Static vs Dynamic QR Codes
One design choice decides whether a QR code can expire, whether you can edit it, and whether anyone sits in the middle. Here is the difference, when to use each, how to spot a dynamic code, and how to make a free static one that lasts.
The one difference that matters
Every QR code is either static or dynamic, and the difference is where your link actually lives. In a static code, the address is written straight into the black-and-white pattern — nothing sits between the scan and your destination. In a dynamic code, the pattern instead holds a short redirect owned by the generator, so scanning it bounces through that company's server before reaching your real link. That single choice is what determines everything below: expiry, editability, and who sits in the middle.
Do QR codes expire?
A static QR code has no expiry. Because the destination is baked into the image, it keeps working for as long as that destination exists — years after you print it, even if the site that generated it is long gone. A dynamic code is the opposite: the redirect only survives while the generator keeps running and, on many "free" services, while you keep paying. When a trial ends, a plan lapses, or the company shuts the service down, the redirect dies and every code you printed dies with it. If you have ever heard "I made a free QR code and months later it stopped working," that was almost certainly a dynamic code.
When to use each
Match the type to the job:
- Static — for anything printed or permanent: business cards, packaging, signage, menus, wedding invites, product manuals. You give up editing and scan analytics, but you get a code that simply never breaks.
- Dynamic — only when you genuinely need to change the destination after printing, or you need per-scan analytics, and you accept that the code now depends on a subscription staying active. For a poster up for one week that dependency is fine; for a code stamped on 10,000 boxes it is a real risk.
How to tell which one you are getting
Free generators do not always say. Signs you are being handed a dynamic code:
- It asks you to create an account or log in before you can download.
- The pitch leans on "edit anytime," "track scans," or "retarget later."
- The encoded link is a short redirect on the generator's own domain rather than your actual address — scan it with a plain reader and check what text comes back.
A static generator, by contrast, encodes your link verbatim, needs no account, and produces a code that keeps working offline forever.
Make a free static QR code
This tool makes static codes only. Your link is encoded directly into the image, inside your browser, and downloaded as a print-ready SVG or a high-resolution PNG — no account, no redirect, no expiry. Paste a link, and the code you get is yours to keep. New to it? Start with the step-by-step how-to guide.
Keep reading
- How to make a QR code — the four-step walkthrough
- Are QR code generators safe? — what they do with your link
- QR code guide — error correction, print, and scan troubleshooting