A dynamic QR code is a code whose destination lives on a server rather than in the pattern. The printed code holds a short MakeQR link; when someone scans, that link forwards them to whatever address you have set in your account. Change the address and every copy already printed follows.
That is valuable for anything printed in quantity or fixed in place: packaging, signs, vehicle graphics, brochures, table cards. It also counts scans, because every scan passes through the short link. Two dynamic codes are free forever with a verified account, and paid plans add more.
Creating and editing a dynamic code
Create a free account
Sign up and verify your email address. Verification is required before a dynamic code goes live, because short links that hide their destination are a favorite phishing tool.
Set the first destination
Switch the generator to dynamic and paste the address the code should open today. On Pro, the destination can also be a hosted menu, PDF or link page.
Design, test and print
Style the code as usual and scan it. The pattern will not change when the destination does, so this print file is final.
Change it from your account
When the page moves, edit the destination in your account. The next scan goes to the new address, and nothing on the printed code changes.
Static vs dynamic QR code: the difference is one extra step
A static code sends the phone directly to what is in the pattern; a dynamic code sends it to a short link first, which forwards it. Every advantage and trade-off comes from that step.
Editable
Only dynamic. The short link can be pointed somewhere new; a static pattern is fixed forever.
Counted
Only dynamic. The redirect sees each scan and records its time and the type of device.
Independent
Only static. It needs no server and no account, and nobody can switch it off. A dynamic code depends on the redirect being there.
Works for WiFi and contacts
Only static. A WiFi login or a vCard must be read by the phone itself, so it cannot sit behind a web redirect.
Free dynamic QR codes that do not expire
Two dynamic codes are free with an account, and they stay free forever, whether or not you ever pay. They are complete dynamic codes: editable as often as you like, with unlimited scans and a scan count.
If you move to a paid plan and later cancel, your codes keep redirecting for 30 days, with reminder emails on days 7, 14 and 28. After that you choose which two stay free. The rest show a neutral page, never an advert or a sales page, and start working again as soon as the subscription is restored.
Which dynamic QR code plan fits
Starter at $7 a month covers 10 dynamic codes with full scan statistics, print formats and folders. Pro at $19 covers 50 and adds hosted menu, PDF and link pages, bulk dynamic codes, and pause and expiry controls. Business at $49 covers 250, with an API and a custom short domain.
What is printed inside a dynamic code
Only the short link. The destination is stored in your account and looked up at scan time, so the pattern stays small even for a long URL, and editing never needs a new file.
https://makeqr.ai/r/k7Qm2xWhere dynamic codes pay for themselves
Use dynamic codes on anything costly to reprint or hard to reach: packaging, a sign bolted to a wall, the side of a vehicle, a catalog with a year of shelf life, table cards across 40 restaurants. The short link keeps the pattern less dense than a long URL, so 20 mm on a label is usually enough; scanning distance is still about ten times the width.
Print it at least 20 mm (2.0 cm) wide
Mistakes people make with dynamic codes
Using dynamic for WiFi or a contact card
These only work as static data the phone reads directly. Make them static; they are free anyway.
Sending files to print before verifying
An unverified account cannot publish a dynamic code. Finish email verification and test-scan the code before the printer gets the files.
Reading the scan count as visitor data
A count shows how often a code was scanned, when, and on what type of device. It does not identify people, and the same person can scan twice.
When a static code is the better choice
Dynamic is not always the answer. If the destination will never change, such as your own domain on a business card, a static code is free, unlimited and independent of MakeQR.
Use dynamic where change is likely or where you want a count.
Dynamic codes at work
- A restaurant prints one code per table and switches it from the summer menu to the winter menu without reprinting.
- A property agent puts a code on a For Sale board and re-points it to the next listing once the house sells.
- A manufacturer prints a code on packaging that opens the current manual, updated whenever the firmware changes.