What you get on the free plan
The full list, with no asterisks:
Unlimited static QR codes. Generate as many as you want. There is no monthly cap, no daily cap, no per-account cap. Static QRs encode the data (URL, vCard, WiFi credentials, plain text) directly into the QR pattern — no vendor server is involved on scan, so there is no infrastructure cost for us to throttle.
Custom colors. Any dark module color, any background color, any contrast combination that passes the 4.5:1 WCAG threshold. Brand colors are not gated behind a paid tier on our generator. Pick the hex value, the QR renders in that color, you download.
Logo embed. Drop your logo file into the center of the QR. The generator handles the placement, sizing (under 15% of code area), and the error-correction-level bump (to H, 30% recovery) so the embedded logo does not break the scan. Free.
Error correction level selection. L (7% recovery), M (15%, default), Q (25%), H (30%). All four levels are selectable. Use Q for print on coated paper, H if you embedded a logo or if the QR will be printed on imperfect substrates.
PNG export. High-resolution PNG download at the resolution you specify (up to 4096×4096). Use for web, social media, screen display, and most print at standard sizes.
No watermark. Nothing of ours appears on the QR. No "Made with EZQR" stamp. No vendor logo in the corner. The QR you download is the QR you printed in your design file.
No signup or credit card. The static-QR flow does not require an account. Open the home page, paste your URL or fill the form fields, customize, download. We do not capture your email; there is no mailing-list opt-in disguised as a download button.
Indefinite working life. A static QR generated on our free tier works forever — even if we go out of business tomorrow. The QR data is encoded into the visual pattern per ISO/IEC 18004; the scanning phone decodes it locally without any network request to our servers.
What you don't get on the free plan
Three things require a paid tier. Here is each one and the threshold where it starts mattering:
More than 3 dynamic QR codes. Dynamic codes encode a short redirect URL on our infrastructure — when scanned, the phone hits our redirect server, which forwards to the destination you set in the dashboard. The redirect is what lets you change the destination after the QR is printed. The first 3 dynamic codes are free; beyond that, the Lite tier ($5/mo) gives you 25, Pro ($10/mo) gives you 100, and Max ($20/mo) gives you unlimited.
The practical threshold: if you have a single restaurant menu QR, a real-estate listing QR, and one promotional campaign QR — that is 3 dynamic codes and the free tier covers it. If you run a multi-location restaurant chain or an agency with several active campaigns, you will pass 3 dynamic codes quickly and need the Lite tier.
Scan analytics. Per-scan timestamps, device type (iOS vs Android), country (from IP), per-code aggregation. Free dynamic codes redirect, but the dashboard does not show scan data. Lite ($5/mo) adds 30-day analytics; Pro ($10/mo) adds full historical analytics, A/B testing, geo-targeting, and CSV export.
The practical threshold: if you are running a marketing campaign and need to attribute scans to placements, you need analytics. For internal use (WiFi codes, business cards, signage where you just want the QR to work), analytics rarely matters and the free tier is fine.
SVG and PDF export. PNG works for most uses; SVG and PDF are required for professional print at variable sizes (large-format vinyl, packaging artwork, branded materials sent to a print broker). SVG and PDF export start on the Lite tier ($5/mo).
The practical threshold: if you are printing at one fixed size and you can specify the PNG resolution at generation time, the free PNG covers it. If you are handing files to a print broker who needs vector originals, you need Lite or higher.
These are the only paid features that affect the QR generation flow itself. There is no "free trial that auto-converts to paid," no hidden quota that turns your free QRs into broken links, no expiration date on the QR.
The three questions skeptics ask first
1. Is the free QR actually free, or is it a trial that expires?
The static QRs are genuinely free with no time limit and no usage limit. They work as long as QR codes work as a format (which is forever — the format is an open ISO standard with universal scanner support). The 3 dynamic QRs on the free tier work forever too — we keep dynamic codes redirecting indefinitely on every tier, including free. There is no "trial period" on any output.
2. What is the catch?
The honest answer: scan analytics and SVG export are gated, and you cannot generate more than 3 dynamic QRs without upgrading. That is the full catch. There is no watermark. There is no expiration. There is no email signup that gets you sales emails. You can use the free tier indefinitely for unlimited static QRs and 3 dynamic codes without ever paying us.
3. How can you afford to give this away?
Static QR generation costs us almost nothing per user — the QR rendering is a few CPU cycles on a server we are already running, and there is no ongoing cost after the download (no server request when the QR is scanned, because the scanning phone decodes the QR locally). The free tier converts a meaningful percentage of users to paid over time when their use case grows — they need dynamic codes, or analytics, or SVG export, and the upgrade to Lite at $5/mo is straightforward. The math works at our scale; we do not need to extract revenue from users who only need static codes.
How free static QRs survive even if we shut down
The QR pattern itself encodes the destination. When you scan one of our free static QRs:
1. Your phone camera reads the QR pattern.
2. Your phone's QR decoder (built into iOS Camera and Android Camera since 2017) parses the pattern according to ISO/IEC 18004.
3. The decoder extracts the URL (or vCard data, WiFi credentials, etc.) directly from the pattern.
4. Your phone opens the URL in the default browser, or offers to save the contact, or prompts to join the network — based on the data type.
Nothing in steps 1–4 involves our servers. The QR pattern itself contains the destination. If our entire company disappears tomorrow, every free static QR we ever generated keeps working forever, because the data was never on our servers in the first place — it was always on the QR.
This is the architecturally honest pattern for static QRs and it is what makes the free tier defensible long-term. We could not pull the rug on our free users if we wanted to; the QRs are independent of our infrastructure.
Dynamic QRs are different. A dynamic QR encodes a short URL on our infrastructure that redirects to the destination you set. If we shut down, dynamic QRs would stop redirecting. This is why our cancellation policy specifically addresses dynamic codes — we keep them redirecting indefinitely after cancellation, funded by active subscribers, so the dynamic codes you print are not held hostage by your subscription status. See the permanent QR code guide for the broader vendor comparison.
Generate your first free QR in 60 seconds
The standard flow for a one-off free QR:
1. Open [the homepage](/) in a browser. No signup prompt; the generator is on the page.
2. Pick the QR type. URL is the most common; vCard is for business cards; WiFi is for guest networks; email/phone/SMS prefill messages or calls; location embeds a map pin; PDF links to a hosted PDF. Pick the type that matches your destination.
3. Fill the form fields. For URL: paste the destination URL. For vCard: enter name, phone, email, organization. For WiFi: enter SSID, password, encryption type. The form changes per type.
4. Customize the design (optional). Pick the dark module color and the background color. Upload a logo file if you want one embedded in the center. Pick the error correction level (M default; H if you embedded a logo).
5. Download. Click the download button; the PNG lands in your downloads folder. The file is ready to print or paste into a design tool.
6. Test scan. Before deploying, scan the downloaded QR on your phone to verify it points where you expect. The test is the cheapest insurance against a wrong-URL print run.
Total time: under 60 seconds for a plain URL QR; 90 seconds with logo and color customization. No account, no email, no follow-up sales sequence.
For the broader QR generation workflow including dynamic codes, see the how to create a QR code guide.
When the free tier is the right answer (and when it is not)
The free tier handles most one-off and small-business use cases completely. Cases where free is the right answer:
- Business card vCard QRs. The contact info encodes into the QR pattern. Free static, custom colors, logo embed — covered.
- WiFi sharing QRs. Encoded credentials, works offline (the scanning phone does not need internet to read the QR). Free static.
- Stable URL signage. A QR on a yard sign pointing to your homepage, or on a poster pointing to a permanent event page. Free static.
- One-off event tickets, programs, brochures. A single print run with a single QR destination. Free static.
- Internal use. Office wayfinding, asset tags, document QRs. Free static.
- Up to 3 dynamic QRs. A restaurant menu QR, an Instagram bio QR, and a real-estate listing QR — three dynamic codes on the free tier.
Cases where the Lite tier ($5/mo) starts earning its place:
- More than 3 dynamic QRs. Multi-location chains, agencies with multiple active campaigns, marketing programs running several A/B variants. Lite gives 25 dynamic codes.
- Scan analytics for campaign attribution. Knowing which yard sign drove the call, which placement converted at the highest rate, which campaign earned the scans you paid for.
- SVG and PDF export. Vector files for print brokers, large-format printing, packaging artwork.
- QR cloning. Reuse design settings across multiple QRs instead of re-customizing each one.
Cases where Pro ($10/mo) or Max ($20/mo) earns its place:
- Pro: A/B testing destinations, geo-targeting (different destinations for different countries), smart rules (different destinations for different times of day), password-protected QRs, full historical analytics, CSV export. For mid-size marketing teams.
- Max: REST API for programmatic QR generation, custom branded short URLs (your-domain.com/r/abc123), white-label dashboard for agency clients, 5-seat team management, bulk CSV import for large campaigns. For agencies, developers, and enterprise teams.
The full feature breakdown by tier is on the pricing page. The free vs paid decision framework covers the upgrade triggers in more detail.
How we compare to other 'free' QR generators
Most QR generators advertise 'free' but charge the moment you want a watermark removed, a logo embedded, or analytics enabled. The honest free-tier landscape in 2026:
EZQR free: unlimited static, custom colors, logo embed, PNG export, no watermark, no signup. 3 free dynamic codes that survive cancellation.
QRCode Monkey free: unlimited static, custom colors, logo embed, PNG export, no watermark, no signup. No dynamic codes (static-only generator).
GoQR.me free: unlimited static, basic colors only, no logo embed, PNG export, no watermark, no signup. SVG is paid.
Bitly free: limited static QRs, watermark on some outputs, signup required, dynamic codes are trial-only.
Canva free: static URL QRs only, no other QR types, signup required, some outputs include a Canva wordmark.
Flowcode free: 2 dynamic QRs with a 500-scan cap, no static option, signup required. Codes deactivate 30 days after subscription cancellation (so the 'free' dynamic codes also deactivate if you ever start and stop a trial).
QR Tiger free: static QRs with custom colors and logo embed. No dynamic codes on free.
The shortlist of genuinely-free options without watermark or signup gates: EZQR, QRCode Monkey. The shortlist that adds free dynamic codes that survive cancellation: just EZQR. The no-watermark QR generators guide and the no-signup walkthrough cover the broader landscape.
The bottom line
The free plan is genuinely free for the static-QR use case that covers most users. Unlimited static codes, custom colors, logo embed, PNG export, no watermark, no signup, no expiration. The static QRs work forever regardless of our company's status because the data is encoded into the QR pattern itself, not held on our servers.
Three things require an upgrade: more than 3 dynamic QRs (Lite at $5/mo gives 25), scan analytics (Lite adds 30-day; Pro at $10/mo adds full historical), and SVG/PDF export (Lite). If your use case stays inside those limits, you can use the free plan indefinitely without ever paying us.
The paid tiers are honest pricing on monthly billing. No annual lock-in. No cancellation deactivation. If you upgrade for a busy season and downgrade for a slow one, every code you generated keeps working. The infrastructure is funded by active subscribers, not by deactivating past customers' codes.
The practical recommendation: try the free static generator for whatever you are working on right now. Generate the QR, scan it on your phone to test, deploy. If you hit one of the three paid-tier triggers (more dynamic codes, analytics, vector export), upgrade to Lite at $5/mo and keep working. If you do not hit those triggers, never upgrade. That is the actual product — not a trial, not a teaser, not a lead-magnet.
For the broader landscape comparison, see the best QR generators 2026, the permanent QR code guide, and the no-watermark generators guide.
