Free Dynamic QR Codes: The Catch in Every Free Plan

Yes, you can get a free dynamic QR code. A few services give one away, QRZY included. But every free plan pays for itself somehow: a trial that ends, a cap on scans, or something the person scanning has to sit through. None of that matters much on day one. It matters a lot six months after the code is printed on 2,000 flyers.

So before you pick one, check what the catch is and what your printed code does when it kicks in.

Why there's always a catch

A dynamic code holds a short link that belongs to the QR service. Every scan goes through that service, which counts it and sends the visitor on to wherever you point the code today. Someone has to keep that running for every scan, forever. Static codes don't have this problem, because they hold your link directly, which is why they're free everywhere. Our cost breakdown has the prices; this article is about the strings attached to the free part.

The catch, plan by plan

Checked on each vendor's own page on 27 October 2026, except QRFY (its pricing page didn't load for us; facts from its FAQ as we recorded them on 20 October 2026). Plans change, so check before you print.

Two different kinds of "free" sit in that table. A trial is a deadline: the code works until day 7 or day 14, then it stops unless you pay. A free plan has no deadline, but it caps something. For a code that's going on paper, a deadline is the risky one, because you can't recall paper.

What happens to a code after you print it

This is the question to ask any QR service, free or paid: if I stop paying, what does my printed code do?

With a trial, the answer is usually that it stops. Anyone who scans your flyer gets an error page or the service's own message, and there's nothing you can change on the flyer.

With a capped free plan, the code keeps working within the cap. Above it, read the small print, and if there isn't any, ask before you print.

How QRZY's free code works

The Free plan gives you one dynamic code with no trial and no end date. You can change where it points whenever you like, and set up to 5 simple rules by date, day of the week or time of day: breakfast menu before 11, lunch after.

To make one:

1. Sign up with Google. No credit card.
2. Select Create QR at the top of the dashboard.
3. Pick a template or skip it, then enter your link as the Default URL.
4. Select Create QR Code and download the file.

To change it later, open the code in the dashboard, select Edit, change the destination and save. The next scan goes to the new address.

What you give up on Free:

• The countdown. Every scan shows a 5-second countdown page before the visitor moves on, or a QRZY bar at the top of your page instead. That's how the free code pays for itself.
• Analytics are daily and kept for 7 days.
• No channels and no device or location rules. Those start on paid plans. Starter is $100 a year and removes the countdown.

If you're on a paid plan and it ends, your account moves to Free. Nothing is deleted and no short code is ever given to someone else. One code stays live, with the Free countdown, and the others pause until you upgrade again. You choose which one with the star next to it in your code list ("Keep this code live if your plan ends"). If you never pick, QRZY keeps the code with the most scans in the last 30 days. Full terms are on the pricing page.

When you don't need a dynamic code at all

If the link will never change and you don't care how many people scan, skip all of this. A static code is free everywhere, has no countdown and no account, and works for as long as your page exists. Make one with our free QR code generator, no sign-up. Do QR codes expire? explains what does make a static code stop working.

A dynamic code earns its place when the destination might change after printing: a menu, an event page, a seasonal offer. That's what our dynamic QR codes page covers, and restaurants are the classic case, with menus that change by the hour.

Common questions

Is a free dynamic QR code really free forever? On QRZY's Free plan there's no end date and no card on file. Trials elsewhere are free for 7 or 14 days. Capped plans are free up to their cap.

Can I get rid of the countdown without paying? No. The countdown, or the QRZY bar, is what keeps the free code free. A static code has neither, but it can't be changed.

My trial code from another service stopped working. Can QRZY fix it? Not that code. It points to the other service's short link, and only that service can turn it back on. The fix is one last reprint with a code you control.