by Xavi Esteve
on July 30, 2025
(4 minute read)
QR codes are everywhere, from restaurant menus to boarding passes, but generating one can sometimes feel like stepping into a dark alley of pop‑ups, paywalls, and hidden redirects. Some “free” tools sprinkle your URL with tracking parameters or gate basic features behind an account wall, or even worse, make you pay after a limited number of scans. That defeats the very convenience QR codes promise. So I built a genuinely free QR Code Generator that puts simplicity and privacy first. Same as I did back in 2019 with the Emoji List, a super simple website to find and grab emojis, this follows the same principle of keeping things simple, free and fast to use.
Why another QR code tool?
Because the current landscape is broken. Marketers want analytics, so many generators rewrite your link through their own domain and log every scan. Designers need crisp vector files, yet some platforms lock SVG downloads behind a premium plan. Casual users just need to turn a Wi‑Fi password into a square, but they’re bombarded with banner ads instead. My goal was to strip all that away and make the creation process as frictionless as scanning the final code.
Multiple QRs in one go
By clicking on the Multiple tab, you can create hundreds of QRs in seconds and download them in a click.
Zero‑tracking, zero‑redirects
When you paste a URL or craft a vCard in the QR Code Generator, that exact content is what ends up inside the QR matrix—no UTM strings, no short‑links, no data siphoned to third parties. The code you download is static and self‑contained; once it’s printed, nothing phones home. You keep control of your analytics (use your own if you need them) and your audience never lands on a surprise intermediary page. This also ensures that the QR uses the least bytes possible, making it look cleaner (less squares) while also being easier to scan.
A one‑screen, keyboard‑friendly UI
Open https://xaviesteve.com/pro/qr/ and everything happens on a single page. Choose the payload: Link, Text, E‑mail, Wi‑Fi, Location, Event, Phone, vCard, WhatsApp, Zoom, PayPal, Bitcoin, or classic SMS—by tapping the tabs or simply hitting the down‑arrow key. The form adapts instantly, so you never wade through irrelevant fields.
Once you press Generate, the code appears on the right with live counters for character length and contrast ratio. Need to tweak colors or error‑correction? Expand Advanced Settings and adjust stroke color, background color, EC level (L, M, Q, H), mask pattern, or even force a specific version size—all while previewing the result in real time as you tweak/type, no need to click an extra Generate button.
Pixel‑perfect outputs, built for designers
Every QR you create can be downloaded in two lossless formats: an infinitely scalable SVG for print or a high‑resolution PNG (1000 × 1000 px by default, plus a quick‑grab 250 × 250 px size for mock‑ups). Both come with a generous “quiet‑zone” margin, so you won’t have to add white space manually in your design software.
Privacy that goes beyond the code
The generator itself is a static web app (no databases, no account signups). All processing happens client‑side in your browser, which means the server never sees your data. Scan counts? I don’t collect them. IP addresses? Not stored. The entire tool is light enough to run offline once it’s cached, perfect for agencies that need to draft assets on a flight or in a workshop with spotty Wi‑Fi. The only thing I track is visits to the tool, which basically tell me where to dedicate my hobby time to improve my free tools (BTW, I have developed hundreds of free cool stuff, check them out).
Built for power users too
While the main screen stays minimal, the engine under the hood follows the full ISO/IEC 18004 spec, supporting versions 1‑40, alphanumeric and byte modes, UTF‑8 characters (yes, even emojis), and configurable mask patterns for advanced readability tests. If you’re embedding the code in a complex print layout or engraving it on metal, you’ll appreciate having that granular control without leaving the browser.
Try it in 30 seconds
Grab your best‑performing blog post, paste the URL, hit Generate, and scan the code with your phone. That tiny square contains exactly the link you gave it—nothing more, nothing less. If you like what you see, bookmark the page for future launches, product packaging, conference badges, or the next pop‑up shop.
By the way, you may also pass the text to encode directly via URL and it will generate it on page load, for example: https://xaviesteve.com/pro/qr/?text=Hello!
I built this tool because making a QR code should feel as effortless as sending a message, not as risky as sharing your browsing history. Give the generator a spin and tell me what you build with it—I can’t wait to see your projects go from idea to scan!
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