The short answer
A static QR code bakes the destination directly into the squares - it's permanent, free, and can never be changed. A dynamic QR code points at a redirect, so you can change where it sends people after it's printed.
The rule: if the destination can never move - Wi-Fi credentials, a phone number, your domain's homepage - static is fine, and free. If the code points at anything that could change - a menu, a review link, an event page, a promo - print dynamic, because reprinting stickers costs more than the flexibility ever will.
And despite what QR services charge for, "dynamic" does not have to mean "subscription."
How each one works
A QR code is just an address written in squares - nothing more. A static code writes the final destination itself: scan it, and the phone goes straight there. Nobody sits in the middle, nothing can expire, and nothing can be edited, because the address is physically part of the printed image.
A dynamic code writes a middleman address instead - a short URL that redirects to the real destination. The printed squares never change; what changes is where the middleman sends people. Edit the redirect, and every copy of the code ever printed updates instantly.
That middleman is also the risk: whoever controls that domain controls your printed codes.
The subscription trap
Most "free QR code generators" create dynamic codes on their own domain, then charge monthly to keep the redirect alive. Stop paying - or let the trial lapse - and every sticker, menu and poster you printed goes dead. The dynamic part didn't fail; the rented domain did. We wrote up exactly how those codes die in our guide to QR codes that stopped working.
The fix is to host the redirect on a domain you own. Any redirect on your own website makes a printed code dynamic - point the code at yoursite.com/menu and change where that page sends people whenever you like. No service in the middle and nothing to expire.
When static is the better choice
Everything else on paper, plastic or vinyl - menus, review links, product inserts, table tents, vehicle wraps - should be dynamic, because the printed material will still be out there long after the destination changes.
- Wi-Fi login codes - the credentials are in the squares, so it works with no internet and no website at all
- vCards and phone numbers - same deal: the data itself is printed, not a link to it
- Your bare domain - if the code just says "go to our website," the homepage is the redirect; adding another layer buys nothing
- One-off disposables - a code on a single-day flyer headed for the recycling bin doesn't need a future
Getting dynamic codes on your own domain
If your site runs WordPress, our free Dynamic QR Redirects plugin does the whole job: it generates the printable QR image, hosts the redirect on your own domain, and counts scans. There's no subscription because there's nothing to subscribe to - the redirect is a page on your own site.
No WordPress? Any redirect your site can make works the same way - a rule in your hosting panel, a line in a config file, even a plain page that forwards. The plugin just saves you the setup.
Common questions
Can I tell whether a QR code is static or dynamic by looking at it?
Not by looking - the squares are just an address either way. Scan it and read the URL that appears: your own domain or the final destination means safe; a shortener or QR-service domain means dynamic on rented ground.
Can I convert a static code to dynamic without reprinting?
Only if it already points at your own domain - then add a redirect at that address and it's dynamic from that moment. If the destination is baked in and lives elsewhere, no; you'll reprint once, so make the new code point at your own site.
Do dynamic codes scan slower?
There's one extra redirect hop - typically tens of milliseconds. No one scanning a menu will notice.
What does a dynamic QR code cost?
From a QR service: usually $5-$15 per month, forever, per plan. On your own domain: nothing - the redirect is just a page on the site you already pay to host.