How to Create a QR Code With Your Logo — Free, No Sign-Up, No Watermark

Most QR code generators follow the same script: the tool looks free, you design your code, and then the download page asks you to create an account — or worse, the "free" code is dynamic, stops working after a trial, and your printed flyers are suddenly useless.

It doesn't have to work that way. A static QR code holds the destination directly in its pattern. There is no redirect server in the middle, nothing to expire, and nothing that needs a subscription. In this guide I'll walk through creating a branded QR code with a logo — the rules that keep it scannable, and the print mistakes to avoid.

The tool used in this walkthrough is MyLogoQR, a free generator that runs entirely in your browser. No sign-up, and because everything is generated on your device, nothing you type — including Wi-Fi passwords — is uploaded anywhere.

Why a logo doesn't break the code

QR codes carry spare data called error correction. When a logo covers part of the pattern, the scanner rebuilds the missing pieces from that spare data:

• Level L recovers up to 7% — fine for plain codes, no logo
• Level M recovers up to 15% — tiny logos only
• Level Q recovers up to 25% — the sweet spot for most logos
• Level H recovers up to 30% — large logos and outdoor prints

In practice, a logo covering about a fifth of the code's width scans reliably on almost any phone. Push it past 30% and older phones and dim lighting start to fail. MyLogoQR defaults sensibly here, but it's worth knowing why the limits exist.

Step by step

1. Pick the QR type first. A website link, a WhatsApp chat with a pre-filled message, Wi-Fi credentials, a contact card (vCard), or plain text. The type decides how the phone interprets the scan — a tap should open the right action immediately.
2. Enter your content, then test it. A printed code can't be edited. Open the link yourself before you export anything.
3. Upload your logo. Keep it centered and near 20–25% of the code size, and never let it touch the three big corner squares — those are what scanners lock onto first.
4. Pick colors with real contrast. Scanners look for a dark pattern on a lighter background. Navy or deep green on white scans as reliably as black. Yellow on white, or an inverted light-on-dark design, is where failures start. A dark-enough gradient is fine.
5. Download PNG or SVG. PNG (1000 × 1000) is right for screens, slides and social posts. SVG is a vector that stays sharp at any size — use it for signs, packaging and anything a printer will touch.

Print rules that save reprints

• Size: keep at least 1 cm of QR width for every 10 cm of scanning distance. A window code read from two metres away should be at least 5 cm wide.
• Quiet zone: leave a blank margin of about four modules (the small squares) around the code. Cropping it is a classic silent killer.
• Surface: avoid curved or glossy placements that reflect light into the camera.
• Test like a customer: scan the final print with two different phones, once in daylight and once indoors, before the big print run.

The private-by-default bit

Because MyLogoQR draws the code inside your browser, your data never passes through a server. That's a meaningful difference for Wi-Fi and contact codes: the password exists only in the printed pattern and on your guests' phones. (One caution that applies to every QR tool: anyone who scans a code can read what's inside it, so never encode a secret you wouldn't print on the poster itself.)

Try it

If you've been paying a subscription just to keep printed QR codes alive, static codes are the free route out. You can make one in under a minute here: MyLogoQR — Free QR Code Generator with Logo

Have a print horror story — expired codes, unscannable posters? I'd genuinely like to hear it in the comments.