When to use it
Questions
Which error-correction level should I pick?
M (15% recoverable) is the sensible default. Pick H (30%) when the code will be printed small, placed on a curved surface, or partially covered by a logo — higher recovery makes the pattern denser but more forgiving.
Why does my WiFi QR need escaping?
The WiFi payload format uses ; : , \ and " as delimiters, so those characters inside an SSID or password must be escaped or scanners misread the fields. This tool does the escaping for you and passes the string through exactly as your network expects it.
Does the QR code expire or track scans?
No. A QR code is inert ink — this one encodes exactly the text you typed, with no redirect service in the middle. Nothing counts scans, and nothing expires. If you encode a URL, that URL is what opens.
How much content fits in a QR code?
The spec caps at 4,296 alphanumeric characters (7,089 digits, with less for byte-mode text) — but practical scanning falls apart long before that, because every extra character grows the module grid. Short URLs and WiFi credentials sit comfortably in the reliable zone at the sizes this tool renders; long payloads belong on a URL shortener first, so the printed code stays coarse and scannable.
Which error-correction level is right?
M — 15% of the code recoverable — is the default and the right call for most print. Step up to Q (25%) or H (30%) when the code goes on curved packaging, gets a logo overlaid on its center, or will be photocopied and worn; step down to L (7%) only when maximizing payload density in a clean, close-range scanning environment. Higher recovery costs pattern density, which is why 'always H' is not the smart move it sounds like.
Why is my printed QR hard to scan?
Three usual causes, all fixable at generation time. Size: a 256 px render reads fine from a laptop but not across a room — regenerate at 512 or 1024 px for anything displayed publicly. Density: long payloads produce small modules that blur in cheap print — shorten the payload. Contrast and quiet zone: the code needs its white margin and a dark-on-light arrangement; inverted or border-less codes fail on many scanners.
What does a WiFi QR actually contain?
A text payload in the de-facto `WIFI:T:WPA;S:<ssid>;P:<password>;;` convention that both Android and iOS scan and act on — iOS joins, Android opens the network dialog. The fields are semicolon-delimited, so characters like ; , : \ and " inside an SSID or password get backslash-escaped the way scanners expect; the tool applies that escaping itself. Hidden-network and WEP variants carry their own flags in the same format.
What goes into the vCard QR?
A vCard 3.0 contact: name (required), with organisation, phone, email and URL included only when filled — no blank fields. Phones that scan it offer to save the contact, and the CRLF-formatted card is accepted broadly. The card is exactly one contact's worth of the fields above: photos, addresses and custom labels are not part of the form, by design.
Do QR codes expire or phone home?
No. This tool makes static codes that encode exactly your text — no redirect service, no scan counter, no expiry, nothing to rot when a third-party service folds. The trade-off is permanence: a typo in the payload means regenerating and reprinting, because static content cannot be edited after print. Those editable 'dynamic' codes are a subscription product; this is the plain-ink alternative.
Where does the image come from — my device or a server?
Your device. The payload goes through the QR library in your browser and downloads as a PNG at the pixel size you chose; nothing is transmitted, which is why a WiFi-password QR made here never leaks that password to anyone. It also means the tool works with the network off, once the page is loaded.