The best QR code generator, and when you need a paid one

The best QR code generator for most people is AyeTab: it is free, it makes the code inside your browser, and it needs no account. If you need to track scans or change the link after printing, pick a dynamic code service instead, and accept that it comes with a sign-up.

A QR code on a printed flyer can stop working long before the paper wears out. When that happens, the cause is usually not the pattern itself but a redirect link tied to an account or a trial that ended. So the ranking below puts one question first: what happens to this code in a year?

The picks

1. AyeTab

AyeTab is a free developer toolbox with a plain QR generator and a styled one. The plain tool takes a URL or any text and gives you a code to download. The styled tool adds error correction levels from L to H, square, rounded, dot or connected modules, custom corner eyes, gradients, a transparent background and a logo.

Why it ranks first: everything runs locally in your browser, nothing is uploaded and there is no login. The code holds your link directly, so there is no middleman to switch it off. Developers can also get it on every new tab through the AyeTab Chrome extension, with a Ctrl+K palette to jump straight to it.

2. QRCode Monkey

QRCode Monkey is a free generator with a wide menu of content types, including URL, text, email, SMS, vCard, WiFi and events. It supports custom colours, shapes and logo upload, and exports PNG and SVG. Its own page says its codes are static, free for commercial use and do not expire. It is a good choice when you want ready-made templates or a vCard form.

3. QR Code Generator (qr-code-generator.com)

This one, part of Bitly, is the pick when you need dynamic codes. Its static codes are free and never expire, but its main product is dynamic codes: you can change the destination after printing and see where, when and on what device a code was scanned. Those features need an account, and there is a 14-day trial of the full feature set.

Side by side

How to choose in ten seconds

• A link for a slide, a README, a flyer or a quick phone test: AyeTab.
• A vCard or event code from a form, with templates: QRCode Monkey.
• A print campaign where the link may change or someone wants scan numbers: a dynamic service.

What to check before you print

Scan the code with at least two phones. Keep the URL short, because a shorter link gives a simpler pattern. If you add a logo, turn error correction up so the covered part does not break the code. And test the link itself, since a static code is only as durable as the page behind it.

Static codes are the quiet winner for most uses. They have no expiry, no dashboard and no renewal email. The trade is that a typo is permanent, which is one more reason to scan before you print.