vCard is the standardised electronic-business-card format (RFC 6350). It starts with BEGIN:VCARD and ends with END:VCARD, with field lines like FN:, TEL:, EMAIL:, ORG: in between. Modern phones recognise vCard QR codes and offer "save to contacts" on scan.

Why is my URL working when I scan it with an iPhone but not with a generic scanner?

Almost certainly missing the scheme. iPhone’s built-in camera is forgiving and adds https:// automatically; many third-party scanners treat schemeless input as plain text. Always include the explicit http:// or https://.

What error-correction level should I pick?

Higher correction = more robust against damage / occlusion (a logo overlay needs Q or H) but smaller payload capacity. Default is M (15% recovery) for general-purpose codes. The breakdown row gives a recommendation based on payload length.

Why is there a maximum payload?

QR code version 40 at error-correction L holds up to 2,953 bytes of binary data (4,296 alphanumeric chars / 7,089 digits). Anything longer needs to be linked from a shortener URL or split across multiple codes.

Are these payloads readable by my phone?

Yes — they are the canonical formats every modern phone scanner recognises. Just generate the QR from the payload using any renderer.

vCard is the standardised electronic-business-card format (RFC 6350). It starts with BEGIN:VCARD and ends with END:VCARD, with field lines like FN:, TEL:, EMAIL:, ORG: in between. Modern phones recognise vCard QR codes and offer "save to contacts" on scan.

Why is my URL working when I scan it with an iPhone but not with a generic scanner?

Almost certainly missing the scheme. iPhone’s built-in camera is forgiving and adds https:// automatically; many third-party scanners treat schemeless input as plain text. Always include the explicit http:// or https://.

What error-correction level should I pick?

Higher correction = more robust against damage / occlusion (a logo overlay needs Q or H) but smaller payload capacity. Default is M (15% recovery) for general-purpose codes. The breakdown row gives a recommendation based on payload length.

Why is there a maximum payload?

QR code version 40 at error-correction L holds up to 2,953 bytes of binary data (4,296 alphanumeric chars / 7,089 digits). Anything longer needs to be linked from a shortener URL or split across multiple codes.

Are these payloads readable by my phone?

Yes — they are the canonical formats every modern phone scanner recognises. Just generate the QR from the payload using any renderer.

QR Code Payload Formatter (text / URL / WiFi / vCard)

Build the canonical text payload encoded in a QR code — plain text, URL, WiFi-network credentials, or vCard contact. Includes a ready-to-render image URL for visual scanning.

Result

URL payload — 23 bytes

https://scoutmytool.com

Paste this string into any QR-rendering library to produce the visual code.

Full payloadhttps://scoutmytool.com
URL-encodedhttps%3A%2F%2Fscoutmytool.com
Render link (api.qrserver.com — free, no auth)Copy/paste into a browser tab to see and save the QR image.https://api.qrserver.com/v1/create-qr-code/?size=240x240&data=https%3A%2F%2Fscoutmytool.com
Bytes23
Recommended error-correction levelHigher levels make the QR more robust at the cost of payload capacity.H (30% recovery)

Source: ISO/IEC 18004:2024 — QR Code bar code symbology specification.

Note — The renderer URL hits an external service (api.qrserver.com). For privacy-sensitive payloads (WiFi password, contact info), use a locally-installed QR library instead.

Step-by-step

Pick payload type → url.
Build canonical string per the QR scanner-recognised format (WIFI:, BEGIN:VCARD, SMSTO:, mailto:).
URL-encode for use in a renderer query string.

How to use this calculator

Pick the payload type. The relevant fields highlight in the form below.
Fill in the fields. The full payload is shown in the breakdown.
Copy/paste the "Render link" into a browser tab to view the QR.
Or copy the "Full payload" into your own QR library (qrcode-generator, qrcode npm, every smartphone OS API).

About this calculator

Most "QR code generator" tools just call a third-party renderer; the interesting part is building the payload your QR is going to encode. WiFi credentials use a specific colon-and-semicolon format that scanners auto-recognise as "join this network". Contacts use the vCard format with BEGIN:VCARD / END:VCARD. SMS uses SMSTO:number:message. This tool builds the canonical text for each so you can paste it into any QR-rendering library (or the included render-URL).

How it works — the formula

WiFi : WIFI:T:<auth>;S:<ssid>;P:<password>;;
vCard: BEGIN:VCARD\nVERSION:3.0\nFN:<name>\n...\nEND:VCARD
SMS  : SMSTO:<number>:<message>

These payload formats are recognised by every modern QR scanner because they have specific prefixes the scanner UI uses to decide what action to suggest (join network, add contact, open mailto:, etc.). The actual QR encoding is just text wrapped in error-correcting codewords — see ISO/IEC 18004 for the binary encoding details.

Sources: ISO/IEC 18004:2024 — QR Code bar code symbology · RFC 6350 — vCard Format Specification · ZXing project documentation — Barcode Contents (URI, MECARD, vCard, WIFI)

Worked examples

Example 1

URL QR

Inputs:: kind=url, text=https://example.com
Output:: payload "https://example.com" (19 bytes)

Example 2

WiFi QR (WPA)

Inputs:: kind=wifi, ssid=Home, password=hunter2, auth=WPA
Output:: WIFI:T:WPA;S:Home;P:hunter2;;

Example 3

vCard QR

Inputs:: kind=vcard, name=Jane, org=Acme
Output:: BEGIN:VCARD\nVERSION:3.0\nFN:Jane\nORG:Acme\nEND:VCARD

Limitations

No inline rendered QR image — the rendered preview URL points to an external service. For privacy-sensitive payloads use a local library (qrcode-generator npm).
Payload-size validation is an upper bound; actual capacity depends on the chosen error-correction level and character mode.
Does not support all vCard 4.0 advanced fields (PHOTO, GEO, KEY, etc.).

Payload formats are stable, scanner-recognised standards — they decode the same way on every modern scanner regardless of who renders the visual code.

Frequently asked

WIFI:T:<auth>;S:<ssid>;P:<password>;; — where <auth> is WPA, WEP, or nopass. Special characters in ssid / password must be backslash-escaped (e.g. a literal semicolon becomes \;).