Static vs Dynamic QR Codes: What's the Difference?

Every QR code is either static or dynamic. They look the same when printed, and phones scan them the same way. The difference is where the information lives, and that decides whether you can change the code later and what it depends on to keep working.

How a static QR code works

A static QR code stores your content directly inside the pattern of squares. If you make a code for https://yourbakery.com/menu, that exact address is in the code. When someone scans it, their phone reads the address and opens it. Nothing else is involved.

That has a few practical results:

• It never expires. There’s no server in the middle that could go away.
• It can’t be edited. To change the content, you make a new code and print it again.
• It works for more than links. WiFi logins, contact cards, text, email, SMS and phone numbers can all be stored in the code itself, so phones can use them without going online first.
• Nobody counts the scans. The scan goes straight from the phone to the content.

1. Printed codeHolds the page address itself.
3. yourbakery.com/menuYour pageFixed for good. To change it, print a new code.

How a dynamic QR code works

A dynamic QR code stores a short link instead of your final destination. When someone scans it, their phone opens the short link, and the service that owns it redirects them to wherever you’ve chosen.

Because the redirect happens on the service’s side:

• You can change the destination after the code is printed, without reprinting.
• The service can count scans, because every visit passes through it.
• The code stays simple. A short link needs fewer squares than a long address, so the code is easier to print small.
• It depends on the service. The code only works while the service keeps running that short link for you.

1. Printed codeHolds a short link.
3. keptlink.app/k7m2xqaShort linkSends visitors to your page.
5. Before: …/menu/springAfter: …/menu/summerYour pageChange it any time. Scanners follow in about 1 to 2 minutes.

Static vs dynamic at a glance

	Static QR code	Dynamic QR code
What’s inside the code	Your actual content	A short link to a redirect service
Change it after printing	No, you print a new code	Yes, you change the destination
Scan counts	No	Yes, through the service
Keeps working if the service stops	Yes	No
Content types	Links, WiFi, contact cards, text and more	Mostly web links
Code density	Depends on how much you put in	Always a short, simple link

Which one do you need?

A static code is a good fit when the content won’t change, or when you’d rather not depend on anyone:

• your website’s home page or a page you control
• your guest WiFi network
• a contact card for business cards
• a phone number, email address or short text message

A dynamic code makes more sense when you expect the destination to change after printing, or when you want to know how often a code is scanned:

• a menu or price list that moves to a new link each season
• a flyer campaign where you want to compare scans between locations
• signs or packaging printed in large runs that you can’t easily reprint

There’s also a middle path. A static code that points to a page on your own website gives you some of the flexibility of a dynamic code. You can’t change the address in the code, but you can change what’s on that page, or set up a redirect on your site if the page moves.

If you choose a dynamic code from any service, read what happens to your codes if you stop paying or close your account before you print. Our guide on whether QR codes expire covers this in more detail.

What KeptLink offers

Static codes are free. The content is inside the code and doesn’t pass through KeptLink, so it never expires and keeps working even if KeptLink disappeared. There’s no signup and no watermark, and the code is generated in your browser, so what you type is never sent to our servers. Make one for a website link, WiFi network or contact card right now.

Dynamic codes come with a paid plan (pricing, with a 14-day free trial). You can change where they point after printing, see scan analytics, and put them on your own domain. Codes made on a paid plan keep redirecting to their last destination even if you cancel, as our continuity pledge explains.