Bitly QR Code Pricing, Compared
Bitly meters QR codes by the month: 2 on the free plan, 5 on Core, 10 on Growth, 200 on Premium. Reticle Pro is $12 a month for an unlimited number, with no monthly allowance to run out of. Their figures below were read off their own pricing page on August 10, 2026.
Continue reading3 links free · unlimited scans · no card, no expiry
Look around a demo workspacego.yourdomain.com/sauce
Live
Describe it. Reticle AI plans the link.
Tell Reticle AI what your code should do. It drafts the dynamic link, smart routing, link page, and password setup for you to review and apply.
Free to use with a Reticle account. Sign in and Reticle AI plans your link.
Everything a printed code should be able to do
Once a code is on a menu, a box, or a billboard, reprinting is the expensive part. Dynamic links move the decisions into your account instead.
Per-scan analytics
ProEvery scan recorded with approximate city, device, OS, and time, exportable to CSV. Free plans keep aggregate counts by day, device, and country.
Repoint any time
FreeChange where a printed code goes in seconds. 3 links free with unlimited scans; unlimited links on Pro.
Your domain on the code
ProScanners see your name, not ours, with custom endings you choose instead of a random slug.
A file behind the code
ProHost a PDF or image at the code itself and swap the file without reprinting. Menus, spec sheets, price lists.
replaced, same code
Smart routing
ProOne code, many destinations: route each scan by country, language, device platform, or time of day.
Link pages
ProA hosted page of up to 12 link buttons behind one code, editable any time. One QR for everything you do.
Made in your browser
Static codes are generated entirely on your device. Nothing is uploaded unless you create a dynamic link or host a file, and we say exactly what those store.
No scan-count paywall
Free dynamic links have unlimited scans and no expiry. A code you printed keeps working; we do not hold it hostage.
Data you can erase
Free plans keep aggregate counts only. Pro per-scan records are kept about 90 days, and you can export or delete them at any time.
Free static QR code generator
Free forever · no sign-upUnlimited static codes for URLs, Wi-Fi, vCards, text, email, SMS, phone, events, locations, and crypto. Full styling, logos and icons, SVG, PNG, JPEG, and PDF export, batch CSV. No watermarks, no expiry.
- L
- Lowest. Fine on a clean screen. Breaks if smudged or covered.
- M
- Balanced. The right choice for most uses.
- Q
- Sturdier. Good for small prints or busy backgrounds.
- H
- Toughest. Survives wear and works with a center logo.
- Crisp
- Few modules, large and easy to read, even small or on screen.
- Moderate
- Denser. Print at a decent size and keep good contrast.
- Dense
- Lots of data. Print large, raise error correction, or shorten the content.
Start free. Go Pro to know who scanned.
- Unlimited static codes, full styling, every export
- 3 dynamic links with unlimited scans
- Aggregate scan stats and email digests
- 100 saved codes, synced to your account
- Your own domain on printed codes, with custom endings
- Unlimited dynamic links and bulk CSV import
- Per-scan analytics, exportable to CSV
- File codes, smart routing, link pages, passwords, scheduling
What Bitly charges for QR codes
Bitly sells QR codes as a monthly allowance rather than as a feature you have. Their pricing page lists:
- Free: 2 QR codes a month.
- Core, $10 a month: 5 QR codes a month.
- Growth, $29 a month billed annually or $35 month to month: 10 QR codes a month.
- Premium, $199 a month billed annually: 200 QR codes a month.
- Enterprise: quoted individually.
Reticle Pro is $12 a month, or $99 a year, for an unlimited number of dynamic codes, with no monthly allowance and no higher tier. Bitly's figures above were read off their own pricing page on August 10, 2026; pricing pages change, so confirm before you buy.
The allowance is the part worth understanding
A monthly allowance is not the same as a limit on how many codes you can own. Codes you already made keep working. What refreshes each month is your ability to make new ones, and an allowance you did not use in a quiet month does not carry into a busy one.
The practical effect is that you have to size the plan around your busiest month rather than your typical one. Ten codes a month is comfortable until the month you do a product launch, take on a second location, print a code per table, or put a code on every unit in a batch. Work that arrives in bursts fits an allowance model badly, and printed QR codes almost always arrive in bursts.
Reticle has no allowance to size. Whether you make one code this year or four hundred in an afternoon, the price is the same $12.
Check what the free plan does before you print anything
Bitly's plan comparison lists redirects, the feature that changes where a code points after the fact, as not included on the free plan. That is worth pausing on, because redirecting is the entire reason to use a dynamic code. A free code you cannot repoint is, functionally, a printed link you are stuck with.
On Reticle, editing the destination is on the free plan. The 3 free dynamic links can be repointed as often as you like, have no scan cap, and no expiry date, which is enough to run a real test on real signage before you decide to pay anyone.
Where the money goes on each side
The honest framing is that these are two different products that happen to overlap on one feature.
Bitly's price buys a link management platform. Short links at volume, branded domains, campaign organization, team seats, integrations, and an API. QR codes sit inside that, which is why the QR allowance is small even on expensive plans: codes are not what you are mainly paying for.
Reticle's price buys QR codes and nothing else. Everything in the $12 tier is aimed at a code that has been printed and now has to keep doing its job: unlimited dynamic links, per-scan analytics with city, device, OS and time, your own domain on the printed code, file codes, smart routing, link pages, passwords, and scheduling. There is no tier above it, so nothing on that list is a future upsell.
Whichever you choose, put the code on a domain you own
A dynamic QR code encodes whichever short link made it, so a printed code can never be moved between providers. A code printed with a bit.ly address will always resolve through Bitly, and one printed with any other provider's address is equally stuck there. Reprinting is the only migration path, in every direction.
The way out is to print codes on a domain you control. Reticle Pro attaches your own domain, so the code reads go.yourdomain.com/spring and the address on the paper belongs to you rather than to your vendor. It is the one decision here that you cannot revisit later, so it is worth making deliberately the first time.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Bitly charge for QR codes?
Bitly's pricing page allocates QR codes per month rather than selling them outright: 2 a month on the free plan, 5 a month on Core at $10, 10 a month on Growth at $29 when billed annually or $35 month to month, and 200 a month on Premium at $199 billed annually. Enterprise is quoted individually. Those figures were checked on their pricing page on August 10, 2026, and pricing pages change, so confirm before you buy.
What does a monthly QR code allowance actually mean?
It limits how many new codes you can create in a given month, and the allowance refreshes rather than accumulating. Codes you already made continue to work; what resets is your ability to make more. In practice it means the plan has to be sized around your busiest month, not your average one, because an unused allowance in a quiet month does not carry forward to the month you print a campaign.
Does Bitly's free plan let me change where a QR code points?
Their plan comparison lists redirects, the feature that changes a code's destination after the fact, as not included on the free plan. That is the feature that makes a printed code editable, so it is the one to check carefully if you are choosing a free plan for something going to print. On Reticle, editing the destination of a dynamic code is included on the free plan, which comes with 3 dynamic links.
What does $12 a month get on Reticle?
An unlimited number of dynamic QR codes, per-scan analytics with city, device, OS and time exportable to CSV, your own domain on printed codes with custom endings, file codes that put a PDF or an image behind the code, smart routing by country, language, platform or time of day, link pages, password protection, and scheduling. There is no higher tier, so nothing on that list is reached by upgrading again. It is $99 a year if you pay annually.
Do I have to pay anything to make a QR code here?
No. Static QR codes are unlimited and free with no account, no watermark, and no monthly allowance, including logos, full styling, and SVG export. The free plan adds 3 dynamic codes with unlimited scans and no expiry, which is enough to test a printed code properly before deciding anything.