QR Code Size Chart: Minimum Print Sizes and Scan Distances for Every Use Case
The minimum size for a QR code is 2 x 2 cm (0.8 x 0.8 in) for anything scanned at arm's length, and the rule for every other placement is simple: print width should be at least the scan distance divided by 10. A code read from 1 m away needs to be about 10 cm wide, and a billboard code read from 10 m needs to be about 1 m wide.
Those two numbers answer most sizing questions, but they assume a short URL, an intact quiet zone, and a sharp print. Stuff 300 characters into the code, print it at 72 DPI, or crop the white border, and a 2 cm code that should work will fail. This page is the full data set: the size chart by use case, the module math behind it, and the exact pixel dimensions to export for print.
The 10:1 rule: size follows scan distance
A phone camera needs the code to fill enough of the frame to resolve every individual module. In practice that happens when the code width is about one tenth of the distance between the camera and the print. So the working formula is: minimum code width = scan distance / 10. From 30 cm you need 3 cm, from 2 m you need 20 cm, from 15 m you need 1.5 m.
Treat 10:1 as the floor, not the target. If the code sits behind glass, catches glare, gets scanned at an angle, or carries a lot of data, move to 8:1. A poster code sized at 12 cm instead of 10 cm costs nothing in layout and buys a real margin in scan rate.
QR code size chart by use case
| Placement | Minimum code size | Max reliable scan distance |
|---|---|---|
| Business card | 2 x 2 cm (0.8 in) | 20 cm (8 in) |
| Product label or sticker | 2 to 2.5 cm | 20 to 25 cm |
| Table tent or menu | 3 x 3 cm (1.2 in) | 30 cm (12 in) |
| Flyer or brochure | 4 x 4 cm (1.6 in) | 40 cm (16 in) |
| Poster | 10 x 10 cm (4 in) | 1 m (3.3 ft) |
| Shop window | 15 x 15 cm (6 in) | 1.5 m (5 ft) |
| Billboard or vehicle wrap | 1 x 1 m (3.3 ft) | 10 m (33 ft) |
These sizes refer to the dark module area of the code itself. The white quiet zone comes on top of them, which matters when you are squeezing a code onto a 2.5 x 5 cm product label. Our QR code for labels generator handles that case directly: it sizes the code and quiet zone to fit standard label sheets so nothing gets cropped at print time.
One more note on the billboard row: nobody stands 10 m from a billboard. Size for the realistic scanning position, usually a person parked or standing 5 to 15 m away, not for the far longer distance most people only ever see it from.
Module density: more data means a bigger print
A QR code is a grid of square modules, and ISO/IEC 18004 defines 40 versions of that grid: version 1 is 21 x 21 modules, each version adds 4 modules per side, and version 40 is 177 x 177. The generator picks the version automatically based on how much data you encode. More characters means more modules, and at a fixed print size more modules means each module gets smaller.
For reliable phone scanning, keep printed modules at roughly 0.4 to 0.5 mm or larger. Run the numbers and you get a hard link between data length and minimum print size:
| QR version | Grid size | Capacity at level M (bytes) | Min print width at 0.4 mm modules, quiet zone included |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 25 x 25 | 26 | 1.3 cm |
| 4 | 33 x 33 | 62 | 1.6 cm |
| 6 | 41 x 41 | 106 | 2.0 cm |
| 10 | 57 x 57 | 213 | 2.6 cm |
The practical takeaway: a short URL of 25 to 30 characters stays at version 2 or 3 and scans happily at 2 cm. A long URL with UTM parameters can hit version 6 or higher, which at business card size pushes the modules down to that 0.4 mm floor or under it. Shorten the URL before you shrink the code. This matters double when you batch produce codes with our QR code generator from an Excel list: one long URL in the spreadsheet quietly produces one dense code that fails in print while the other 200 work.
Quiet zone: 4 modules of empty space
ISO/IEC 18004 requires a quiet zone of 4 modules of background color on all four sides of the code. Scanners use that empty border to find the edges of the symbol, and designs that crop it or run text and borders into it are one of the most common causes of failed scans. With 0.5 mm modules, 4 modules is only a 2 mm white frame, but it is not optional.
As a layout rule, reserve an extra 10 to 15 percent of the code width on each side as clear space. Keep logos, borders, and background patterns out of it, and on dark designs remember the quiet zone must match the light background of the code, not the page color.
DPI math: converting print size to pixels
Standard print output is 300 DPI, which for your exported artwork means 300 pixels per inch, or 118 pixels per centimeter (300 / 2.54 = 118.1). So the export formula is: pixels = print width in cm x 118. Here are the exports for the sizes in the chart above:
| Print width | Inches | Pixels needed at 300 DPI |
|---|---|---|
| 2 cm | 0.8 in | 236 px |
| 3 cm | 1.2 in | 354 px |
| 4 cm | 1.6 in | 472 px |
| 10 cm | 3.9 in | 1181 px |
| 15 cm | 5.9 in | 1772 px |
Export at these dimensions or larger, and scale down only, never up. Upscaling a small PNG smears the module edges into gray, which is the single most common reason a printed code looks fuzzy; our guide to blurred QR code causes and fixes walks through every cause, from over-compression to low resolution PDF exports. When your workflow allows it, skip raster math entirely and export SVG, which stays sharp at any print size. Two exceptions to the 300 DPI rule: thermal label printers run at 203 DPI, so generate label codes to match that dot pitch, and large format billboard printing runs far below 300 DPI because viewing distance hides the dots.
Error correction and the size tradeoff
QR codes carry Reed Solomon error correction at four levels: L recovers about 7 percent of damaged codewords, M about 15 percent, Q about 25 percent, and H about 30 percent. Higher levels are not free. The correction data takes up capacity, which pushes the code to a higher version, which shrinks the modules at a fixed print size.
A concrete example: a 50 character URL fits in version 3 at level L, version 4 at M, version 5 at Q, and version 6 at H. At a fixed 2 cm print, that drops the module size from about 0.69 mm to 0.49 mm. Use M as the default. Reserve Q or H for codes that will get scratched, dirty, or partially covered by a logo overlay, and when you do use H, bump the print size up one step in the chart to pay for the extra density.
Quick sizing checklist
- Size the code at scan distance / 10, and never below 2 x 2 cm in print
- Keep printed modules at 0.4 mm or larger; shorten URLs to keep the version low
- Preserve the 4 module quiet zone on all sides
- Export at 300 DPI (cm x 118 = px) or as SVG, and never upscale a small PNG
- Print one sample and test with two or three different phones at the real distance before the full run
If a correctly sized code still refuses to read, the problem is usually contrast, glare, or a dead link rather than size; our checklist of QR code not scanning fixes covers those in order of likelihood.
The generators in our QR tools collection export print-ready files, and the guides index has the rest of the print and scanning deep dives, from dynamic redirect links to full scan troubleshooting. Size the code right once, and it will scan for the life of the print.