Plain Text QR Code Generator

Encode any text — a serial number, a seat code, a note on a shelf label.

Free, with no account
Static — it never expires
Encoded on your device

Text to encode

Line breaks are preserved. Every character makes the symbol denser — count them.

No share link — we cannot know whether what you typed is private, so we assume it is.

Fill in the form and your code appears here.

Export

SVG has no resolution at all — it is the right choice for anything that will be printed.

Appearance & encoding

Error correction

Higher levels survive damage and allow a bigger logo, but make the symbol denser.

Modules

Background

Transparent background (PNG and SVG only — never use it on a dark surface)

Quiet zone — 4 modules

The specification requires 4. Below that, decoders often fail to find the symbol at all.

Centre logo

Logo file

PNG, JPG, SVG or WebP up to 512 KB. The file is read in this tab and never uploaded.

Logo size — 18% of width

The safe maximum depends on the symbol size, not just the error-correction level — the check below works it out for the code you actually have.

Print readiness

Generate a code to see its minimum printed size.

What is actually encoded

When plain text is the right answer

Most QR types exist to trigger an action: dial, join, navigate, open. A text code does none of that. It carries information for a person to read, and that turns out to be exactly what you want in a surprising number of places.

Asset and equipment tags. An ID, a model, a service date. Readable with any scanner, no system to log in to.
Serial and batch numbers. Long strings that people mistype every single time.
Seat, shelf and locker references. Short, unambiguous, machine-readable.
Care and handling instructions. Where the label is too small for the text but big enough for a code.
Plant and exhibit labels. Latin names, provenance, the details nobody can fit on a stake.

A small durable label on a piece of grey workshop equipment showing a QR Code and an asset number — Short text means a low-version symbol with large modules — the only kind that survives being this small on metal.

Length is the whole design constraint

Every character you add pushes the symbol towards a higher version, and each version step adds four modules to each side. The same printed square then has to hold more, smaller modules. Here is what that looks like at error-correction level M:

Characters	Version	Grid	Comfortable print width
~20	2	25×25	~20 mm
~60	4	33×33	~25 mm
~150	7	45×45	~32 mm
~400	12	65×65	~44 mm
~800	17	85×85	~56 mm

The right-hand column assumes an office laser printer and a 0.6 mm module. Your own numbers depend on the print method — the print size checker works them out exactly.

A QR Code is not a secret

Anyone with a phone can read any code in about a second, and there is no such thing as a protected one. Passwords, keys, licence numbers and personal data have no business in a printed code — including the Wi-Fi password on a card, which is readable by everyone who walks past it.

Limits worth knowing

No formatting. Plain text only; no bold, no colour, no layout beyond line breaks.
Non-Latin scripts cost about three times as much. Plan for a bigger printed code.
No action on scan. If you want a tap to do something, use a typed code.
Display varies. Some scanners truncate long text in their preview panel.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How much text fits in one QR Code?

The theoretical maximum is 4,296 alphanumeric characters or 2,953 bytes, at version 40 with error-correction level L. The practical maximum is far lower: version 40 is a 177×177 grid, so at any sane printed size the modules become too small to read. Treat about 500 characters as the point where print size starts to dominate every other consideration.

Does it handle Chinese, Japanese, Arabic or emoji?

Yes — anything outside ASCII is encoded as UTF-8 bytes. The cost is that a Chinese character takes about three bytes against one for a Latin letter, so the same visual amount of text produces a much denser symbol. Emoji are four bytes each and are best avoided in anything that will be printed small.

Are line breaks preserved?

Yes. They are encoded as part of the text and most scanners display them. A few flatten everything to one line, so do not rely on layout to carry meaning.

Why does the scanner just show text instead of doing something?

Because that is all a text code says. If you want a tap to open something, encode the matching type — a URL, a phone number, an email. Plain text is for information a human reads, not an action a phone takes.

Is the text encrypted?

No. A QR Code is an encoding, not encryption — anyone with a camera can read it, and there are decoders in every app store. Never put a password, a key or anything private in one.

Can I use this for inventory or asset tags?

Yes, and it is one of the best uses for the type. A short asset ID gives a low-version symbol with big modules, which survives being printed small on a label, stuck to metal, and read with a cheap scanner in bad light.

Keep going

URL QR Code A website, a menu, a booking page — encoded directly, with no redirect in between. Print Size Checker Module size in mm, scan distance, export dpi and a verdict you can check. Wi-Fi QR Code SSID, password and security type, encoded locally. The password never leaves your device. vCard QR Code Name, title, phone, email, address — saved to Contacts in one tap.