Static vs dynamic QR code: which one should you print?

A static QR code is free and keeps working for good, but its link can never change. A dynamic QR code can be pointed somewhere new after it is printed, and it counts its scans.

Printing it?

That code can never be changed

The link is baked into the pattern. If the page moves or the offer behind it ends, every poster you printed points at a dead URL and the only fix is reprinting them.

A dynamic code points at us instead, so you can change where it goes whenever you like — and see how many people scanned it.

$5.90/month

or $49 a year — save 30%. 7-day free trial, no payment details needed.

Start the free trial

The choice that matters before you print

Say you print 500 flyers for a summer market, with a code that opens the stall list on your website. Two weeks later the site is rebuilt and the list moves. If the code is static, all 500 flyers now open a page that is not there. The only fix is to print them again.

If the code is dynamic, you log in, paste the new address, and every flyer already out there opens the right page on the next scan. Nothing about the printed code changes.

That is the whole difference. Decide before the print order goes in, because a printed code cannot be turned into the other kind.

Which one fits

Print a static code when the link will not change while the code is out in the world: your home page, a Google review page, a document that stays at one address. The generator above makes one, and it is yours to keep.

Print a dynamic code when the link might change, or when you want to know whether anyone is scanning. A menu whose dishes change, a sign that moves between properties, packaging that sits on shelves for years, a poster campaign you want to measure.

Watch for one trap. Some generators hand you a dynamic code without saying so, then switch it off when a trial ends. Our free codes are static, so there is nothing to switch off. We never turn them into trial codes.

Static QR code Dynamic QR code
Change the link after printing No. The link is part of the pattern. Yes, as often as you like.
Scan tracking None. Scans never reach us. Count, country, device and browser.
Cost Free, for good. $49 a year or $5.90 a month, after a 7-day free trial.
Needs an account No. Yes. The trial needs no card.

How it works

  1. Create. Make a dynamic code in your account and point it at your link.
  2. Print. Download it as PNG or SVG and put it wherever it needs to go.
  3. Update anytime. Change where it points from your account. The printed code stays the same.

What it costs

Static codes are free, with no account. Dynamic codes cost $49 a year, which saves 30% against paying monthly, or $5.90 a month. We recommend yearly. Tax is included. Every account starts with a 7-day free trial that needs no payment details, and a subscription covers 5 dynamic codes. Cancel anytime and keep access to the end of the period you paid for.

If you stop paying, your dynamic codes stop resolving once the paid period and a further 7 days of grace have passed. Nothing is deleted: the codes, their links and their scan history stay in your account, and every code starts working the moment you subscribe again. Static codes never depend on us. They keep working as long as the page they point to does. We never switch one off, but we cannot bring back a page that has gone.

See the full pricing

Questions

Should I print a static or a dynamic QR code?

Ask whether the link could change while the code is still out in the world. If it never will — your home page, a review page, a document that stays put — print a static code. It is free and needs nothing from us.

If it might — a menu, a listing, an event schedule, a campaign that moves — print a dynamic code. A static code can only be corrected by printing a new one.

What is the difference between a static and a dynamic QR code?

A static code carries its destination inside the image. The phone reads the link straight off the pattern and goes there, so nothing of ours is involved in the scan. That is why it is free, needs no account and keeps working forever — and also why nothing about it can be changed or counted afterwards.

A dynamic code carries a short link on our domain instead. Every scan reaches us first, we look up where that code should point today, and we send the phone on. That round trip is what buys you an editable destination and a count of who scanned it.

Can I change where a code points after it is printed?

With a dynamic code, yes — as often as you like, and the printed image never changes. The short link inside the pattern is fixed for the life of the code; only the destination behind it moves.

With a static code, no. The link is part of the pattern, so changing it means generating a different code and reprinting everything the old one is on.

Do static QR codes expire?

Never. A static code keeps working with or without an account, whether or not you ever subscribe, and whether or not we are still here. Scanning one does not contact us, so there is nothing for us to switch off.

What happens to my codes if I stop paying?

Your static codes are untouched. They never depended on us, and they keep working as long as the page they point to is there.

Your dynamic codes stop redirecting. Anyone who scans one sees a plain notice that the code is not active — they are not shown a bill or asked to pay anything, because they are a stranger who scanned a poster. Your codes, their destinations and all of your past analytics are kept, and every code starts resolving again the moment you subscribe.

A failed renewal is not instant either. We add 7 days on the end of a paid period, so a card that needs replacing does not darken everything you have already printed while your bank retries it.

Need to change the link later?

7 days free, no card needed. Make a dynamic code and edit it whenever you like.

Start the free trial

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