Two QR sites, one promise: a tour of QR Code Spot and QR Never Expires

Most QR code generators make money the same way. They give you a code that quietly points through their own short link, let you print it on menus, flyers and packaging, and then switch it off when the 14 day trial ends. The code on the paper doesn't change, but now it opens a “please upgrade” page.

We think a printed code should never be held hostage like that, so QR Code Spot and its sister site QR Never Expires are built around one promise: whatever you make here keeps opening what you chose. This post is a tour of what each site does, and which one to open for which job.

The short version

QR Never Expires: the code is yours the moment you download it

QR Never Expires only makes static codes. A static code stores its content, such as a web address, Wi-Fi details or a contact card, in the pattern itself. Nothing stands between the code and the content, so there is no service, trial or account that can switch it off. Scanning it never even contacts the site.

• No account, no watermark, no scan limits. Free for commercial use.
• 12 kinds of code: link, Wi-Fi, contact card, WhatsApp, Google review, social profile, Google Maps location, email, phone call, SMS, calendar event and plain text.
• Three steps: what the code opens, how it looks, where it will be used. Each finished step folds into a one-line summary, so the page stays short.
• 25 templates drawn with your own code, plus dot styles, corner shapes, gradients, frames with text, and a logo or icon in the middle. Four of the templates are painted art codes.
• A scan check before every download. Two separate QR readers try your design. If it doesn't scan well, you get one-tap fixes: darker colours, a smaller logo, plainer dots or no gradient.
• Files picked by where the code goes: screens, small print, large print (SVG) or a print shop CMYK PDF with bleed and crop marks, with the smallest safe print size shown.
• Private by design. Codes are made in your browser. Wi-Fi passwords and contact details never leave the page.

The checker: will this code stop working?

The feature we're proudest of on QR Never Expires is the checker. Point your camera at a code, or give it a photo, a screenshot or a link, and it tells you what the code really holds. A direct link or stored content never expires. A link through a QR service's short link, such as a trial code from another generator, depends on that service staying paid. If it's at risk, the checker opens the maker with the same content and colours, so you can print a replacement and stick it over the old one.

When you need a code you can edit

Static codes can't be changed after printing. If you need that, the Dynamic button on QR Never Expires sends the code's web address and design over to QR Code Spot, where it opens in QR Studio ready to save as an editable code. Only web addresses travel; Wi-Fi details and contact cards always stay on your device.

QR Code Spot: static codes, editable codes and tools for businesses

QR Code Spot has the same free static generator at its heart, with more kinds of code, and everything that needs an account.

A generator for almost anything

• Payment codes that banking apps read directly: UPI (India), Pix (Brazil), SEPA transfers (euro), PromptPay (Thailand), VietQR (Vietnam), and payment links for PayPal.me, Revolut, Wise and others.
• Logos from nearly any file: PNG, JPG, SVG, PDF, Adobe Illustrator, EPS, TIFF and more, with the margins trimmed for you.
• Print-ready files: PNG up to 4000 px, SVG, PDF, EPS and a CMYK PDF with 3 mm bleed and crop marks. A scanning distance setting gives the right print size.
• Bulk codes: up to 500 codes at once from a CSV file or a pasted list, in your style, in one ZIP. The list is processed in your browser and never uploaded.

Editable codes that are never switched off

An editable code holds a short qrsx.net link, so you can change where it goes after it's printed, and see scan counts by day, phone type and country. Scans are counted, people aren't: we never record who scanned or their IP address.

A free account gets 10 editable codes. And if a paid plan ever ends, nothing goes dark: every printed code keeps opening the same page. That's written down in our guarantee, along with what happens in the unlikely case QR Code Spot ever closes (at least 6 months' notice, and every destination downloadable).

QR Studio: codes that look like part of the design

QR Studio turns a code into a badge: a circle, seal, rounded or square shape with your words fitted around the code, palettes, fonts and finishes. Its Art step paints the code itself in the style of famous painters or music genres, from Van Gogh swirls to jazz club neon, and every design is scan-tested live as you change it.

Spot Live: QR codes that call for service

Spot Live gives every restaurant table or hotel room its own code. A guest scans it, taps what they need, and the right staff see it live on screens and phones, with no app for the guest. Owners get shift handovers, an activity log and a daily report. You can try the whole thing in the demo without signing up.

QR Labs: what we're testing next

QR Labs is where new tools live while they're in beta:

• Photo QR: a photo becomes the code, with faces kept clear of the fixed squares. We wrote about how it works in why most art QR codes fail in print.
• Verified Photo Pass: staff, guest and member passes where the QR code is the holder's face, checked at the gate.
• SealTicket: event tickets whose code changes every minute on the guest's phone, so screenshots and forwarded pictures are refused. There's a live demo.

Coming up in this blog

This is the first of a series of posts on the features of both sites. Next we'll go deeper into single features: how the expiry checker recognises trial codes, how the scan check decides a design is safe to print, and how SealTicket refuses a screenshot. If there's a feature you'd like explained, write to support@qrcodespot.com.