Free Tool

Free QR Code Scanner Online - Scan from Image or Camera

A free QR code scanner online that reads QR codes from an image, screenshot, clipboard, or webcam. Decodes URLs, WiFi, vCards, UPI, and text in your browser - nothing is uploaded, no app needed.

Drop a QR code image here, or click to choose

PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, BMP. Or press Ctrl+V / Cmd+V to paste a screenshot.

Images are decoded in your browser and never uploaded.

The decoded text, its type, and parsed fields appear here.

No signup required

Free forever

GDPR compliant

Quick Answer

A QR code scanner online is a web page that decodes a QR code from an uploaded image, a pasted screenshot, or your webcam without installing an app. Drop the picture in, and the tool locates the three finder patterns, reads the modules, corrects errors, and shows the decoded text. The U2L QR Code Scanner decodes entirely in your browser. Free, no signup.

Quick Facts

Reads QR codes from PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, and BMP images, from a pasted screenshot (Ctrl+V or Cmd+V), and from a live webcam feed.
Decoding runs in your browser: the built-in BarcodeDetector API is used when the browser has it, and a JavaScript decoder loads as a fallback. No image leaves your device.
Identifies the payload type automatically - URL, WiFi, vCard, email, phone, SMS, geo, calendar event, UPI, Bitcoin, or plain text - and parses WiFi, vCard, and UPI fields.
A QR code can hold up to 7,089 digits, 4,296 alphanumeric characters, or 2,953 bytes (ISO/IEC 18004, version 40, error correction level L).
Reed-Solomon error correction lets a code scan with up to 7%, 15%, 25%, or 30% of its modules damaged, depending on the level (L, M, Q, H) it was made with.
Large photos are downscaled to 1,600 px on the longest side, then retried at two smaller scales and with a contrast boost when the first pass finds nothing.
Decoded http(s) links get a one-click safety check via /tools/link-safety-checker before you open them - the cheapest defence against QR phishing.

How to scan a QR code online from an image or webcam

Upload, paste, or point a camera - then read the result.

1
Choose an input
Drag an image onto the drop zone, click it to pick a file, paste a screenshot with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V, or press Start camera to scan with your webcam or phone camera.
2
Let it decode
The scanner finds the QR code, reads the modules, and shows the raw text with a type badge. Camera mode keeps scanning every frame until it finds a code, then stops.
3
Review the parsed fields
For WiFi, vCard, and UPI payloads the breakdown shows SSID and password, name and phone, or payee and amount, so you can see exactly what the code contains before acting on it.
4
Copy, check, or open
Copy the text, run a link through the safety checker, open it in a new tab, or shorten it. The last five scans of this session stay in the history list until you close the page.

What is a QR Code Scanner?

QR Code Scanner is a browser-based tool that reads the data inside a QR code without a dedicated app. Instead of pointing a phone at a printed code, you give it an image file, a screenshot from your clipboard, or a live webcam feed, and it returns the encoded text - a URL, WiFi credentials, a contact card, a payment request, or plain text.

A QR code scanner online solves a specific gap: the QR code is already on the screen you are looking at. A code inside a PDF, an email, a Zoom share, or a screenshot someone sent you cannot be scanned by the phone you are reading it on. Uploading the image to a web scanner, or pasting a screenshot directly, decodes it in place. The same applies on a laptop with no phone at hand - the webcam does the job.

The QR code format was published by Denso Wave in 1994 and standardised as ISO/IEC 18004. A code is a grid of black and white modules from 21x21 (version 1) to 177x177 (version 40). Three large finder patterns in the corners tell the reader where the code is and how it is rotated, smaller alignment patterns correct for perspective distortion, and the remaining modules carry the data plus Reed-Solomon error-correction codewords.

Web scanners differ mainly in where the decoding happens. Some upload the picture to a server and return the result; this one decodes locally, so a screenshot of a bank QR, a WiFi password, or a private link is never transmitted. It also goes one step further than showing raw text: it identifies the payload type and parses the fields, and for any web link it offers a safety check before you open it.

How does a QR Code Scanner work?

When you drop an image, the tool draws it onto an off-screen canvas. Photos from a modern phone are 12 to 48 megapixels, far more than a decoder needs and slow to scan pixel by pixel, so anything larger than 1,600 px on its longest side is downscaled first. The canvas pixels are then handed to a decoder. In Chromium browsers (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Samsung Internet, and Chrome on Android) the page uses the built-in BarcodeDetector API with the qr_code format, which is fast and handles rotation and skew well. Firefox and Safari do not ship BarcodeDetector as of 2026, so the page loads the jsQR JavaScript decoder on demand and runs it on the same pixel data.

The decoder looks for the three finder patterns - each is a 7x7 block with a 1:1:3:1:1 ratio of dark and light runs in every direction. Once it has three, it knows the code's position, size, and rotation, computes the module grid, samples every module as dark or light, and reads the format information that says which of the eight mask patterns and which error-correction level were used. It unmasks the data, splits the bit stream into codewords, and passes those to the Reed-Solomon decoder.

Reed-Solomon codes work over 8-bit symbols (GF(256)). A level-H code dedicates roughly half its codewords to correction and can recover about 30% of damaged symbols; level L uses the least and recovers about 7%. That is why a scratched sticker, a coffee stain, or a logo placed in the middle of a code still decodes - up to the point where the damage exceeds the budget. The decoder then reads the mode indicators (numeric, alphanumeric, byte, or kanji) and turns the corrected codewords into text. Byte-mode content is interpreted as UTF-8 here, which is what every modern generator emits.

If the first pass returns nothing, the page retries at 1,000 px and 600 px - small modules in a huge photo can be easier to read once the image is shrunk - and then once more with a contrast stretch that pushes greys toward black and white, which rescues faded prints and screen photos with moire. jsQR is also run with inversionAttempts set to attemptBoth, so light-on-dark codes decode too. The camera path does the same, sampling frames from a video element on a requestAnimationFrame loop until a code is found, then stopping the tracks so the camera light turns off.

Use Cases

How marketers, businesses, and developers use qr code scanner.

Scan a QR code from a screenshot

A QR code in a Slack message, a webinar slide, a PDF ticket, or an Instagram story cannot be scanned by the phone it is displayed on. Take a screenshot, paste it into the scanner with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V, and the link, WiFi password, or event details appear in a second. No second device and no printout required.

Read a QR code from a picture someone sent you

Friends and colleagues forward photos of restaurant menus, parking meters, and conference badges. Save the picture, drop it in the scanner, and read the code even when the photo is at an angle or slightly blurred - the decoder downscales and retries with a contrast boost before giving up.

Check where a QR code really goes

Stickers pasted over parking-meter and charging-station codes are a documented scam. Scan the code here, read the destination, and run it through /tools/link-safety-checker or expand any shortened link with /tools/url-expander before you tap it on your phone.

Recover a WiFi password from a printed code

WiFi QR codes encode the network name, security type, and password in the WIFI: format. The scanner parses those three fields and shows the password in plain text so you can type it into a device that has no camera, such as a smart TV or a desktop. Generate your own with /tools/wifi-qr-code-generator.

Extract contact details from a vCard QR

Business cards and email signatures often carry a vCard QR. Scanning it here parses the name, phone number, and email so you can paste them into a CRM or address book without an app that insists on saving the contact first.

Verify a QR code before you print it

Designers and marketers export QR codes from generators and place them on flyers, packaging, and signage. Scanning the exported PNG or the final print-ready PDF page confirms the code still decodes to the right URL after resizing, recolouring, or adding a logo - before 5,000 copies leave the printer.

Decode a UPI or Bitcoin payment QR

Payment codes carry a payee ID and sometimes a locked amount. The scanner recognises upi:// and bitcoin: payloads and shows the payee address, name, and amount, which is the right way to confirm a shop's or a charity's details before paying.

Scan with a laptop webcam

On a desktop or laptop with no phone at hand, Start camera turns the webcam into a QR code reader online. Hold the printed code or the phone screen 15 to 30 cm from the lens; the scanner samples frames continuously and stops as soon as it finds a code.

Turn a scanned link into a branded QR

Once you have the destination URL, generate a fresh, trackable code with /qr-code-generator. A dynamic U2L QR points at a short link you can edit later and reports scans by day, country, and device - useful when the original static code was created by someone else.

QR Code Scanner vs Alternatives

Side-by-side feature and pricing comparison with the top alternatives.

Feature	ScanApp	Hovercode	Phone camera app
Scan from an uploaded image			Varies
Paste a screenshot from the clipboard	Varies	Varies
Webcam scanning
Decodes in the browser, no upload			On device
Parses WiFi, vCard, and UPI fields	Varies	Varies	Varies
Safety check for decoded links			Varies
Reads other barcode types (EAN, Code 128)		Varies
Free, no signup

QR Code Scanner vs Your phone's native camera

iOS (since iOS 11) and most Android camera apps read QR codes live, and iOS Photos and Google Lens can read a code from a saved picture. For a printed code in front of you, the phone is the fastest scanner there is and needs no website.

The phone cannot scan a code shown on its own screen, and a desktop has no camera app at all. That is where a web scanner earns its place: paste the screenshot, or upload the image on a laptop, and you get the same result. The web tool also shows the raw payload and parsed fields rather than jumping straight to an action.

QR Code Scanner vs Dedicated scanner apps

Scanner apps from the app stores add batch scanning, history that persists across sessions, and support for dozens of 1D and 2D barcode formats. If you scan inventory or tickets all day, an app with a hardware-scanner mode is the right tool.

Many free apps request camera, storage, and network permissions, show ads, and send scan history to their servers. This page asks for camera access only while you press Start camera, keeps history in memory for the session, and never transmits an image. For an occasional scan on a laptop it is quicker than installing anything.

Best Practices

Paste instead of saving and uploading

On a desktop, take a screenshot with Cmd+Shift+4 (Mac) or Win+Shift+S (Windows), then press Ctrl+V or Cmd+V on this page. The image goes straight from the clipboard to the decoder - no file dialog, no leftover screenshots in your downloads folder.

Crop tightly when the code is small

A QR code that occupies a few hundred pixels inside a 4,000 px photo is hard to locate. Crop the screenshot so the code fills most of the frame; the downscaling step then preserves module detail instead of throwing it away.

Keep the quiet zone

The standard requires a light margin of four modules around the code. A crop that cuts into that margin, or a busy background touching the edge, confuses finder-pattern detection. Leave a little white space around the code in your image.

Photograph screens straight on

Photographing a monitor produces moire - interference bands from the pixel grid. Moving the camera back, tilting slightly, or taking a screenshot instead of a photo avoids it. If you must photograph a screen, lower the screen brightness.

Check links before opening them

A QR code hides its destination until decoded, which is exactly why attackers use them. Read the decoded URL, and for anything unexpected run it through /tools/link-safety-checker, which checks the domain against Cloudflare's threat intelligence and PhishTank.

Use the camera at 15 to 30 cm

Webcams have fixed-focus lenses tuned for a face at arm's length. Hold the code so it fills a quarter to a third of the preview and keep it still for a second; the scanner samples frames continuously and stops on the first successful read.

Convert HEIC photos first

iPhones save photos as HEIC by default, which most browsers cannot draw onto a canvas. Share the photo to yourself as JPEG, or set Camera settings to Most Compatible, before uploading. The scanner tells you when it receives a HEIC file.

Regenerate codes you plan to reuse

Once you have the destination, make a new code with /qr-code-generator instead of copying someone else's image. A U2L dynamic QR lets you change the destination later and shows scan analytics, and it uses a clean high-resolution export that scans reliably.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Uploading a photo with heavy glare

Glossy prints and glass-covered signs bounce a white patch across the code that wipes out modules beyond the error-correction budget. Re-take the photo from a slight angle, or shade the code with your hand.

Expecting inverted codes to fail

Light modules on a dark background are valid but many readers skip them. This scanner tries both polarities, so a white-on-black code decodes; still, contrast between the two colours must be strong for either polarity to work.

Trusting a code because it was printed

Printed does not mean legitimate. Sticker overlays on parking meters and fake QR posters in car parks are recorded scams. Decode first, read the domain, and open only what you expected to find.

Trying to scan a tiny, blurred thumbnail

A code that has been resized to 80 px in a chat preview no longer has distinct modules. Open the original image at full size, or ask the sender for the source file, before scanning.

Assuming every square code is a QR code

Data Matrix, Aztec, and MaxiCode look similar but are different symbologies. This tool reads standard QR codes; Micro QR is not supported. A code without three corner finder squares is probably a different format.

Scanning a code with several codes in view

The decoder returns one result per pass. When an image holds several codes, crop to the one you want, or scan them one at a time; otherwise you may get the wrong code or none at all.

Technical Specifications

Input methods	Image file (drag, drop, or pick), clipboard paste, webcam via getUserMedia
Image formats	PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, BMP, SVG (anything the browser can draw); HEIC is reported as unsupported
Decoders	BarcodeDetector API (qr_code) when available, jsQR fallback loaded on demand
Retry strategy	Downscale to 1,600 px, retry at 1,000 px and 600 px, then contrast boost; both polarities
Symbology	QR code model 2, versions 1-40 (ISO/IEC 18004); Micro QR and 1D barcodes are out of scope
Payload types detected	URL, WiFi, vCard, mailto, tel, SMS, geo, vEvent, UPI, Bitcoin, text
Camera	Rear camera preferred on phones; tracks stopped on Stop or when you leave the page
History	Last 5 scans, in memory only, cleared on reload
Privacy	Images and frames are decoded in your browser and never uploaded

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a QR code scanner online?

A QR code scanner online is a web page that decodes QR codes without an installed app. You upload an image, paste a screenshot, or use your webcam, and the page reads the code and shows its text - a URL, WiFi details, a contact, or a payment request.

How do I scan a QR code from an image?

Drag the image onto the drop zone or click it to choose a file. The scanner locates the code, decodes it, and shows the result with a type badge. If nothing is found, crop closer to the code and try again.

How do I scan a QR code from a screenshot on the same phone?

Take a screenshot, open this page, and pick the screenshot from your gallery with the file picker. On a desktop, copy the screenshot and press Ctrl+V or Cmd+V on the page. The phone camera cannot scan its own screen, so the image route is the fix.

Is the QR code scanner online free?

Yes. There is no signup, no limit on scans, and no watermark. The decoding runs in your browser, so there is no server cost to pass on.

Is my image uploaded anywhere?

No. The image is drawn onto a canvas inside your browser and decoded there, using the browser's BarcodeDetector API or a JavaScript decoder loaded on demand. Camera frames are handled the same way. Nothing is sent to U2L.

Why does the scanner say no QR code was found?

The usual causes are a code that is too small in the frame, low contrast, glare, a cut-off quiet zone, or moire from photographing a screen. Crop closer, increase contrast, or re-take the photo straight on with even light, then retry.

Why does my webcam not start?

The browser needs camera permission; look for the camera icon in the address bar and allow it. Camera access also requires a secure (https) page, and another app may be holding the camera. If no camera exists, upload an image instead.

Can it read a damaged or partly covered QR code?

Often. Reed-Solomon error correction recovers up to 7% (L), 15% (M), 25% (Q), or 30% (H) of damaged modules, depending on the level used when the code was made. Damage to the finder patterns in the corners is the hardest to survive.

Does it work with HEIC photos from an iPhone?

Most browsers cannot decode HEIC, so the scanner reports it as unsupported. Convert the photo to JPEG first - sharing it to yourself via Mail or Messages does this automatically - or set Camera settings to Most Compatible.

Can it scan an inverted (white on black) QR code?

Yes. The fallback decoder is run with both polarities enabled, so light-on-dark codes decode as long as the contrast between the two colours is strong.

What does the type badge mean?

The scanner inspects the decoded text and labels it: URL for http(s) links, WiFi for WIFI: payloads, vCard for BEGIN:VCARD, and so on for mailto, tel, SMS, geo, calendar, UPI, and Bitcoin. Anything else is shown as text.

How do I know if a QR code is safe?

Decode it here first and read the destination. For a web link, use the Check it first link to run it through /tools/link-safety-checker, and expand any shortened link with /tools/url-expander. Open only what you expected the code to contain.

Can the scanner read several QR codes in one image?

The decoder returns one code per pass. If an image contains more than one, crop to each code and scan them separately to be sure you read the one you want.

Which browsers support the online QR code reader?

All current browsers. Chrome, Edge, and other Chromium browsers use the built-in BarcodeDetector API; Firefox and Safari use the JavaScript fallback, which loads only when needed. Camera scanning needs https and a granted permission in every browser.

How is this different from Google Lens?

Google Lens reads codes from photos on Android and in the Google app, and sends the image to Google. This page decodes locally, shows the raw payload and parsed fields, and works on any desktop browser without a Google account.

Online QR code scanner vs a scanner app - which should I use?

For occasional scans on a laptop or from screenshots, the web scanner is faster and asks for no permissions until you use the camera. For all-day inventory or ticket scanning with hardware scanners and persistent history, a dedicated app is the better fit.

Does it decode barcodes other than QR?

No. The tool is tuned for QR codes. Data Matrix, Aztec, PDF417, EAN, and Code 128 are different symbologies and are out of scope here.

Can I generate a new QR code from the result?

Yes. For a decoded web link there is a direct route to /qr-code-generator, which makes a branded, editable QR pointing at a U2L short link with scan analytics.

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Key Terms

Finder pattern: One of the three large squares in the corners of a QR code. Their fixed 1:1:3:1:1 light-dark ratio lets a decoder locate and orient the code at any rotation.
Module: A single black or white cell in the QR grid. Version 1 has 21x21 modules; version 40 has 177x177.
Reed-Solomon error correction: The coding scheme that adds redundancy codewords so a QR code can be read despite damage. Levels L, M, Q, and H recover roughly 7%, 15%, 25%, and 30% of the code.
Quiet zone: The blank margin of at least four modules around a QR code required by the standard so the decoder can separate the code from its surroundings.
BarcodeDetector: A browser API in Chromium-based browsers that decodes barcodes and QR codes natively from an image or canvas, without a JavaScript library.
Quishing: Phishing delivered through a QR code, typically a code that leads to a fake login page or payment site. Decoding before opening defeats it.

Make QR codes you can edit and track

Scanning tells you what a code says today. A U2L dynamic QR code points at a short link you can change any time and shows scans by day, country, and device - so the code on your flyer never goes stale.