vCard QR Code for Contact Details

Pricing and privacy at QR Kontor

Static QR codes are free, with no sign-up, no limit and no watermark. Dynamic QR codes, where you can change the destination after printing, cost €4.99 one-time per code. No subscription, no recurring fees.

Your data is hosted in Frankfurt, Germany (Supabase EU and Vercel fra1). Only essential cookies for the login session, no marketing tracking and no third-party pixels.

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Two approaches that often get confused

There are two completely different ways to put contact details into a QR code. The choice between them determines everything else.

The vCard inside the code. The code contains your name, number and address as text. Whoever scans it immediately gets the prompt "Add contact". This works offline, without a server, without us. Downside: the content is frozen. New number means new cards.

The digital business card behind the code. The code contains only a short address. Behind it sits a page with your details, a photo and a save button. Upside: you change the details, the printed card stays valid. And you see how often it was scanned.

For a card you hand out to three hundred people at a trade show, the second route is the right one. For the sticker on your toolbox, the first is enough.

Step 1: Choose the right fields

This is where most vCard codes fail, visibly. A QR code gets a finer grid with every additional character. Pack in name, middle name, company, job title, department, landline, mobile, fax, two email addresses, the full postal address and a website, and you get a pattern that a 1.5 cm (0.6 in) square on a business card can barely read reliably. Especially not on matte paper in poor light.

The rule of thumb: What the recipient really needs goes in. The rest is printed on the card.

A set of fields that reads well:

• First and last name
• Company
• One phone number, the right one
• One email address
• Website, if it is short

That is enough in almost every case. Fax and department have no place in a QR code.

Step 2: Write phone numbers correctly

Numbers belong in international format. Otherwise callbacks from abroad fail and some phones do not even recognize them as a number:

+1 212 555 0123

So with the country code, without the leading zero of a national area code (UK: +44 20 7946 0123, not 020 7946 0123), without slashes or brackets. (212) 555-0123 works less well in the address book than +1 212 555 0123.

Step 3: Create and test

Choose Business card (vCard) in the generator above, fill in the fields, check the preview. Download SVG for print, PNG for screens, email signatures or presentations.

Test before printing, and do it like this:

1. Scan with an iPhone: does the contact window appear with the right fields?
2. Scan with an Android device: same check
3. If possible, scan a printed copy, not just the screen. Paper swallows contrast

The third point is the important one. A code that runs perfectly on a monitor can fail on light gray recycled paper.

Step 4: Size and contrast in print

• At least 2 cm (0.8 in) edge length on a business card, better 2.5 cm (1 in)
• Keep the quiet zone: leave at least the width of four modules free all around. A code that runs to the edge of the card is often not recognized
• Do not push the contrast. Dark code on a light background works. Light gray on white or white on gold looks elegant on screen and fails on paper
• Never invert without testing. Light modules on a dark background read worse on many cameras

When the dynamic version pays off

The static vCard code is free and right for many cases. But there are three situations where it becomes expensive:

1. Your details change. New role, new number, new employer. Five hundred printed cards become waste paper in that moment
2. You want to know whether the card gets used. The static code cannot do that in principle, it knows no server. The dynamic one counts scans by day and device
3. You want to show more than text. Photo, logo, buttons for LinkedIn, WhatsApp or appointment booking do not fit in a vCard, but they fit on a page behind it

The digital business card with us costs €4.99 one-time, no subscription. Other providers charge $49 to $197 for a "lifetime" card, but what you are paying for is a short redirect and one lightweight page on EU hosting, which costs very little to keep running for years. Once set up, you change number and role as often as you like without ever printing again.

FAQ

Does the recipient need an app? No. The camera app recognizes vCard codes by itself on current iPhones and Android devices.

Is my data stored with you when I create a static code? No. The static code is generated in your browser. Afterwards the data lives in the image and nowhere else.

Why does my code look so fine and busy? Because there is too much in it. Remove fields and the pattern immediately gets coarser and easier to read. That is the only lever that works.

Can I put a logo in the middle? Yes, within reason. The built-in error correction copes with up to about a fifth of the area. If the logo gets bigger, the read rate drops, especially with data-heavy vCards.

What about MECARD? An older, more compact format. It produces smaller codes but is not supported equally well by all devices. vCard is the safe standard.