Every QR code decision starts here, whether you know it or not. Pick the wrong type and you'll either pay for features you don't need, or print thousands of flyers with a code that can't tell you anything and can never be changed. This is the plain-English version of the choice.
The One-Sentence Difference
A static QR code contains your destination URL itself; a dynamic QR code contains a short redirect link that forwards to your destination — and that redirect is what makes tracking and editing possible.
Static QR Codes: Free and Immortal
When a phone scans a static code, it reads the URL directly out of the pattern and opens it. No server sits in the middle. The consequences all follow from that:
- Free — there's no ongoing service, so there's nothing to charge for. Make one with our free QR code generator.
- Never expires — nobody can switch it off, ever.
- No tracking — the scan is invisible to you. No counts, no locations, nothing.
- Destination locked forever — printed a typo? Changed your menu URL? Reprint everything.
- Denser pattern — long URLs make busier, harder-to-scan codes; dynamic codes stay clean because the short link is always tiny.
Dynamic QR Codes: Trackable and Editable
A dynamic code encodes a short link like redirect-service.example/abc123. When scanned, that service logs the scan and instantly forwards the visitor to your real destination. That indirection buys you:
- Scan analytics — how many scans, from which towns and cities, on which devices, at what times. See exactly what data you get.
- Editable destination — repoint the printed code to a new page any time, without reprinting.
- Campaign measurement — separate codes for separate placements shows which flyer, poster, or postcode actually performed. This is the foundation of measuring QR campaign success.
The trade-off is that a service must stay running to do the redirecting — which is why dynamic codes cost money, and why "free trial" dynamic codes are dangerous: when the trial ends, the redirect dies and your printed code goes dark. We've written about that trap in do QR codes expire?
Which One Do You Need? A 30-Second Test
Use a static code when the destination will never change and you don't care about measurement: Wi-Fi passwords, a personal business card, a link in a book, a wedding invitation RSVP.
Use a dynamic code when money is riding on the answer to "did anyone scan this?": restaurant menus and table talkers, flyers and direct mail, product packaging, posters and billboards, trade show materials, vehicle wraps. If the code is part of marketing spend, tracking isn't a luxury — it's the receipt.
What Dynamic Codes Cost
Prices range wildly — from £1.99 to over £40 a month depending on the platform, mostly for the same core capability. QR Insights sits at the bottom of that range deliberately: £1.99 per month per code, first month free, including full analytics, editable destinations, and AI insights. Our 2026 price guide compares the whole market if you want to shop around.