QR Codes on Posters: Add, Size & Track for Free

QR Codes on Posters — Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add a QR code to a poster for free?

Yes. Designing the code — content, logo, brand colors, dot and corner styles, a call-to-action frame — is free and needs no account, and you can preview the result before committing to anything. Downloading the finished file requires a free account, which takes a moment and no card. Static codes are unlimited on the free plan — Wi-Fi, plain text and calendar events, or a poster link you switch to static in the generator. A poster code that points at a web page is a dynamic code by default, and the free plan includes one of those: it redirects and reports scans, but all free dynamic codes share 100 scans per month across the whole account, and past that they stop redirecting until the month resets. A paid plan lifts the cap.

What size should a QR code be on a poster?

Work backwards from where people will actually stand, then divide that distance by ten — that is your minimum code width. Read across a 10-foot room, the code wants to be about 12 inches (30 cm); on a hallway notice board read from 4 feet, about 5 inches (13 cm). Undersizing is the single most common reason a poster code never gets scanned, so round up when you are between sizes. Then verify it rather than trusting the math: print one proof at the finished size, tape it where the poster will hang, and scan it from that distance on two or three different phones before ordering the run. Our QR code size guide has the full distance table.

Should a poster QR code be static or dynamic?

Decide by how long the paper will outlive the message on it. If the destination is permanent — your homepage, a venue address, a Wi-Fi network — static is fine: the address is baked into the pattern, so it never expires, its scans are never counted or capped, and you can make as many as you like on the free plan. If the poster will still be on the wall after the offer closes or the date passes, print a dynamic code so you can repoint it instead of reprinting, and so scans are counted at all. The thing to know before you commit is the plan: a web-page code is dynamic by default, and the free plan includes one, with 100 scans a month shared across the account before it stops redirecting. The generator on this page lets you switch that same link to static — free and unlimited, at the price of losing tracking and the ability to change the destination. A poster run that expects real traffic, or might need repointing, belongs on a paid plan.

What can a poster QR code link to?

Whatever the poster is asking people to do: a ticket or RSVP page, a trailer or highlight reel, a sign-up or waitlist form, a product page, a donation page, an application form, or your social profiles. The one rule worth following is that the destination should answer the poster's promise in the first screenful — someone standing in a corridor with a phone will not scroll to find what you promised them. A purpose-built landing page makes that easy.

Where should I place the QR code on a poster?

Somewhere a person can physically get a phone to. On a wall poster that means roughly between waist and shoulder height — anything above head height is unscannable however large you make it. Bottom-right is a reliable default, because that is where the eye finishes reading. Avoid the crease of a poster that ships rolled or folded, avoid the spot where a display case throws glare, and avoid dropping it on top of the artwork's focal point. And give people a reason: a code with nothing next to it explaining what happens when you scan is the one that gets walked past.

How do I print a QR code on a large poster?

Export vector. Download the code as an SVGand place that in your poster file — vector geometry has no resolution to run out of, so it prints identically on A3 and on a wall banner. This matters on the free plan in particular, where PNG downloads top out at 1024 pixels; stretched to poster width that is visibly soft, while the SVG is unaffected because vector formats are never resolution-limited. Send the finished artwork to a large-format printer, ask for a proof, and scan the proof itself — not the file on screen — before approving the full run. Our how-to-print guide covers resolution, contrast and file formats.

Can I track how many people scan my poster?

Yes, as long as the code is dynamic — a static code carries no redirect, so there is nothing to count. Every plan shows the scan counts for a dynamic code in your scan-analytics dashboard. The deeper reporting — the scan-activity chart, device and approximate-location breakdowns, CSV export and custom date ranges — unlocks on the Starter plan; free workspaces see the counts and keep 30 days of scan history. Comparing posters by putting a different code in each location needs more than one dynamic code, which is also a paid plan: free includes one.

Will people scan a QR code on a poster from a distance?

Only if scanning is easier than ignoring it. Three things decide that. The code has to be large enough for the distance people stand at, or the camera simply never locks on. It has to sit on a light, uncluttered patch, because a phone camera in a dim corridor loses low-contrast codes long before your eyes do. And the payoff has to be written next to it in plain words — “two-minute sign-up,” “see the seating plan,” “get the discount at the till.” A code that is small, high on the wall, or unexplained gets ignored no matter how good the poster is.

Can I use different QR codes on posters in different locations?

Yes, and it is the only honest way to learn which sites are worth paying for. Give each venue, city or placement its own dynamic code, then compare their scan counts side by side. For a handful of locations, making them one at a time is quick. For a large campaign, the bulk QR code generator builds a batch from a pasted column or a CSV file — that is a Plus-plan feature. Either way, more than one dynamic code means a paid plan, since the free plan includes one.

How do I make the QR code match my poster design?

Add your logo, set the foreground and background colors, and pick dot and corner styles — all of it free while you are creating the code. The constraint to respect is contrast: a phone camera needs a clearly dark pattern on a clearly light field, so over photography or dark artwork put the code on a solid light tile rather than tinting the pattern to match the palette. Pale or inverted codes are the most common cause of a beautiful poster nobody can scan. Test the finished design at print size before you commit. Our custom QR code generator walks through every option.

Do poster QR codes expire?

Not on a date, no. A static code has its destination encoded in the pattern itself, so it works for as long as the paper survives, and its scans are never counted or capped. A dynamic code works for as long as its redirect keeps answering — which on the free plan comes with a limit worth knowing: all free dynamic codes share 100 scans a month across the account, and once that is spent they stop redirecting until the monthly reset. Any paid plan removes the cap. What a dynamic code gives you in return is control: you can repoint or retire the destination at any time, which is exactly what you want when a poster outlasts the event it advertises.