Put your logo in a QR code — without breaking it

A logo makes a QR code recognizably yours and measurably increases scans — people trust branded codes more than anonymous ones. The catch is that a logo covers part of the pattern, so it has to be done within the limits the QR standard actually allows.

How to add a logo

Open the generator and enter your URL or other data.
Under Add a Logo, upload a PNG or JPG — square images work best because the overlay area is square.
Adjust the logo size slider, from 15% up to 30% of the code’s width.
Watch the scanability check — it re-evaluates live as you change the logo, colors, and content, and warns before a combination becomes unreliable.
Download the PNG, up to 1024×1024 for print work.

Why a logo doesn’t break the code: error correction

QR codes were designed for factory floors where labels get scratched and stained, so the standard bakes in Reed–Solomon error correction — redundant data that lets a reader reconstruct the payload even when part of the pattern is missing. There are four levels:

Level	Recoverable damage	Typical use
L (Low)	~7%	Clean screens, max data density
M (Medium)	~15%	General purpose default
Q (Quartile)	~25%	Print in rough conditions
H (High)	~30%	Logos, outdoor wear, small sizes

A centered logo is, from the reader’s point of view, deliberate damage. That is why this generator automatically switches to level H the moment you upload a logo, and why the size slider caps at 30% width. A 30%-wide logo covers about 9% of the code’s area, which sits comfortably inside H’s 30% recovery budget with margin left over for real-world wear: glare, folds, a scratched laminate. Generators that let you paste a logo across half the code produce images that look fine and scan never.

Choosing and preparing the logo file

Use the simplest version of your mark. An icon or monogram reads better at 2 cm than a full wordmark with a tagline. If your brand has a square social-media avatar, that is usually the right asset.
PNG with a solid background beats transparency here. A logo floating directly on the modules looks chaotic; a logo on a small white square reads as intentional and helps the reader by clearly separating logo from data.
Skip photographs. Photographic detail turns to mush at logo-in-a-code sizes, and busy pixels next to data modules create false reads for cheap scanners.
Match logo colors to your foreground choice. A red logo inside a black-on-white code looks accidental. Either use the brand color for the whole code (if contrast allows) or use a monochrome logo variant.

Color rules that keep branded codes scannable

Logo and colors usually travel together in brand work, and color is where most branded codes actually fail. Readers binarize the image — every pixel becomes either “dark” or “light” — so what matters is luminance contrast, not how nice the palette looks:

Dark modules on a light background is the orientation every reader is optimized for. Inverted codes (light on dark) fail on a meaningful share of older phones — if you must go dark-mode, test aggressively.
Aim for strong luminance difference. Navy on white: excellent. Brand purple on white: fine. Yellow on white, or mid-gray on beige: the scanability meter will flag it, and it is right.
Keep the quiet zone. The white margin around the code is part of the spec — readers use it to find the code’s edges. The generated PNG includes it; do not crop it off in your layout or let a background pattern run up against the modules.

How big to print a branded code

The working rule is a 10:1 distance-to-size ratio: a code scanned from 25 cm away (a hand holding a phone over a business card) should be at least 2.5 cm across. A poster read from 2 m needs a 20 cm code. Because a logo consumes part of the error-correction budget, treat these as minimums rather than targets when a logo is present, and prefer the next size up when in doubt. The 1024 px export prints crisply at 8.6 cm at 300 DPI, which covers everything short of signage.

The pre-print testing checklist

Scan the on-screen preview with both an iPhone and an Android camera — different vendors, different decoding engines.
Print one sample at final size on the final material. Glossy stock and laminates add glare; test them, not office paper.
Scan the print from a realistic distance, at an angle, and in dim light. Real users do not hold their phone perfectly square to your poster.
If anything hesitates, reduce the logo a step or shorten the encoded URL (fewer modules mean bigger, more forgiving modules at the same physical size).

Free, no account: logo overlay, custom colors, and full-resolution downloads are free. Applying one logo across an entire CSV batch is a paid-plan feature, since it is almost always part of a commercial print run.

Troubleshooting branded codes

Scans on new phones, not old ones. Contrast is marginal or the code is inverted. Darken the foreground and retest.
Scans on screen, not in print. Usually size (printed smaller than tested) or material glare. Reprint the sample at true size on true stock.
Logo looks blurry. Upload a larger source image; it is downscaled to fit, never upscaled well from a tiny file.
Meter says “poor” but you love the look. The meter reflects how readers behave, not taste. A beautiful code that fails to scan is a decoration, not a link.

Why the center is the only safe place for a logo

It helps to know what a reader looks for, because it explains every rule on this page. The three large squares in the corners are finder patterns — they are how the camera locates a code and works out its orientation, and covering any of them makes the code invisible to the reader, no matter how much error correction remains. Thin lines of alternating modules run between them (timing patterns), letting the decoder count rows and columns; a smaller alignment square near the bottom-right corrects for perspective distortion. The center of the code is the region furthest from all of this machinery — it holds only data and error-correction codewords, which are exactly the bits Reed–Solomon can reconstruct. A centered logo therefore damages the most recoverable part of the pattern, while a corner logo destroys the least recoverable part. This is also why you should never round the corners of a QR code in a layout tool or place stickers over its edges: the corners are not decoration, they are the address.

Turning one good code into a brand standard

If branded codes will appear across your menus, packaging, and signage, decide the recipe once and write it down — a three-line spec saves every future designer an afternoon of guessing:

The exact colors: foreground hex, background hex, tested against the meter. One approved pair, used everywhere, is what makes codes read as “yours” at a glance.
The logo asset and size: which file (the square icon variant), at which slider setting. Twenty percent is a sensible house default — visibly branded with error-correction budget to spare.
Minimum print sizes by context: e.g. 2.5 cm on cards and tents, 10 cm on posters, per the 10:1 rule. Include the “never invert, never crop the quiet zone” line.

Then generate every code — one-offs and CSV batches alike — with the same settings. Consistency is not just aesthetics: a customer who has scanned one of your codes has learned that your codes work, and identical styling carries that trust to the next one. It also makes counterfeits and sticker-slap attacks (someone pasting their own code over yours) easier for staff to spot, which is a real consideration for anything customer-facing in public space.

Common questions

Is the logo feature free?: Yes — logo overlay, colors, and downloads are free with no account required.
What logo format should I use?: PNG is ideal; JPG works. Square aspect ratio, at least a few hundred pixels on a side.
Why is the logo size capped at 30%?: Because that is the edge of what level-H error correction can reliably absorb along with normal print wear. Beyond it, codes start failing in the field even when they scan from a pristine screen.
Can I place the logo in a corner instead of the center?: No — center placement damages the data region most predictably and avoids the corner finder patterns, which must never be covered. Corner logos break the three squares readers use to locate the code.
Does the logo survive in bulk batches?: Yes — on paid plans the same overlay applies to every code in a CSV batch, with error correction forced to H across the run.
Should the logo code be static or dynamic?: Branding and redirects are independent choices. If the printed destination might change, use a dynamic code and brand it exactly the same way.

Add your logo →