Static vs dynamic QR codes
A static code holds your content in the squares themselves. A dynamic code holds a short link to someone else’s server. Everything else follows from that.
| Static | Dynamic | |
|---|---|---|
| Where your link lives | In the code | On the provider’s server |
| Expires | Never | When the plan ends |
| Cost | Free | Usually a monthly or yearly plan |
| Change the link after printing | No — make a new code | Yes |
| Works if the provider disappears | Yes | No |
| Scan statistics | No | Yes |
| Who sees your scans | Nobody | The provider |
When static is the right choice
Almost always: menus, Wi-Fi, business cards, packaging, posters, product labels, event signs. If you point the code at a page on your own website, you can still change what people see — by editing your page, not the code.
When people choose dynamic
When the destination must change and there is no website of your own to point at, or when you need scan counts. The price is that the code depends on the provider for as long as it is printed.
Our advice
Print static codes that point at addresses you own. They cost nothing, survive any company, and nobody counts your customers’ scans. Make one now.