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vCard QR Code Generator

Turn your contact details into a code someone can scan straight into their address book. Works offline, needs no app or account on either side, and never expires — the details live inside the code itself.

Make one now

1

Add your content

This is what gets encoded — nothing is sent anywhere.

vCard holds a lot of characters, so contact codes get dense fast. Fill in only what you need.

2

Customise

Optional. Every change is re-checked against a real decoder.

Start from a look
ShapesNew
Base colour

Anything below that you leave alone follows this.

Body
Body fill
External eye
External eye fill
Internal eye
Internal eye fill
Background
Background fill

Or start from one of 93 ready-made designs

How to make a contact QR code

  1. 1

    Fill in the essentials

    Name, phone and email are enough for most cards. Every extra field makes the code denser.

  2. 2

    Add company details if relevant

    Company and job title help people remember the context months later.

  3. 3

    Check the density readout

    Watch the version and suggested print size. Above version 10, drop a field or print larger.

  4. 4

    Download the SVG

    Vector stays sharp at business-card size, where dense codes fail first.

On this page

What a contact QR code actually contains

Not a link to a profile — the contact card itself, in a plain-text format called vCard that phones have understood for decades:

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
N:Lovelace;Ada;;;
FN:Ada Lovelace
ORG:Example GmbH
TITLE:Engineer
TEL;TYPE=CELL:+49 170 1234567
EMAIL:hello@example.com
URL:https://example.com
END:VCARD

When a camera reads it, the phone recognises the BEGIN:VCARD header and offers to save the contact. No server, no app, no signal required.

Note the two name fields. N: is structured — surname, then first name — andFN: is the display name. Both need to be present, and FigQR builds them from what you type.

Density is the thing to watch

This is where contact codes differ from every other kind. A short URL is around 25 characters. A complete vCard is closer to 250. Ten times the data means a much denser grid, and dense codes fail at small print sizes long before they look wrong to the human eye.

The generator shows the version and a suggested minimum size as you type. In practice:

  • Name, phone, email — comfortable, scans reliably from a business card.
  • Plus company and title — still fine at normal card sizes.
  • Every field filled — often version 10 or higher, which needs around 3 cm and gets unreliable on textured or matte card stock.

If the code looks busy, the fix is to remove a field rather than shrink the code. A website URL is usually the first thing to drop — people can find it from your name.

Why no photo field

vCard technically supports an embedded photo, and it is a trap. The image has to be base64-encoded into the text, which turns even a small compressed portrait into thousands of characters — generally beyond what a QR code can hold at all. In the rare cases where it fits, the result is so dense that phones cannot read it from print.

Every contact app pulls a photo from elsewhere anyway. It is not worth the code.

Both are reasonable, for different reasons.

  • vCard — lands directly in the address book, works with no signal, requires no account on either side, and cannot break. Better on anything printed.
  • A link — stays current when your details change, and can show a richer profile. Better when the relationship is ongoing rather than a single handshake.

There is a middle path: put your personal website in the URL field of the vCard. The contact details go straight into the phone, and the link stays useful even after your job title changes.

Printing it on a business card

Cards are the hardest surface for a QR code: small, often matte or textured, sometimes dark. Three things matter more here than anywhere else — send vector rather than a scaled PNG, keep the blank margin clear on all four sides, and stay dark-on-light, because inverted codes fail on many scanners.

The full version — sizing for 85×55 mm, where on the card it should sit, inks and stock to avoid — is on the business card QR code page.

Where else it works

Email signatures, conference badges, the back of a laptop, a slide at the end of a talk. Anywhere someone might want your details in the two seconds before they walk away — which is the real argument for a contact code over saying "I'll email you".

Common questions

Why is my contact QR code so much denser than a link?

A vCard is a small text document, not a short address. A name, company, job title, phone, email and website easily run to 200 characters — roughly ten times a typical URL — and the code grows to match. Filling in fewer fields produces a visibly simpler, easier-scanning code.

Can I include a photo?

Not here, deliberately. A photo has to be base64-encoded into the vCard itself, and even a heavily compressed one adds several thousand characters — usually more than a QR code can physically hold. Where it does fit, the result is so dense that phones struggle to read it from print.

Which phones can scan it?

Any iPhone on iOS 11 or later and any Android on version 10 or later will recognise a vCard from the built-in camera and offer to add the contact. Older Android needs Google Lens or a scanner app.

Should I use this or just link to LinkedIn?

A vCard drops straight into someone’s address book, works with no internet connection, and does not require either of you to have an account anywhere. A LinkedIn link needs signal, an app, and a login. The vCard is better for a printed card; the link is better when you want people to see an ongoing profile.

What happens if I change jobs?

A static code cannot be updated, so a new role means a new code and new cards. That is the trade-off for a code that keeps working forever with no subscription. One workaround: put your personal website in the code instead, and keep the details current there.

Which vCard version does FigQR use?

Version 3.0. It is the most broadly supported format across iOS, Android, Outlook and macOS Contacts. Version 4.0 is newer but still handled inconsistently, and the practical gain for a business card is nil.

Other QR codes you can make