A QR code you can change after printing
The pattern encodes a short link, not a destination, so re-pointing it is an edit rather than a reprint. Every scan lands in your analytics, and the full customizer is on the Free plan.
On every plan, including Free · No credit card required
Was /menu/summer — the code on the table did not change
Quick answer
What is a dynamic QR code?
A dynamic QR code is a QR code whose pattern encodes a short link instead of a destination address, so the destination can be changed after the code has been printed. Scanning it opens the short link, which redirects to wherever that link currently points and records the scan. A static QR code writes the destination into the pattern permanently and can never be edited.
- When you can still change where a dynamic code points
- After printingWhen you can still change where a dynamic code points
- Default error correction — it locks to High when you add a logo
- Quartile 25%Default error correction — it locks to High when you add a logo
- Largest raster export; SVG and PDF come out as vector
- 4KLargest raster export; SVG and PDF come out as vector
- The whole customizer, not a cut-down version of it
- Free planThe whole customizer, not a cut-down version of it
- Re-point a printed code as often as you like — the pattern never changes
- Every scan is recorded with country, city, device, browser, OS and referrer
- The full customizer is on every plan, including Free — six dot styles, logo and all
- Export PNG, JPG, PDF or SVG at 512, 1K, 2K or 4K
- Static codes are free and account-free in the ClikSo QR code generator tool
Dynamic vs static QR codes
They look the same and scan the same. The difference is what the black squares actually contain — and static wins one of these rows.
| Property | Dynamic QR code | Static QR code |
|---|---|---|
| What the pattern encodes | A short link you control | The destination itself, written into the pattern |
| Change the destination after printing | Yes — edit the link, the printed code is untouched | No — generate a new code and reprint everything |
| Scans counted | Yes — country, city, device, browser, OS and referrer | No — there is nothing in the middle to count them |
| Pattern density | Always low, because a short link is short | Grows with the URL — a long link makes a denser, fussier code |
| Depends on a service staying up | Yes — the short link has to keep resolving | No — it works with nothing behind it, forever |
| Expiry | The code never expires; the link behind it can be given an end date | Never expires, and can never be stopped either |
| What it costs on ClikSo | Free plan, with the full customizer | Free, no account, in our QR code generator tool |
Need a static one? The free ClikSo QR code generator makes them in the browser with no account.
How to make a dynamic QR code
Four steps, and the fourth one is the whole point of the first three.
Create the short link first
A dynamic QR code is a QR code wrapped around a short link, so the link is the thing you make. Give it a destination and, if you want the printed URL to be readable too, a back-half you choose.
Open QR Code Design and make it yours
The QR panel sits beside the link. Set the foreground and background colours, pick one of six dot styles, choose the corner shape and corner dot, and drop your logo into the middle. The preview redraws as you change each control.
Export at the size the printer asked for
PNG, JPG, PDF or SVG, at 512, 1K, 2K or 4K. Use SVG or PDF for anything going to print — both are vector, so the code stays crisp whether it ends up on a business card or a building wrap.
Re-point the link whenever you need to
The printed pattern never changes, because it encodes the short link rather than the destination. Change the destination in ClikSo and the next person to scan the same piece of card goes somewhere else.
Where a re-pointable code pays for itself
Anywhere the code is printed on something you cannot recall, reissue or reprint cheaply.
Restaurant and café menus
One code on the table, laminated once. The autumn menu replaces the summer one in ClikSo, and the card on the table never has to be reprinted.
Product packaging and inserts
Packaging is printed in runs of tens of thousands and sits in a warehouse for a year. A dynamic code lets the support page, the manual or the registration flow behind it move in the meantime.
Posters, flyers and out-of-home
A campaign that runs for six weeks can point at a launch page, then a waitlist, then a case study — on the same printed poster, with scan counts telling you which site got the traffic.
Events, badges and signage
Print the badges in advance, decide the agenda later. The same code can send people to the schedule during the event and to the recordings afterwards.
Shop windows and in-store displays
A code in the window that points at whatever is actually in stock this week, with city and device breakdowns showing which locations are getting scanned.
Slides, reports and business cards
Anything you hand over and cannot take back. A dynamic code means last year’s deck still leads somewhere current rather than to a dead URL.
Six dot styles, four levels of error correction
The whole customizer is on every plan, including Free. Most shorteners keep the colours and the logo for paying customers.
Error correction
How much of the printed code can be covered and still scan.
Default
Everything else in the panel
- Corner shape
- Square, Rounded, Circle
- Corner dot
- Square, Circle
- Colour
- Foreground and background, by swatch or typed hex — plus a transparent background
- Centre logo
- Upload up to 2 MB, sized from 15% to 50% of the code
- Export
- PNG, JPG, PDF or SVG at 512, 1K, 2K or 4K — SVG and PDF are vector
Dynamic QR codes across the tools that offer them
Nearly everyone sells dynamic QR codes. What differs is how much of the design — and how much of the editing — sits behind the paywall.
| Capability | ClikSo | Bitly | Short.io | QR Code Generator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change the destination after the code is printed | Free plan | Paid plans | Paid plans | |
| QR codes you can make on the free plan | Every link (50/mo) | 2 a month | Every link | Static only |
| Centre logo and custom colours without paying | Not published | |||
| Export formats offered | PNG, JPG, PDF, SVG | PNG, JPEG, SVG | PNG, SVG, PDF | PNG, JPG, SVG, EPS |
| Send one printed code to iOS and Android separately | Pro and above | Growth and above | Not published | Not published |
Competitor details taken from each provider's own published pricing and documentation, last verified 16 September 2026. “Not published” means the vendor documents no answer either way. QR Code Generator’s dynamic codes stop working when the free trial ends; its static codes do not expire.
Good to know
- QR designs are not stored. The customizer regenerates the code from its controls every time you open it, so re-opening a link later starts from the defaults rather than the look you used last time — download the file you want and keep it.
- Error correction locks to High as soon as you add a logo, so the code still scans with its middle covered. You cannot choose a lower level while a logo is set.
- Not in the customizer: gradient fills, a separate colour for the three corner eyes, an adjustable quiet zone, and frames or captions around the code. Export is PNG, JPG, PDF and SVG — there is no WebP.
- A dynamic code depends on the short link behind it continuing to resolve, which a static code does not. When the destination genuinely will never change, a static code from the free generator is the sturdier choice.
- There is no separate scan metric. A scan is recorded as a click, so QR traffic and link traffic sit in the same analytics and are told apart by the link, not by a scan counter.
Dynamic QR codes by plan
Dynamic QR codes are on every plan, including Free. What higher plans add is what the link behind the code can do — such as device targeting and geo-targeting, which let one printed code route by phone or by country.
Frequently asked questions
A dynamic QR code encodes a short link rather than a destination, so the destination can be changed afterwards without touching the printed code. Scanning it opens the short link, which resolves to wherever that link currently points. A static QR code writes the destination straight into the pattern, which is why it can never be edited.
You can edit a dynamic one. The printed pattern stays exactly as it was and you change the destination of the short link behind it, so every scan from that moment on goes somewhere new. A static QR code cannot be edited at all — the only fix is a new code and a reprint.
Use dynamic when the destination might move or you want to know how many people scanned. Use static when the content will never change — a Wi-Fi password or a plain phone number, for instance. ClikSo does both: dynamic codes here, and free static codes in our QR code generator tool.
The code itself does not. A QR pattern is just data and it will keep decoding forever. What can stop working is the link behind a dynamic code — in ClikSo that only happens if you archive the link or give it an expiry date yourself, which is a per-link setting on every plan, including Free.
Yes, on every plan including Free. Upload an image up to 2 MB and size it between 15% and 50% of the code. ClikSo locks error correction to High while a logo is set, so the pattern carries enough redundancy to scan with the middle covered. The logo is processed in your browser.
Yes, because the code points at a short link and that link can carry targeting rules. Device targeting sends iOS, Android and desktop visitors to different destinations, and geo-targeting routes by country — both on the Pro plan and above. The printed code is identical either way.
Each scan is counted as a click on the link behind the code, with the same detail as any other click: country, city, device type, browser, operating system, referrer and all five UTM parameters. Scans show up in your analytics within about a minute.
No. Dynamic QR codes and the complete customizer — all six dot styles, the logo, the colours and every export format and size — are on the Free plan. Bitly, by contrast, caps its free plan at two QR codes a month and keeps both the centre logo and the ability to redirect a code for paid plans, and QR Code Generator’s dynamic codes stop working once the free trial ends.
Use the free ClikSo QR code generator, which needs no signup and produces a static code with your colours, shapes and logo. It is the right tool when the destination will never change. If you want to edit the destination later or count the scans, make a dynamic code in the dashboard instead.
Related features
Or see everything in the full feature list.
Click analytics
Country, city, device, browser, OS and referrer for every click — with fifteen filters and no double counting.
On every plan, including FreeCustom domains
Put your own brand on every short link. One custom domain is included free, with SSL issued automatically.
On every plan, including FreeLink expiration
Give a link an end date — and decide where visitors go once it has passed, instead of a dead page.
On every plan, including FreeLast reviewed 16 September 2026 against the live product. Competitor details come from each provider's own published pricing. See the full feature list or make a static code in the free QR code generator.
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