When you create a QR Code online you are asked, sooner or later, whether you want it static or dynamic. The pattern looks the same: what changes is what happens after printing. This guide explains the difference in two minutes and helps you choose without having to reprint anything months later.
What a static QR Code is
In a static QR Code the information is written inside the pattern: a web address, a text, a Wi-Fi password. Whoever scans it reads that content directly.
- It works forever: it depends on no service, not even the site that created it.
- It cannot be edited. If the address changes, the printed code is useless.
- Scans cannot be counted, because nobody can see who scans it.
- The longer the content, the denser and harder to read the pattern becomes.
What a dynamic QR Code is
A dynamic QR Code contains a short address managed by the service that creates it. When someone scans it, they pass through that address and are sent to the destination you chose. You can change the destination whenever you like: the printed code stays the same.
- You change the link, the menu or the file without reprinting.
- You see how many scans you get, on which days and at what time, from which countries and devices.
- The pattern stays simple, because inside there is only a short address.
- You can pause it or set an expiry date.
- It depends on the service that manages it: if the account is closed, the code stops working. That is why the choice of service matters.
The differences, in brief
- Editing after printing: static no, dynamic yes.
- Scan statistics: static no, dynamic yes.
- Works even if the service shuts down: static yes, dynamic no.
- Readability: the dynamic pattern is simpler, especially with long content.
- Cost: static is free everywhere, dynamic usually has limits or a subscription.
Which one to choose
Ask yourself one question: could this code need to change after printing?
- Dynamic for anything that gets updated or that you want to measure: a restaurant menu, flyers and posters, business cards, packaging, campaigns, events, a link to a site that may change.
- Static for content that will never change and that you do not need to measure: the Wi-Fi password at home, a short text, a personal contact, an internal label.
The classic doubt: “I’m printing it on a thousand flyers”. If there are a thousand copies out there, choose dynamic. A mistake in the link, found after printing, costs a thousand flyers with a static code.
How to tell whether a QR Code is dynamic
Scan it and look at the address before the page opens. If it is a short address of the service (something like qr.denqr.com/abc123) it is dynamic. If it is directly the destination site, it is static.
How it works with DenQr
With DenQr you can create static QR Codes with no limits and no subscription, and dynamic QR Codes on the Free plan (up to 3, 500 scans each, active for 6 months) or on the Starter (from €5.99 a month) and Pro (from €9.99 a month) plans, which include more of them and remove the scan limit. If a plan expires, dynamic QR Codes beyond the free plan limit are paused, not deleted, and become active again when you reactivate the plan. The details are on the Pricing page.
You can try it right away with a website QR Code: you create it, print it, and then change the destination from the dashboard whenever you need to.