What is a QR code with a logo?
A QR code with a logo (sometimes called a branded QR code) is a standard QR code with an image placed over its center. The result scans exactly like a plain code but immediately communicates who it belongs to - a restaurant's mark on a menu code, a company logo on a business card, an app icon on a download poster. Branding a code also builds trust: people are noticeably more willing to scan a code that visibly belongs to a brand they recognize than an anonymous black-and-white square.
This works because of error correction. QR codes encode their payload with Reed-Solomon redundancy, meaning a scanner can reconstruct the full content even when part of the grid is missing or covered. A logo simply "spends" part of that redundancy deliberately. This tool generates the code at your chosen error-correction level, draws your uploaded logo on a clean white pad in the center, and lets you download the finished PNG - all locally in your browser, so neither the content nor your logo ever leaves your device.
How to create a QR code with your logo
- Enter your content - a URL, text, phone number, or Wi-Fi payload. The preview updates as you type.
- Upload your logo. PNG, JPG, and WebP are supported; a square PNG with transparency looks best.
- Pick a logo size. 20% of the code width is the recommended default. Larger logos are more prominent but consume more of the error-correction budget.
- Keep error correction at High (H). The tool defaults to H because the logo covers part of the code; lower levels risk scan failures.
- Test the preview by scanning it with your phone straight off the screen, then Download PNG.
Why the logo needs high error correction
Every QR code dedicates part of its grid to redundant data. The four error-correction levels trade capacity for resilience: Low tolerates about 7% damage, Medium 15%, Quartile 25%, and High 30%. A centered logo at 20% width covers roughly 4-6% of the total module area (because area grows with the square of width, a 20%-wide logo covers only about 4% of the surface) - comfortably inside every level on paper. In practice, though, the code also has to survive printing imperfections, glare, curvature, and cheap phone cameras. Choosing High keeps a wide safety margin so the logo and the real world can both take their share.
The white pad this tool draws behind your logo matters too. Placing a logo directly onto the modules creates ambiguous half-covered modules that confuse scanners. A solid white backing cleanly removes those modules instead, which the error correction handles far more reliably - the same reason professionally branded codes always sit the logo on a white or light field.
Design tips for branded QR codes
- Use a simple mark, not a wordmark. At 20% of a 256-pixel code, your logo is about 51 pixels wide - icons and monograms survive that size; long text does not.
- Prefer transparent PNGs. The logo sits on a white rounded pad, so transparent backgrounds blend seamlessly. JPGs with white backgrounds also look fine.
- Keep URLs short. Less content means a coarser, easier-to-scan grid, which matters even more when a logo is covering part of it. Link to a page rather than embedding long text.
- Maintain contrast and the quiet zone. The dark modules must stay dark on light, and the empty margin around the code must be preserved when you place it into designs.
- Always test-scan the final artwork with at least two phones, at realistic distance and lighting, before mass printing.
When to use a plain QR code instead
If the code will be printed very small (under 2 x 2 cm), displayed in poor conditions, or must encode a long payload, skip the logo - every bit of error-correction margin helps. The plain QR Code Generator produces the most robust codes possible. And if you are generating identifiers to embed in your codes, the UUID Generator creates unique IDs that pair well with asset-tag and inventory workflows.