A free QR TIGER alternative
The same content types, the same design control and free vector export — plus a dynamic code with real analytics before you are asked for a card.
- Unlimited static codes
- No watermark
- SVG included
- No scan limits
Switch here if
- You hit a scan cap in the middle of a campaign that was working
- You need vector export for print and would rather not pay for a file format
- You make codes for other people and want no account in the way
Stay with QR TIGER if
- You generate codes in bulk from a spreadsheet
- Several people need their own logins, folders and permissions
- You drive code creation from your own system through an API
Who moves away from QR TIGER
People arrive at this comparison from one of two directions. Either they hit a cap — a free plan that allows a couple of dynamic codes, or one that quietly stops counting after a few hundred scans — or they went to download a print-ready file and found the vector export sitting behind an upgrade.
The scan cap is the one that stings, because it fails at exactly the moment things go well. A code that stops reporting halfway through a successful campaign is worse than one that never reported at all: you know something happened, and you have no idea how much.
There is also a quieter group: designers and print shops who make codes for other people. They do not need an account, a dashboard or a subscription. They need a clean SVG at the right error-correction level, with a logo that does not break the pattern, and they need it now.
What QR TIGER is genuinely good at
QR TIGER is a mature, feature-broad QR platform, and on the paid tiers it does things we simply do not: bulk generation from a spreadsheet, folders and team access, its own analytics depth, and integrations for people whose job is running many codes at once.
If you are producing codes at volume — hundreds of asset tags, one code per product, one per location — a bulk workflow is not a luxury, and building those one at a time in any interface is the wrong answer. That is a real reason to stay on a platform built for it.
The comparison only tips when your volume is normal. For a handful of codes, you are buying a bulk platform to make five codes and read a scan chart.
Side by side
A clear view of what is included here and what is normally reserved for paid QR platforms.
| Feature | Our pickCalculatorAIQR Codes | Paid QR platformsTypical market baseline |
|---|---|---|
| Static QR codes | Unlimited, no account | Usually unlimited |
| Watermark on free codes | None, ever | Common on free tiers |
| SVG (vector) download | Free | Often a paid feature |
| Dynamic codes on the free plan | One, with full analytics | Capped, or paid only |
| Scan analytics on the free plan | Country, city, device, browser, daily trend | Often counts only, or paid |
| Scan limit | None | Free tiers often cap total scans |
| Editing the destination after printing | Yes, dynamic codes | Yes, on a paid plan |
| Password-protected codes | Included | Usually a higher tier |
| Raw scanner IP addresses stored | No — hashed, then discarded | Varies, check the policy |
| Generator embeddable on your own site | Free, one line of HTML, no API key | Rare, or enterprise |
| Bulk generation from a spreadsheet | Not yet | Common on paid plans |
| Team seats, SSO, custom domain | No | Yes on business tiers |
The market column is a general baseline, not QR TIGER’s live price sheet. Check its current plans before purchasing.
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Getting a code that actually scans off a printed surface
5 steps- 01
Raise the error correction level when you put a logo in the middle.
The centre of a QR code carries data like everywhere else; a logo covers some of it, and only the higher correction levels have enough redundancy to survive that. High is the safe default for anything with a logo, and it costs nothing but a slightly denser pattern.
- 02
Keep the quiet zone.
The blank margin around the code is part of the code — scanners use it to find the edges. Designers trim it to make a layout fit more often than any other single mistake, and the result is a code that works on screen and fails on paper.
- 03
Contrast beats colour.
A dark code on a light background scans; the reverse is unreliable on many scanners, and a mid-tone gradient on a mid-tone background can fail entirely. If you want a gradient, keep both ends dark.
- 04
Export SVG for anything printed.
A raster file scaled up to poster size blurs the module edges, and blurred edges are exactly what a scanner cannot resolve. Vector stays sharp at any size, which is why gating it behind a paid tier is such an odd place to draw the line.
- 05
Test the printed proof, not the screen.
Scan it from the distance people will actually stand at, in the light the room actually has, with a cheap phone rather than your own.
What the free scan analytics look like
Country and city, device, browser and a daily trend — on the free plan, with no card and no scan cap.
Before you print anything, wherever you end up
A dynamic QR code is editable only because somebody hosts the redirect in the middle. That is true of QR TIGER, of every paid platform, and of us. It means the printed code stops working the day that redirect stops — a cancelled plan, a shut-down product, a company that moves on.
The way out costs nothing and takes ten minutes: point the dynamic code at a URL on a domain you own, and do the final redirect there. Then changing QR provider is a config change instead of a reprint. If the destination will never change, skip the whole question and use a static code — nothing sits in the middle and it works forever.
Where we are the wrong answer
No asterisksNo bulk generation.
One code at a time, which is the wrong tool for a spreadsheet of five hundred.
One dynamic code on the free plan; unlimited requires Pro.
No folders, team seats or role permissions.
No API, so nothing here can be driven from your own system.
Frequently asked questions
Moving off QR TIGER, what happens to codes you have already printed, and what the free plan really covers.
01Is there a limit on how many times my code can be scanned?
02Do I need an account to make a QR code?
03Can I put my logo in the middle?
04What content types are supported?
05Can I use this commercially?
Try it before you cancel anything
The static generator needs no account at all — make a code, download the SVG, see whether the output is what you need. The dynamic side takes a free account and about a minute.
Guides
How-to guides that use this tool
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