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How much text a QR code can hold
The capacity ceiling follows from the encoding mode together with the error correction level. Using Chinese text and links as the two common cases, this piece shows how to estimate it and what to trade off near the limit.
· By Chen Mo
Article
Before stuffing a long piece of copy into a QR code, understand how the capacity ceiling relates to the error correction level — it saves repeated trial and error, and avoids a pattern so dense it will not scan.
Capacity follows from the encoding mode and the correction level
Digits and letters encode more densely than Chinese characters, so the same squares hold more of them.
A higher error correction level means a larger share of the pattern can be covered or worn and still read, at the cost of space available for data.
What Chinese text and links each cost
A single Chinese character is normally handled as several bytes, while long links are mostly mixed-case letters and digits.
In practice, condensing very long content into a short address before generating the code leaves a sparser pattern that scans more easily.
What to trade off near the limit
The denser the pattern, the more sensitive it is to print precision and scanning distance, and the less room for error it has.
Rather than forcing all the content in, put the detail on a landing page and let the QR code do nothing but carry people there.
Make a QR code now
Sign up to pick a type, enter your content and adjust the look, then export PNG, SVG, JPG or PDF; a dynamic code can also change its destination and report scans at any time.