Is QRCodeChimp free? What happens at 1,000 scans
The free plan is more generous than most. The catch is not the code count, it is what happens to a code that succeeds.
Verified against QRCodeChimp's own pricing page on
QRCodeChimp has one of the more generous free plans in this category: ten dynamic codes, which is ten more than most free generators give you, plus unlimited static ones. If you are comparing it against the usual "free means static" tools, it genuinely is a step up.
The thing to understand before you print is that its free limit is not a code count, it is a monthly scan count, and it applies per month rather than once. A code that quietly gets a few scans a week is fine indefinitely. A code that does well in a month is the one that stops.
The claim, so you can check it
On QRCodeChimp's free plan a dynamic QR code is paused once its scans pass the monthly limit. Their pricing page states the free tier allows 1,000 scans per month and that a dynamic code "will be paused if their scan limit for the month is reached". Checked 17 August 2026.
Where QRCodeChimp is a fair choice
Where QRCodeChimp is a fair choice. Its design range is the real draw: a large library of shapes, frames, logo placement and templated layouts, plus a wide set of code types beyond plain URLs. Ten dynamic codes on a free plan is a real offer, not a trial, and if your codes each see modest, steady traffic you may never meet the limit at all. For someone making a handful of internal or low-volume codes who wants them to look designed rather than generic, it does that well and asks for no money.
Side by side
| TangoQR | QRCodeChimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier limit | Unlimited codes, unlimited scans | 10 dynamic codes, 1,000 scans a month |
| Dynamic codes on free | Yes, every code is dynamic | Yes, up to 10 |
| Expiry or cap | No cap. Codes redirect for the life of the code | Dynamic code paused when the monthly scan limit is reached |
| Analytics on free | Full breakdowns for a code's first 50 scans, total scans always | Described as basic |
| Download formats | PNG and SVG on every plan | Not stated on the pricing page; raster capped at 1024x1024 on free |
| First paid price | $10/mo, or $100/yr | $9.99/mo, or $6.99/mo billed yearly |
Our figures are ours to state. QRCodeChimp's were read from their own pricing page on 17 August 2026 and are theirs to change. Read it there for current terms rather than trusting this table to stay right.
Where it falls short for a printed code
For a code going onto something you print in quantity, the shape of the free tier works against you in a specific way.
- Success is what triggers the limit. A monthly scan cap means the codes that stop working are exactly the ones that worked. A table tent nobody scans is safe. The one on the busiest table is not. That is the opposite of how you want a printed asset to behave.
- It resets, so the failure repeats. Because the cap is monthly rather than lifetime, a popular code does not fail once and get dealt with. It can lapse and recover every month, which is harder to notice than an outright break and worse for whoever is scanning.
- Ten codes is a ceiling you can hit by accident. Per-table, per-listing or per-flyer codes are how you learn which placement works, and that is a use case that wants dozens of codes rather than ten.
None of this makes it a bad product. It makes it a product whose free tier is priced for low-volume codes, which is worth knowing before the print run rather than after.
How TangoQR is different
TangoQR does not cap scans on any plan, free included. A code that goes from ten scans to ten thousand keeps redirecting the whole way, and it keeps counting; the total scan number stays visible no matter how high it goes. What our free plan limits is the detail behind that number: the country, device and time-of-day breakdowns stay clear for a code's first 50 scans, then move behind an upgrade while the running total keeps showing.
That is a deliberate choice about which limit is survivable. Losing chart detail on a code that is working is an annoyance you can pay to fix. Having the code itself go dark is a reprint.
Getting started, if you switch
If you are moving codes across, you do not have to reprint anything you have already put out, because the printed pattern is not what changes. Point the new code at the same destination and print that from here on.
- Make a code with the builder on our home page. No account, just a destination and an email.
- Download the SVG for anything going to print, or the PNG for screens.
- Repoint it whenever the destination moves, from your dashboard. The printed image never changes.
Codes already printed with another provider keep pointing at that provider's redirect, so those stay on their terms until you reprint. Worth checking which of yours are close to a cap.
Who should stay with QRCodeChimp
Stay with QRCodeChimp if design range is what you are actually buying and your scan volumes are low. Its template and shape library is broader than ours, it supports more code types, and if you want a code that looks heavily styled without doing the design work yourself, that breadth is a real strength we do not try to match. We spend our effort on one thing: a redirect you can repoint, that does not stop when it gets busy.
Common questions
- Is QRCodeChimp actually free?
-
Yes, it has a real free plan rather than a trial, and unlimited static codes stay free. The limits that matter are on the dynamic codes: ten of them, and 1,000 scans a month across the free tier. Their pricing page states a dynamic code is paused once that monthly scan limit is reached. Checked 17 August 2026.
- What happens to a QRCodeChimp code after 1,000 scans?
-
Per their pricing page, the code is paused rather than deleted, and the pattern itself remains valid. Because the limit is monthly, a paused code can resume in the next month. For a printed code that means an outage rather than a permanent death, which is better, but it still means the code is not working during the period it is most in demand.
- Do QRCodeChimp codes expire?
-
Their pricing page says a QR code "will be valid forever", with the pause behaviour above applying to dynamic codes over the monthly scan limit. So expiry is not the risk; the scan cap is. That distinction is worth holding on to, because "codes never expire" and "codes never stop working" are different promises.
- Does TangoQR limit scans on the free plan?
-
No. Scans are never capped or throttled on any plan, and the total is always visible. After a code's first 50 scans the free plan blurs the breakdown charts behind an upgrade, but the code keeps redirecting and keeps counting. See pricing for the detail.
- Can I move a printed QRCodeChimp code to TangoQR without reprinting?
-
No, and nobody can. A printed code encodes whichever provider's redirect made it, so moving providers means a new code and a reprint. What you can do is print TangoQR codes from now on and repoint the old ones while they still work. This is the main reason the static-or-dynamic and which-provider decisions are worth making before a print run.
- Which is better for a restaurant menu or a yard sign?
-
Both make a code that works. The question is what happens when the placement succeeds: a busy menu code can meet a monthly scan cap, and a code that stops mid-month on a printed table tent is the failure mode you cannot fix without a reprint. If your volumes are genuinely low, either is fine. Our restaurant guide and real estate guide go into the placement side.
Sources
A code that doesn't stop when it works
Unlimited codes, uncapped scans, every one an editable redirect, on the free plan. No account needed for your first code.
Make an editable code, free