QR Code Generator

What is a QR code generator?#

A QR code generator turns a piece of text — a URL, a WiFi password, a contact card, a plain string — into the square matrix of black and white modules that a phone camera can scan back into that text. The text is not “linked” to the image; it is encoded into the image, so the QR works offline, with no server, no short-link redirect, and no expiry. That is why QR codes are used for restaurant menus, event tickets, payments and inventory: the data travels with the picture.

Every QR code carries two things you control beyond the text itself: the error correction level (how much damage the code can take and still scan) and the output format (a PNG image or an SVG document). Error correction has four levels — L (7% recovery), M (15%), Q (25%), H (35%) — and trading up means a more rugged code at the cost of more modules and a larger minimum size. PNG is right for screen and print at a fixed pixel size; SVG scales without ever going blurry, which matters when a code is going on a poster or a business card.

This page renders the QR entirely in your browser. The text you type never leaves the page, and the PNG/SVG is generated locally and handed straight to your download.

How to use it#

1. Type or paste the content into the input box — a URL, a WiFi string, a vCard, or any text. The placeholder shows the safest example, https://example.com.
2. Choose the error correction level from the dropdown:
   • L — lowest, ~7% recovery. Smallest code, but scratches or a logo overlay will break it.
   • M — default, ~15% recovery. The pragmatic choice for clean digital display.
   • Q — ~25% recovery. Good when the code might be printed and smudged.
   • H — highest, ~35% recovery. Use when a logo will sit on top of the code, or it will be placed somewhere rough.
3. Pick the size — 128, 256, 384 or 512 pixels. This affects the PNG; SVG is resolution-independent.
4. The preview appears on the right. Hit Sample to load an example, or Clear to start over.
5. Click PNG or SVG in the preview header to download the code in the format you want.

The status line tells you when generation succeeds, when it is still rendering, or — importantly — when the payload is too long for a QR code and you need to shorten the text or lower the error correction level.

Key features#

• PNG and SVG output. PNG for fixed-size screen and print use; SVG for posters, cards and any context where the code must scale without pixelation.
• Four error-correction levels. Match the recovery budget to where the code will live — a clean web button can use L, a printed menu that gets splashed should use Q or H.
• Size presets. 128, 256, 384 and 512 pixels cover thumbnails, standard web images and high-resolution print respectively.
• Capacity guard. QR codes have a hard byte limit that shrinks as error correction rises; when your text exceeds it, the tool reports too-long instead of producing a broken image.
• Local rendering, local download. The encoding library is bundled with the page (served from the same origin under the content security policy); nothing about your content is transmitted anywhere.
• Quiet zone included. A standard four-module white margin is rendered around the code by default, which scanners need to find the edges reliably.

Worked example#

Paste a URL into the input:

https://example.com

With error correction = M and size = 256, the preview renders a scannable 256×256 QR code, and clicking PNG downloads a PNG image of exactly those dimensions. Scanning it with any phone camera opens https://example.com in the browser.

QR codes are not limited to URLs. The same generator happily encodes structured text, like a WiFi connection string:

WIFI:T:WPA;S:HomeNetwork;P:supersecret;;

Scan that and a phone offers to join the HomeNetwork WiFi network. For contact cards, calendar events and other structured payloads with a friendlier form, the /en/qr/wifi-qr/ tool builds the string for you — but under the hood it produces exactly the kind of QR this page outputs.

Switching the same URL to SVG downloads a vector document that scales to any size — useful if the same code is going onto both a website favicon and a large printed banner, where one PNG could not serve both.

FAQ#

Which error correction level should I pick?#

M is the sensible default for most digital use — it balances recovery against size. Move to Q or H when the code will be printed, handled, or overlaid with a logo (the lost modules under the logo are what the recovery level buys back). Drop to L only when you need the smallest possible code and you are certain it will stay clean — a scratched L-level code will not scan.

How much text can a QR code hold?#

It depends on the error correction level and the character set. Byte-mode capacity runs from roughly 2,953 bytes at the lowest error correction (L) down to about 1,273 bytes at the highest (H) for the largest version — and far less for the small, scannable-at-a-distance versions you actually want to use. Practically, keep payloads to a few hundred bytes: a URL, a WiFi string, a short vCard. If the tool reports too-long, shorten the text or lower the error correction level.

PNG or SVG — which should I download?#

Use PNG when the code will be shown at a known size on a screen or printed at a fixed dimension — it is a single self-contained image every tool understands. Use SVG when the code must scale: a business card today and a banner tomorrow, or a code that needs to stay sharp on high-DPI displays. SVG is also smaller for simple codes and editable in vector software.

Can I put my logo in the middle of the QR code?#

You can, but only if you use error correction H, and even then the logo should cover no more than the central area (roughly the 25–30% that H-level recovery can absorb). A logo on an L or M code is likely to make it unscannable. This page does not draw the logo for you — generate the code at H, then composite your logo in any image editor.

Is the generated QR code uploaded or stored anywhere?#

No. The encoding runs in your browser from a library bundled with the page, and the PNG/SVG is generated locally and offered as a direct download. The text you encode never reaches a server — there is no backend, no short-link database, and no analytics on the content.