Flowcode built its business around a QR code generator for branded, dynamic codes on large print and advertising campaigns — a pattern that can carry a distinct color scheme or shape instead of sitting as a plain black-and-white square, usually bundled into a paid subscription that matches that scale of campaign.
MakeQR starts from a different assumption: most people need one free static QR code — a link, a WiFi network, a saved contact — with no account, no limit on how many get made, and nothing that expires. Two dynamic codes, editable after printing, are free forever too, for anyone who wants an editable one without signing up for a platform built around managing dozens of them at once.
Deciding which approach fits your actual campaign
Ask whether the code needs to carry a distinct visual identity
A code integrated into a large ad campaign's branding is a different design job than a functional code on a menu or business card.
Estimate how many codes need to stay live and trackable
A single campaign asset is one thing; a multi-market rollout with dozens of active, tracked codes is closer to what a platform like Flowcode is built to manage.
Check whether two free dynamic codes covers the real need
A small business testing one or two trackable codes has no reason to look past MakeQR's free tier before considering a paid platform.
Compare current terms directly on each site
Flowcode's own pricing, minimum commitments and design services are set by them and worth checking directly rather than assuming.
Campaign-scale branding versus a functional code
Flowcode's product leans into a QR code as a piece of brand creative — something that can look like a logo mark rather than a generic pattern — which fits an agency or brand running a national campaign where the code itself is part of the advertising. MakeQR treats the code as functional first: static by default, styled with color, a dot shape and a logo, but not built around campaign-level creative services.
What a free static code from MakeQR already covers
A website link, WiFi network, contact card, plain text, email, SMS or phone number all work as a static code at no cost, with no account and no cap on how many are made — a large share of what a single business or individual actually needs a QR generator for.
Where a dedicated campaign platform pulls ahead
A brand running a code across television, packaging and out-of-home advertising simultaneously, and wanting the same trackable, styled code coordinated across all of it, is working at a scale a general-purpose generator with two free dynamic slots isn't meant to cover. That's the case a platform like Flowcode is specifically built around.
What either kind of code actually holds
A static code from either platform holds its destination directly in the pattern. A dynamic code from either holds a short link that redirects to a destination that can be changed without reprinting.
https://example.comPrint sizing doesn't change based on the platform
Regardless of which generator made it, a printed code needs about 20 mm on a side at close range, with scanning distance running roughly ten times the code's width for anything read from farther off, like a billboard.
Print it at least 20 mm (2.0 cm) wide
Where the wrong tool gets picked
Paying for a campaign-branding platform to run a single static link
A business card or a one-off flyer link rarely needs campaign-level design services — a free static code covers it the same way.
Underestimating how many codes a real multi-market campaign will need
A rollout that starts with a handful of codes can grow well past two free dynamic slots faster than expected, worth estimating honestly upfront.
Assuming design and pricing terms are the same across platforms
What counts as a dynamic code, what design services are included, and current pricing all differ — check each platform's current terms directly.
Volume and branding needs decide this, not preference alone
Two or fewer dynamic codes, used occasionally, cost nothing on MakeQR. A campaign running dozens of branded, tracked codes across multiple channels is the scale Flowcode's platform is built around, and where its paid plans start to make more sense than stretching a free tool to fit.
How dynamic QR codes workSituations where each tends to fit better
- A local shop's single WiFi and menu code: free and static covers it.
- A national ad campaign coordinating a branded code across TV and print: a dedicated campaign platform's tooling earns its cost.
- A small business testing one trackable promo code: MakeQR's free dynamic tier is enough.
- A packaged-goods brand rolling out codes across hundreds of SKUs: worth pricing out a campaign-focused platform directly.