QR Codes for Business Cards
Put a code on the back of the card and your name, number, email, and website save into someone's phone in one tap, with nothing typed and nothing lost. Free, unlimited, and vector-ready for your printer.
Continue reading3 links free · unlimited scans · no card, no expiry
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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 the code does
A paper business card has one failure mode: the details on it have to be retyped to be useful, and mostly they never are. The card goes in a pocket, then a drawer.
A contact QR code fixes exactly that. Someone points their camera at the back of your card and the phone offers to create a contact already filled in with your name, phone number, email, company, job title, and website. One tap and you are in their phone, spelled correctly, with no typing on either side.
The generator above is set to the contact type already. Fill in the fields you want on the card and the code updates as you type.
Two kinds of contact code, and the difference matters
A static contact code carries your details inside the pattern. Nothing is hosted, no account is involved, and it works offline and forever. The catch is that it is fixed at the moment it is printed: a new phone number means a new code, which means new cards.
A dynamic contact card points at a hosted contact page instead, which you can edit at any time. The printed code never changes, but the details behind it can. Change jobs, change your number, add a new title, and every card already in circulation quietly updates itself.
The honest way to choose: if you reprint cards every year anyway, static is simpler and has nothing that can ever break. If you are ordering five hundred cards and your number or title might change before you finish the box, dynamic is the one that saves you the reprint.
Keep it scannable at card size
Business cards are the smallest thing most people print a code on, so this is where codes most often fail. Four things matter:
- Size. At least half an inch square, and three quarters is safer. Below that, print tolerances start to bite.
- Quiet margin. Leave clear space on all four sides. A code crowded to the trim edge scans badly and risks being cut into.
- Contrast and stock. Dark code, light background, and be careful on uncoated or textured stock where ink spreads slightly. Avoid printing over an image.
- Fewer fields. Every field you add makes the pattern denser and harder to read small. Name, phone, email, and website is usually plenty; a full mailing address is often what tips a small code over.
The single best habit is to scan the printed proof, not the screen preview. Reticle's scanner and the Test scan in the generator read your real code back on your own device, which is the only proof that counts before a run of cards.
Files for your printer
Send SVG or PDF. Both are vector, so the code stays exact at card scale and through any finishing, and both are free here alongside PNG and JPEG. There is also a print pack with the sizes printers usually ask for, and a transparent background option if the code needs to sit on a colored panel.
Your details are not uploaded
A static contact code is built entirely in your browser. Your name, your phone number, and your address are encoded on your own device and never sent to a server, which is worth knowing given that a contact card is genuinely personal information. The only exception is a dynamic contact card, which hosts a page by design so it can be edited later, and the privacy policy says exactly what that stores.
Beyond the card
The same code works on a name badge at a conference, an email signature, the back of a menu, a vehicle door, or a market stall sign. If you would rather send people to several places at once, a link page puts a small set of buttons behind one code, which suits a trades business or a maker with a shop, a booking form, and a phone number.
What this costs
Contact codes are free and unlimited, with your colors, your logo or a center icon, every export format, no watermark, and no account. That covers the ordinary business card completely.
An account is only needed for the editable version. The free plan includes 3 dynamic codes with unlimited scans and no expiry, which is enough for one contact card and a couple of others. Reticle Pro at $12 a month removes the limit and adds your own domain, so the card can carry an address like go.yourcompany.com/jane.
Frequently asked questions
What happens when someone scans the code on my card?
Their phone camera reads it and offers to create a new contact already filled in with your name, phone number, email, company, job title, and website. They tap save and you are in their phone correctly spelled, which is the whole point: the details that get lost from a paper card are the ones someone has to retype.
Should the code hold my details or link to a page?
A static contact code holds the details in the pattern itself. It works instantly, works offline, needs no account, and cannot ever stop working, but it is fixed at the moment you print it. A dynamic contact card instead points at a hosted contact page you can edit later, so a new phone number or a new job title does not mean a box of dead cards. Choose static for a card you will reprint anyway, and dynamic if the details are likely to change.
How small can the QR code be on a business card?
Aim for at least half an inch square, and prefer three quarters. Smaller than that and printing tolerances start to matter, especially on uncoated or textured stock where ink spreads slightly. Keep a clear quiet margin around all four sides, do not print it over a background image, and keep the contrast strong. A contact code carrying a lot of fields makes a denser pattern, so trimming optional fields is often what makes a small code scan reliably.
What file should I send my printer?
SVG or PDF. Both are vector files, so the code stays perfectly sharp at business card scale and through any finishing your printer applies, and both are free here. A PNG can work if it is exported large, but vector removes the guesswork entirely. Reticle also produces a print pack with the usual sizes if your printer asked for something specific.
Is my contact information uploaded anywhere?
Not for a static contact code. The code is built in your browser, so your name, phone number, and address are encoded on your own device and never sent to a server. That changes only if you deliberately choose a dynamic contact card, which by design hosts a contact page so that it can be edited later. The privacy policy sets out exactly what that stores.
Do I need to pay for this?
No. Contact QR codes are free and unlimited here, with full styling, your logo or a center icon, and SVG, PDF, PNG and JPEG export, with no watermark and no sign-up. An account is only needed for a dynamic contact card, the editable kind, and the free plan includes 3 dynamic codes with unlimited scans and no expiry.