What this QR code generator makes
Start typing a link into this free QR code generator and the code builds itself, right in your browser, letter by letter. Save it as PNG or SVG. You won't be asked to sign up. No watermark, no logo in the middle, and make as many as you like.
It takes five kinds of thing. Links, plain text, Wi-Fi details, an email address, a contact card. Under the preview, a small line counts the characters packed in.
A LinkedIn QR code from the example button
On November 6, 2026 I clicked "Try an example", which filled in https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-lee-marketing, and the code appeared at once.
The line under it read "48 characters · 512×512px".
Then I downloaded all three files and looked at them:
- 512 px PNG: 9,073 bytes.
- 1024 px PNG (the print one): 26,926 bytes.
- SVG: 1,932 bytes. Tiny, because it's just vector shapes, and any design program opens it.
Did it actually work? I read the 512 px PNG back with a QR decoding library on my computer. Out came the same LinkedIn address, character for character.
Next I typed the address without the https:// part. The count dropped to 44, because the generator puts https:// back in for you. Your phone opens the right page either way.
Why a long link makes a worse code
A QR code is squares. Lots of them, in a grid, a barcode that reads across and down. Add characters and you add squares.
The 48-character LinkedIn link made a grid 33 squares wide. Then I pasted the same profile with tracking tags on the end, 142 characters long. That code came out 49 squares wide.
Print both at the same width and each square of the long one is about 30 percent smaller. A phone camera struggles with small squares. Worse from across a room, worse in dim light.
So trim the link. If the page still opens without everything after the question mark, cut it. The QR code on resume guide works out the printed size in millimeters for short links.
Pick the right type
- Link / URL is the link to QR option: your profile, your portfolio, an online copy of your resume. Most people want this one. A menu QR code is the same thing pointed at the menu page.
- Contact card makes a vCard: name, phone, email, website. Scan it and the phone asks whether to save the contact. Good on a business card. Mine, all four filled in, used 156 characters.
- Email starts a message to you. Set a subject and it's already typed for them. I like this one on a booth sign.
- Wi-Fi puts guests on a network with no password typing. Event rooms, shared offices.
- Text just pops up a short note. No link.
What's inside a Wi-Fi QR code? Network name, password, security type (WPA/WPA2, WEP or none). My test: network CareerFair-Booth12, password hire;me:2026.
See the semicolon and colon in there? Each got a backslash in front, which the Wi-Fi format needs. 50 characters total.
One gap: networks where everybody logs in with a username of their own. That's usually called WPA2-Enterprise, and you won't find it in the list.
How much fits
I filled the Text box until it broke. 2,331 characters of plain English letters and digits fit. At 2,332 the line under the preview switched to "Too much data for a QR code: shorten it." and the download buttons switched off.
Accented letters and emoji take more room each, so the real limit for them is lower. Nobody should get near it anyway. A code that full is far too dense for paper.
Get a resume QR code to scan the first time
- Dark color, always. The background stays white whatever you do. Navy, black, a deep brand shade: fine. Pale yellow, light grey: risky.
- Leave the white edge alone. Phones use that blank border to find the code.
- Printing? SVG, so it's sharp however big it goes. Print shop insists on an image file? The 1024 px PNG.
- Before the whole batch goes through, scan one real printout with two phones. Different makes if you can.
About that border. Denso Wave invented the QR code, and they ask for four squares of clear margin. Our files have two. So give the image a bit of extra white space on the page and you're covered.
Error correction is set to level M on every code. Translation: scuff or cover about 15 percent and a phone still reads it.
Where it helps a job search
Anything a recruiter holds in their hand. A printed resume at a career fair. A business card. A name badge. The last slide of a talk. They scan, your LinkedIn profile or portfolio opens, and no one has to type a URL.
On the file I upload to an online application? I skip it. Someone reads that on a screen. A link there is one click; a code means getting a phone out. Same goes for a CV QR code on an emailed PDF.
Codes from this QR code generator never expire
These are static codes. Your link lives in the pattern. No scan ever touches our servers, which means we can't count them, and there's no switch we could flip later. As long as the page it points at is up, it works.
The catch? Once printed, it can't be pointed somewhere else. If your portfolio might move house, aim the code at an address you own, your own domain say, and change that page when you need to.
What stays on your device
A script in your browser draws the code. I kept the network tab open while I typed a long block of text and a Wi-Fi password. Nothing went out. We never see what's in your codes, passwords and phone numbers included.
One thing does reach us, as you leave: a usage count. Tool used, for this many seconds. That's it. What you typed isn't in it. The privacy policy has the details.
How to scan a QR code
Camera app, point, tap the link that shows up. Nothing? Google Lens, or any scanner app.
At a PC it's clumsier. Hold the printout up to the webcam with a scanner app running. Or save the image and open it in a scanner that reads image files.
Who made it
GetJobTools built this QR code maker; the about page says who is behind the site. Made a code that will not scan? Its type and size, sent via the contact page, are what we need to look into it.
FAQ
How do I create a QR code?
Choose Link / URL, paste the address, and there's your code. Pick a size, pick a dark color, download PNG or SVG. Forgot https://? It gets added.
How do I scan a QR code?
Point the phone camera at it, tap the address. Camera ignoring it? Google Lens or a scanner app.
Can I make a QR code on a PC?
Yes. Windows, Mac, Linux, any modern browser does it, and you get PNG or SVG. Reading one on a PC is another matter: scanner app plus webcam.
Do free QR codes expire?
Ours don't. Static, link baked into the pattern, scans never reach us, nothing to turn off. The ones that die on you are dynamic: every scan goes via the maker's server first.
Which download size should I pick, 256, 512 or 1024 px?
Print: SVG (sharp at any size), or 1024 px PNG if they want an image. Slide or web page: 512 is plenty.
Where does a QR code on a resume make sense?
On paper you hand over, pointing at something worth a scan, a portfolio say. On an uploaded application file, just use a link.
Why will my QR code not scan?
Usually it's one of three. Link too long for how small it's printed. Color too pale. White border cropped off. Fix: shorter link, darker color, keep the margin, print bigger.
Do Wi-Fi QR codes work on both iPhone and Android?
Usually. The code uses the common WIFI: format (name, password, security type), and today's phone cameras tend to offer to join. Yours won't? Scanner app. Per-person username networks aren't supported.