QR Size & Scan Distance Calculator

Work out how large a QR code has to be printed to actually scan.

What you provide

The length of the URL or text. Shorter payloads make larger, more readable modules.

Result

200 mm code for scanning at 2 m

Two things sink more printed QR codes than size does. The quiet zone is the first: four modules of blank space on every side is part of the specification, and a code printed hard against a border or a coloured background often will not scan at all. The second is payload length, since every extra character adds modules and each module gets smaller at a fixed physical size. Shortening the URL, using a redirect, and keeping error correction at M rather than H all buy back readable module size. Print a test at final size and scan it from the real distance before ordering anything.

Diagnostic telemetry
Scanning distance
2 m
Minimum code sizeRoughly one tenth of the scanning distance
200 mm
Estimated modulesFor about 40 characters at error correction M
33 × 33
Module size
6.06 mm
Quiet zone each sideFour modules of blank space, and not optional
24.2 mm
Total space needed
248 mm
At 300 dpi
2362 × 2362 px

What this cannot tell you

  • Sizing arithmetic from established printing rules. It does not generate or read a QR code.
  • Module counts are approximate, since real capacity depends on whether the payload is numeric, alphanumeric or mixed. Print a test at final size and scan it from the real distance before ordering anything.

Take this with you

QR Size & Scan Distance Calculator on RunTheTests — free browser-based qr tools, no sign-up.