QR Code Versions 1 to 40 and How Much They Hold

Not every QR code is the same size. The standard defines 40 versions, and each has a different number of modules.

Version sizes

Version	Grid size
1	21 × 21 modules
2	25 × 25 modules
10	57 × 57 modules
40	177 × 177 modules

Each step up adds four modules to each side.

Capacity

The largest code, version 40 at the lowest error-correction level, can hold roughly:

• 7,089 digits, or
• 4,296 letters and digits, or
• a smaller amount of general text, depending on the characters

In practice, almost nobody needs that much. Codes for web addresses are usually far smaller.

Content type changes capacity

QR codes encode data in different modes:

• Numeric for digits only, the most compact.
• Alphanumeric for digits, capital letters and a few symbols.
• Byte for general text, including lowercase letters.

Numbers pack tightly. A long web address with lowercase letters takes more space.

Capacity versus scanning

A bigger version means smaller modules if the printed size stays the same. Smaller modules are harder for a camera to resolve.

• Keep content short. A shorter web address makes a simpler, more robust code.
• Print larger if the code is dense.
• Test on an older phone to be safe.

Choosing what to encode

If you use a QR generator, remember that the more you put in, the busier the code. A contact card with many fields gives a denser code than a single link. A Wi-Fi login is short and usually scans easily.

QR Code Scanner's built-in generator makes codes for URLs, text, Wi-Fi and contacts, and its scanner is built to stay fast on older phones.

Scan and create QR codes and barcodes with QR Code Scanner →