A Uniqode Alternative With a Free Plan That Stays
Uniqode gives you unlimited static codes and a 14-day trial, so the dynamic codes stop working when the trial ends unless you buy. Reticle's free plan includes 3 dynamic codes permanently, with no scan cap and no expiry, and Pro is one $12 tier rather than a six-step ladder.
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
The short version
Uniqode, formerly Beaconstac, is a broad QR and digital-business-card platform aimed at organizations. Reticle is a QR code tool aimed at one person or a small business. Two structural differences do most of the work in a comparison.
The free tier. Uniqode's pricing page states there is no limit on static QR code creation, and offers a 14-day free trial for the rest. Reticle also gives unlimited free static codes, and additionally includes 3 dynamic codes on the free plan permanently, with unlimited scans and no expiry.
The shape of the paid side. Uniqode runs a ladder: Starter, Lite, Core, Pro, Plus and Business+. Reticle Pro is a single tier at $12 a month or $99 a year, with nothing above it.
A note on their prices, and why they are not quoted here
This is the one place this page is deliberately incomplete. When it was written, on August 10, 2026, the per-tier comparison tables on Uniqode's pricing page did not resolve, so the dynamic-code allowance for each plan could not be read. What was legible was the ladder itself and two figures: Starter listed as starting at $9 a month and Core at $49 a month, the latter described there as best value for businesses.
Rather than fill the gap with numbers from a third-party blog, this page leaves it open. Read the current figures on their own pricing page, and treat any comparison site quoting exact per-tier allowances, including this one, as something to verify rather than trust.
A trial and a free plan are different things
This distinction matters more for QR codes than for most software, because of what you do with the output.
A trial gives you the product for a fortnight. If you print something during it, the printed thing is now dependent on a subscription you have not yet decided to keep, and the decision arrives on their schedule rather than yours. A dynamic code whose plan lapsed is a piece of signage that no longer works.
A permanent free plan lets the printed thing exist without a clock on it. Reticle's 3 free dynamic codes have no expiry, no scan cap, and no trial period, so you can put one on something real, leave it there, and decide about Pro when you actually need a fourth code or a Pro feature. If you never do, nothing breaks.
One tier against a ladder
On a plan ladder, the feature you want tends to live one tier above the one you picked, and the price you end up paying is set by whichever single feature you needed most. That is the design: it is how a ladder is supposed to work.
Reticle Pro puts everything in one tier at $12 and stops there. Unlimited dynamic links, per-scan analytics with city, device, OS and time, your own domain with custom endings, file codes, smart routing, link pages, password protection, scheduling, and bulk CSV import are all the same purchase. There is no higher tier, so there is nothing to be upsold into later, and no feature that arrives with a price increase attached.
The honest flip side is that a single tier is only an advantage if it contains what you need. If it does not, there is no larger plan to move to, and the answer is that Reticle is the wrong tool rather than that you should pay more.
What Reticle has that Uniqode does not sell
A built-in scanner and an on-device test scan. Reticle has a full scanner at /scan and a Test scan in the generator that decodes your actual code on your own device before it goes to print. No major competitor in this market bundles one.
Static codes that never touch a server. Reticle builds static codes entirely in the browser, so the contents of a Wi-Fi code or a personal contact card are never uploaded anywhere.
No scan cap anywhere. Free or paid, a Reticle code is never switched off or throttled for being scanned too often.
Printed codes never transfer
A dynamic code encodes the short link of whoever made it, so a printed Uniqode code can never be moved to Reticle without reprinting, and a printed Reticle code can never be moved to Uniqode. This is true of every provider in this market, in both directions.
Which is why the domain on your printed codes is worth deciding deliberately. Reticle Pro attaches a domain you own, so codes read go.yourcompany.com/menu, and the address on the printed piece belongs to you rather than to whichever vendor you were using at the time.
Trying it
The generator above needs no account. For the dynamic side, the demo workspace is a real Pro account you can look through without signing up, and the free plan's 3 dynamic codes have no clock on them. Full plan detail is on pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Does Uniqode have a free plan?
For static codes, yes: their pricing page states there is no limit on static QR code creation. For dynamic codes, what they offer is a 14-day free trial rather than a permanent free tier, so a dynamic code made during the trial needs a paid plan to keep working afterwards. Reticle's free plan includes 3 dynamic codes permanently, with unlimited scans and no expiry. Checked on their pricing page on August 10, 2026.
Why does this page not list Uniqode's prices per tier?
Because the per-tier comparison tables on their pricing page did not resolve when this page was written, so quoting a number per plan would have meant guessing. What was legible was the shape: a ladder of plans named Starter, Lite, Core, Pro, Plus and Business+, with Starter listed as starting at $9 a month and Core at $49 a month, plus a 14-day trial. Read the current numbers on their own page rather than trusting any third party, including this one.
What is the practical difference between a plan ladder and one tier?
On a ladder, the feature you need determines the price you pay, and the features tend to sit above the tier you first chose. On a single tier there is nothing above it, so the price is the price and no feature is a future upgrade. Reticle Pro is one tier at $12 a month covering unlimited dynamic links, per-scan analytics, a custom domain, file codes, smart routing, link pages, passwords, and scheduling.
Can I move printed Uniqode codes to Reticle?
Not without reprinting them. A dynamic code encodes the short link of whoever created it, so a printed Uniqode code always resolves through Uniqode. That holds for every dynamic QR provider in both directions, this one included. The way to avoid it in future is to print on a domain you own, which Reticle Pro supports, so the address on the printed piece belongs to you rather than to a vendor.
What can I do on Reticle without paying?
Unlimited static codes across all ten content types with full styling, a logo or a center icon, and PNG, SVG, JPEG and PDF export, with no watermark and no account at all. Signing in adds 3 dynamic codes with unlimited scans and no expiry, aggregate scan stats, scan-activity emails, and 100 saved codes. None of that is time-limited.