vCard QR Code Generator

A vCard QR code is a QR code that, when scanned with a phone camera, prompts the user to save the embedded contact details (name, phone, email, address, website, organisation) directly into their phone Contacts app. The QR code encodes a vCard 3.0 text payload following RFC 2426. Most modern phones recognise vCard payloads automatically when scanning.

Print or display the generated QR code wherever someone might want to save your contact info: business cards (print on the back), email signatures (paste the PNG), conference badges, restaurant menus, real-estate For Sale signs, networking events. Anyone with a smartphone camera can scan it and tap Add to Contacts - no app required on most modern iOS and Android devices.

Yes. iPhone (iOS 11+, 2017 onwards) reads vCard QR codes via the built-in Camera app - point and a notification appears with Add to Contacts. Android with the default Google camera (Pixel, Samsung Galaxy from 2019+, most modern phones) does the same. Older Androids may need a separate QR-scanner app, but recognition of the vCard payload is universal.

Standard vCard 3.0 supports: full name, organisation, job title, phone (multiple types: cell, work, home), email (multiple), website (URL), street address (multiple), and notes. Our generator covers the most-used fields for business card use cases. The full RFC 2426 spec includes more (photo, audio greeting, calendar URI, etc.) but most modern scanners ignore those extra fields.

Rule of thumb: the QR code printed size in cm should be at least the scan distance in metres x 10. For a business card scanned at 15-20 cm distance, 2.5 x 2.5 cm is sufficient. For a conference badge scanned at 30-50 cm distance, 4-5 cm. For a poster scanned from 1-2 metres away, 10-20 cm. More info encoded = denser QR pattern = larger minimum size to remain scannable.

No - QR codes are static. Once printed, the QR code embeds whatever data was generated at the time. If your phone number or email changes, you need to regenerate a new QR code and reprint anything you've put it on. For dynamic QR codes that redirect to a URL (which YOU can edit later), use a paid QR service like Bitly QR or QR Code Generator Pro. For most personal/business card use cases, static is fine.

No. The QR code is generated entirely in your browser using the qrcode JavaScript library. Your contact details never leave your device. We don't track, store, or transmit anything you type into the form.

vCard 3.0 (RFC 2426). This is the most widely-recognised contact format and supported by virtually every QR scanner and phone camera. Some older systems use MECARD (a Japanese subset) - we use vCard 3.0 because it has better field coverage and broader iOS support.

Technically yes (vCard 3.0 supports an embedded photo as base64), but in practice no - embedded photos make the QR code so dense that it becomes physically too large to print at normal business-card size. We don't include photos for that reason. If you want a contact card with a photo, host an HTML contact page and link to it via a simpler URL QR code.

Both encode contact info into a QR code. vCard (RFC 2426) is the international standard, supports more fields, and is what iOS expects. MECARD is a Japanese subset designed by NTT DoCoMo with a simpler format but fewer fields. Most modern phones read both. We use vCard 3.0 for maximum compatibility.