QR & Wi-Fi QR generator
Create QR codes for text, links or Wi-Fi access without uploading data.
How to use
Type a link or any text and download the code as a PNG or an SVG, or switch to Wi-Fi mode to encode a network so guests can join without being told the password out loud. The code is drawn in your browser; nothing is sent to a server. By default the code uses error correction level M and the smallest version that fits; you can choose another level, or a fixed version so that several codes print at the same size. Besides text, links and Wi-Fi, it can encode a contact card, an email, a phone call, a text message, a location or a calendar event, each in the standard format phone cameras recognise.
A QR code is not a link — it is the text itself, printed as a grid. That has two consequences worth knowing before anything goes to print: the more you encode the denser the grid becomes and the harder it is to scan small, and the code cannot be changed once printed. If the destination might ever move, encode a URL you control and redirect it.
What goes into the code depends on the type. A Wi-Fi network becomes WIFI:T:WPA;S:name;P:password;H:false;;, a phone call tel:+12025550100, a text message SMSTO:number:message and a location geo:latitude,longitude. An email becomes a mailto: link with the subject and message, a contact a vCard 3.0 card, and a calendar event an iCalendar VEVENT. Spaces and dashes are removed from phone numbers. The event is written in local time without a time zone, so the phone adds it at the same clock time wherever it is.
The size of the grid is called the version: version 1 is 21 × 21 modules (the small squares), each version adds 4 per side, and version 40 is 177 × 177. A higher error correction level lets a scratched or partly covered code still be read — L restores about 7% of the code, M about 15%, Q about 25% and H about 30% — but the same content then needs a bigger grid. The image keeps a blank margin four modules wide around the code, which scanners need to find its edges, so do not crop it.
Example
The QR code contains https://ntools.xyz. Scanning it lets you open that address; downloading saves the code as a PNG.
https://ntools.xyz18 characters fit in version 2 (25 × 25 modules) at level M; at level H the same link needs version 3 (29 × 29).A Wi-Fi network with a 28-character passwordWIFI:T:WPA;S:CasaSilva;P:correct-horse-battery-staple;H:false;; is 63 bytes: version 5 (37 × 37) at level M.A contact card with name, phone and emailThe vCard is 130 bytes, about seven times the short link, and needs version 8 (49 × 49) at level M.300 characters of textVersion 13 (69 × 69) at level M and version 18 (89 × 89) at level H. The more you encode, the larger the code has to be printed.The upper limitVersion 40 holds 2,953 bytes at level L and 1,273 at level H. Accented letters take 2 bytes and most emoji 4, so they fill the code faster than plain letters.
Frequently asked questions
Do QR codes expire?
The code itself never does — it is just text in a grid, and it will still decode in ten years. What expires is the destination: a link that stops working makes the code useless even though the code is perfectly intact.
Can I change where a printed code points?
Not the code, no. This is the argument for encoding a URL on a domain you control rather than a direct link to a third-party page: you can change the redirect later without reprinting anything.
Which error correction level should I choose?
M, the default, suits most print. Choose Q or H when the code may get dirty or worn, or when something such as a logo will cover part of it; choose L to keep a long text as small as possible on a screen or a clean surface.
Why choose a fixed version?
So that several codes, for example labels with different links, print with the same grid and at the same size. If the content does not fit in the version you chose, the page says so: choose a larger version, a lower level or Automatic.
PNG or SVG?
PNG is an image with a fixed number of pixels, fine for documents and web pages. SVG is drawn from shapes and stays sharp at any size, which suits print shops and large formats.
Does a Wi-Fi code reveal the password?
Yes. The password is stored in plain text inside the code, so anyone who scans it, or reads the image with a QR reader, can see it. Put the code only where you would also be willing to write the password down.