How big should this QR code be?
Paste the link that goes into the code and say how far away people will scan it. You get the smallest print size that should still scan, with the blank margin it needs, before you send anything to the printer.
108 characters (bytes). Nothing you type leaves this page.
7.4 cm (2.92 in) square
That includes the blank margin. The squares themselves are 6.3 cm (2.48 in) wide.
- QR version
- 7
- Grid
- 45 × 45
- One square
- 1.40 mm
- Blank margin
- 5.6 mm each side
- The same code holding a short link like
b59.link/k7m2qxis a 25 × 25 grid and needs only 4.6 cm (1.82 in), or scans from 0.6 m at the size above.
How this is worked out
The common rule for printed codes is that the code should be at least a tenth as wide as the distance it's scanned from: 2 cm for 20 cm, 10 cm for a metre. That rule assumes a simple code of about 25 × 25 squares. A longer link needs a bigger grid (a higher version), and a phone has to make out each square, so we scale the size up by the number of squares. Nothing goes below 2 cm.
A QR code also needs a blank margin, the quiet zone, four squares wide on every side. Text, a border or a photo running up to the edge is one of the most common reasons a code fails. The size above includes it.
These are starting points, not guarantees: glossy paper, curved bottles, low-contrast colors and dim rooms all need more. Print one at the real size and scan it with an older phone first. More in our guide, printing a QR code that scans.