vCard QR Code Generator
Fill in your name, company, phone number and email, and the code you download saves you as a new contact on the phone that scans it. No app, no profile page in between, and nothing that expires.
QR Code Generator
Nothing is uploaded; the code is generated for you to download.
Width and height of the PNG in pixels. 1000 px prints sharply up to about 8 cm; vector formats ignore this.
Blank border around the code, counted in modules (the small squares). Scanners need at least 4 on a busy background.
Higher levels still scan when part of the code is dirty or covered by a logo, but the pattern becomes denser.
Keep it dark. Light codes on dark backgrounds fail on many older phone cameras.
Needs strong contrast with the code color; white is the safest choice.
How to use this tool
- 1
Fill in the contact fields
Enter Name, Company, Phone number with the country code, such as +1 555 123 4567, and Email address. Leave a field empty to keep it out of the code.
- 2
Set the size for your card
PNG at 1000 px suits email signatures and slides. For a printed card open Advanced settings and pick SVG or PDF so the print shop can place it at any size.
- 3
Generate and save a test contact
Press Generate, scan the code with an iPhone and an Android phone, and check that the number dials and the email address is spelled right.
What a vCard QR code stores
- vCardVCF · contact card · electronic business card
- A plain-text contact format that starts with
BEGIN:VCARDand ends withEND:VCARD, one field per line: FN for the display name, ORG for the company, TEL and EMAIL. The versit consortium published version 2.1 in 1996; the IETF standardized version 3.0 as RFC 2426 in 1998 and version 4.0 as RFC 6350 in 2011.
It is the same format phones use when you share a contact by email, which is why the result lands in the address book instead of a browser. Everything sits in the code itself, so it reads in a basement or on a plane, and there is no account behind it that could lapse.
vCard 3.0, vCard 4.0 or MeCard for a contact QR code
| Format | Defined by | Payload | Smallest QR version | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MeCard | NTT Docomo, Japan | 66 bytes | 5 (37 × 37 modules) | Compact one-line syntax; fewer fields than vCard |
| vCard 3.0 | IETF RFC 2426, 1998 | 124 bytes | 8 (49 × 49 modules) | The version Apple and Google contact apps commonly export |
| vCard 4.0 | IETF RFC 6350, 2011 | 138 bytes | 8 (49 × 49 modules) | Adds little for a QR code; older apps read it less reliably |
The numbers explain the advice. Every field you add moves the code to a higher version with more, smaller modules, and on an 85 × 55 mm business card that means smaller squares for the camera to resolve. Keep the record to what someone needs to reach you, and use a lower Error correction level only if the card is printed on clean, matte stock.
For the card itself, a code about 2 to 2.5 cm wide is a sensible minimum for a vCard of this length; the SVG QR code page has print sizes for other distances. An email signature is a different case: there a PNG QR code of about 150 to 200 px is plenty.
Before you print a vCard QR code on business cards
- The phone number starts with a + and the country code, so it dials from abroad.
- The email address was typed, not pasted with a trailing space.
- The test contact saved correctly on both an iPhone and an Android phone.
- The white quiet zone of 4 modules survives the card layout and trimming.
- The code is dark on a light background, not reversed out of a dark card.
- Your name and number also appear as text for people who do not scan.
vCard QR code questions
Can I add my website, address or photo to the vCard QR code?
This generator fills name, company, phone and email, the four fields people actually use from a business card. A photo would never fit, since a QR code tops out at under 3 KB of data, and every extra line makes the pattern denser. Put your website on the card as text or in a second, separate code.
What happens when someone scans my contact QR code?
The phone shows a contact preview with your details and a button to create the contact or add to an existing one. Nothing is saved until the person confirms, and no message or notification reaches you.
Should a business card QR code be a vCard or a link to my profile?
A vCard works offline and saves you as a contact in one step, but you cannot update it after printing. A link to a profile page can change, but the person still has to save you by hand. Many people print the vCard and keep the link as text.
Why does my contact show up with the wrong name order?
Contact apps read the structured name field, which stores family and given names separately. If the name was typed as one string with a title or a comma, some apps guess the split wrongly. Enter the name as you want it displayed, without titles, and test on both phone systems.
Can I make contact QR codes for my whole team?
Generate one code per person here and name the files after each colleague. If each person only needs a link to an online profile instead, the bulk QR code generator turns a list of profile links into one code per line.