Free QR Code & Barcode Generator
Make a QR code from any link, phone number or block of text, or generate a barcode in eleven symbologies. Everything is drawn in your browser, so nothing you type is uploaded anywhere.
Logo overlay (optional)
What this QR code generator does
makeqrco.de is a free QR code generator with no account, no watermark and no scan limit. Paste a URL into the box above and a scannable QR code appears immediately; adjust the size, the foreground and background colours, or the error correction level and the preview redraws as you type. When it looks right, download it as a PNG for screens or an SVG for print.
The same tool is a barcode generator. Switch to the Barcode tab and you can create a Code 128, EAN-13, UPC-A, Data Matrix, PDF417, Aztec or ITF-14 symbol from the same interface, with the correct digit rules enforced per format. The barcode generator page explains what each symbology expects.
Two things make it different from the dozens of identical online QR code generators.
First, generation is client-side: the encoding happens in JavaScript in your tab, using
qrcode.js
and
bwip-js,
so the URL you encode never travels anywhere. Second, there is a keyless
QR code image API:
put any URL after makeqrco.de/qr/
and you get a PNG back that you can drop straight into an <img> tag or a
markdown file.
Nothing here is a redirect service. The QR code encodes your URL literally, so it cannot expire, cannot be rate-limited, and will not stop working if this site ever goes away.
Turn any link into a QR code image URL
Prefix a URL with makeqrco.de/qr/
and the server returns a 512×512 image/png. No key, no quota, CORS open.
Query parameters change the size, colours, error correction and format — add
?format=svg for vector.
https://makeqrco.de/qr/https://example.com A plain website URL https://makeqrco.de/qr/https://github.com/Saul-as-a-service/makeqrco.de A repository link https://makeqrco.de/qr/https://yourshop.com/product?id=42 A URL with a query string
Dropping the /qr/ segment —
makeqrco.de/https://example.com — gives you a shareable
HTML page showing the same code, which is what you want when pasting a link into
a chat app so it unfurls with a preview. Use the /qr/
form whenever you need the raw image.
Full API documentation →
How to create a QR code
Make a scannable QR code in the browser: paste a URL, set the error correction level, optionally add a logo and colours, then download a PNG or SVG.
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Paste the URL or text
Open the QR Code tab and paste the full web address, including https://, into the input. Any plain text works too — a phone number, Wi-Fi credentials or a short message. The preview redraws as you type.
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Choose the error correction level
Pick L, M, Q or H. They recover roughly 7%, 15%, 25% and 30% damage respectively. M is a sensible default on screen; choose H if the code will be printed, weathered or covered by a logo.
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Add a logo (optional)
Upload an image and it is composited into the centre of the code with a white padding border. Raise error correction to H first, and note that the logo is drawn on the canvas, so it appears in the PNG export and not in the SVG.
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Pick the colours (optional)
Set the foreground and background colours. Keep strong contrast between them: a scanner reduces the image to black and white, and dark modules on a light background scan far more reliably than the reverse.
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Download the PNG or SVG
Download a PNG for screens, email and slides, or an SVG when the code will be printed larger than a business card. Encoding happens in your browser, so nothing you typed is uploaded.
Steps 3 and 4 are optional — a plain link needs only the first, second and last.
Free QR code generator features
No bloat, no limits, no account required.
QR codes with a logo
Upload any image and it is composited into the centre of the code. Raise error correction to H first — level H tolerates about 30% of the modules being obscured, which is what keeps a logo-covered code scannable.
UTM parameter builder
Fill in utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_content and utm_term and they are appended to the URL before encoding. utm_medium=qr is the usual convention for a printed code.
12 barcode formats
Code 128, Code 39, EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E, QR, Data Matrix, PDF417, Aztec, ITF-14 and Interleaved 2 of 5, rendered by bwip-js.
SVG shape masking
Upload an SVG silhouette and the barcode is clipped to that outline. Striking on a poster — and deliberately not scannable, because clipping destroys the encoding.
QR code image API
GET makeqrco.de/qr/<url> returns a PNG or an SVG, with size, margin, error correction and colours as query parameters. Open CORS header, 24-hour cache, no key and no sign-up — usable directly in markdown and HTML email.
Client-side generation
The generator on this page encodes everything in JavaScript in your tab. No upload, no account, no stored history of what you made.
In full: making a QR code with a logo.
More free QR code tools
The generator above covers links and plain text. These pages handle the jobs around it: Wi-Fi and contact codes, decoding, bulk export and getting the print size right.
Wi-Fi QR code generator
Enter the network name, password and security type and get a code that connects a phone to the Wi-Fi when scanned, with no password to type out.
vCard QR code generator
Turn a name, phone number, email and address into a vCard code that saves a contact straight into the address book.
Email QR code generator
A code that opens the mail app with the address, subject and first line already written, so a scan turns into a reply you can answer.
QR code reader
Upload or paste an image of a QR code and read out what it contains. Decoding runs in your browser, so the image is never uploaded.
Bulk QR code generator
Paste a list or a CSV and download hundreds of PNG or SVG codes as a single ZIP, all generated in the browser.
QR code size calculator
Work out the minimum print size from the scan distance and the amount of content, using the 10:1 rule and 0.4 mm per module.
QR code with logo
What a logo in the middle really costs you — error correction level, how much area the image covers and why the corners must stay clear.
Barcode generator
Code 128, EAN-13, UPC-A, Data Matrix, PDF417 and more, with the digit and length rules of each format enforced.
QR code image API
Prefix any URL with makeqrco.de/qr/ and get a PNG or SVG back. No key, no quota, and it works directly in an <img> tag or markdown.
QR code and barcode glossary
Short definitions of the terms that come up when you make or print a code: module, quiet zone, error correction level, symbology and the rest.
Need a barcode instead of a QR code?
Article numbers, shipping labels and warehouse locations want a linear barcode, not a QR code. Every symbology the generator supports has its own page covering its character set, length rules, check digit and where it is actually used.
Auf Deutsch: QR-Code Generator und Barcode Generator.
Guides
Making the code is the easy part. These cover the things that decide whether it still scans once it is printed, photographed or handed to a designer.
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Why your QR code is not scanning
A QR code that fails to scan usually fails for one of eleven reasons, and this walks through each of them with the fix, from contrast to dead short links.
7 min read
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What size should a printed QR code be?
The distance-to-size rule that decides whether a printed QR code scans, the minimum millimetres per module, and the quiet zone people keep cropping off.
4 min read
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Putting a logo in a QR code without breaking it
Error correction level H tolerates about 30 percent damage, which is not permission to cover 30 percent of the code. Here is the size that actually survives.
7 min read
QR code generator FAQ
The four questions people ask most before they generate anything.
Is the QR code generator really free?
Yes. There is no account, no watermark, no scan limit and no paid tier. Every option — logo overlay, colours, error correction, UTM parameters, PNG and SVG download — is available to everyone.
How do I make a QR code for a website?
Paste the full URL (including https://) into the QR Code tab. The preview updates as you type. Pick a size and error correction level, optionally drop a logo in the middle, then download the PNG or SVG.
Are the QR codes generated on a server?
Not when you use the generator on this page — it runs in your browser with qrcode.js and bwip-js, so the text you encode never leaves your device. The /qr/<url> image API is the one server-side path, and it renders on request without storing anything.
Do QR codes made here expire?
No. A QR code is just an encoding of the text you typed; there is no redirect service in the middle and nothing that can be switched off. The image you download keeps working forever.
Built and run by one person. The source is on GitHub — see about.