QR Code With Logo
Add your logo to the center of a branded QR code.
What is a QR code with a logo?
A branded QR code places your logo in the center of the pattern. Done right, it makes the code recognizable and trustworthy without breaking scannability.
How to create one
Enter a URL, upload a PNG, JPG or WebP logo, and adjust its size, padding and corner rounding. The tool automatically raises error correction to level H so the code can tolerate the covered area, and warns you if the logo grows too large.
Why error correction matters
QR codes reserve part of their data for error recovery. Level H recovers about 30% of the code, which is what lets a centered logo work. Keep the logo under roughly a quarter of the code's width and always verify before printing.
Scanning and printing tips
Use a simple, high-contrast logo with a clear background behind it. After adding a logo, press Verify — if it fails, shrink the logo, add padding, or increase the code size. Export SVG for crisp printing.
Privacy and security
Your logo is read into browser memory only and is never uploaded. SVG logo uploads are intentionally restricted here because SVG can carry scripts; use PNG, JPG or WebP for safety.
Limitations
A logo that's too big, too busy or too low-contrast will stop the code from scanning. Branding is a trade-off against reliability — verify every time.
How much of the code a logo can cover
A logo works by relying on error correction: the modules it hides are reconstructed from redundant data. That budget is finite, and it is shared with real-world damage — a scratch, a fold, a coffee ring, poor print registration.
| Error correction | Recoverable data | Safe logo coverage | Use when |
|---|---|---|---|
| L (Low) | ~7% | No logo | Screen only, no obstruction. |
| M (Medium) | ~15% | Up to ~5% | A very small mark, clean print. |
| Q (Quartile) | ~25% | Up to ~10% | A modest logo on good stock. |
| H (High) | ~30% | Up to ~15% | Any real logo. This tool selects H automatically. |
The percentages for recoverable data come from the four levels defined in ISO/IEC 18004. The coverage column is deliberately more conservative: spending the entire budget on a logo leaves nothing for the physical world. Aim for half of it.
In practice, a square logo of about 20% of the code's width covers roughly 4% of its area, which is comfortable at level H. A logo at 30% of the width covers 9% — already at the limit of what we would print.
Why "it scanned on my screen" is not a test
A phone held 15 cm from a bright 400-ppi display, with a code the size of a postcard, is the easiest scanning condition that will ever exist. The same code at 25 mm on matte paper under a shop light is a different problem.
Three things break logo codes that pass the screen test:
- The logo has a transparent background. The pattern shows through, the decoder sees neither a clean module nor a clean gap, and it fails on paper where contrast is lower. Put the logo on a solid opaque plate.
- The logo sits off-centre. The middle of the symbol is the safest place to lose modules. Anything covering a finder pattern (the three corner squares) or the timing patterns (the dotted lines between them) is unrecoverable at any error-correction level.
- The code got denser after the logo was added. Raising error correction to H shrinks the available capacity, so the same URL may push the symbol to a higher version with smaller modules — which then prints below what the press can hold.
Verify, then verify again on paper
Press Verify before downloading. It re-decodes the image you are about to download and compares the result against the exact data you entered, so a code that has been broken by the logo is caught here rather than on a print run. The scan-reliability rating alongside it grades contrast, quiet zone, density, logo coverage against the error-correction level, and export resolution.
That is a check of the design, not of the print. What it cannot see is your paper, your ink and your press. Before committing a large run:
- Print one page at the final size on the final stock.
- Scan it with at least two phones — ideally one iPhone and one Android, one of them a few years old.
- Scan at the distance and lighting the code will really be used at, not at your desk.
- Photocopy the page once and scan the copy. If it survives that, it has margin.
If it fails: shrink the logo first, increase the physical size second, simplify the URL third. Lowering error correction is not a fix — it removes the redundancy the logo is spending.
Contrast and the quiet zone
Two requirements survive every design decision.
Contrast. Dark modules on a light background, and dark should mean dark — a mid-grey code on a white background scans far less reliably than it looks on screen. Inverted codes (light on dark) are read by many but not all decoders; if you invert, test more widely than usual. Never place a code on a photograph or a gradient.
The quiet zone. ISO/IEC 18004 requires a clear margin of four modules on all sides. It is not decoration: the decoder uses it to find where the symbol ends. A border drawn tight against the code, a code placed hard against a fold, or a logo overlapping the outer edge will all break the code no matter how good the error correction is. This tool keeps the margin by default — do not crop it out afterwards in an image editor.
Frequently asked questions
Why does adding a logo need high error correction?
The logo covers part of the code. Level H error correction recovers about 30% of the data, allowing the code to remain readable.
What image formats can I upload?
PNG, JPG and WebP. SVG is restricted because it can contain scripts.
My logo code will not scan — what now?
Reduce the logo size, add padding, raise the code size, or increase contrast, then press Verify again.
How large can my logo be?
Keep it under about 15% of the code area at error-correction level H, which this tool selects automatically. As a working rule, a square logo no wider than 20% of the code covers about 4% of its area and is comfortable. Press Verify before downloading and print a test at final size.
Can I put the logo somewhere other than the centre?
Not safely. The centre is the only region where lost modules are reliably recoverable. The three corner finder patterns and the dotted timing lines between them cannot be obscured at any error-correction level.
My logo has a transparent background — is that a problem?
Yes, it is one of the most common causes of failure. The pattern shows through and the decoder sees neither a clean module nor a clean gap. Place the logo on a solid opaque plate in the code background colour.
The code scans on my monitor but not from the printed poster.
A screen is the easiest scanning condition there is. Shrink the logo first, increase the physical size second, shorten the encoded URL third. Do not lower the error correction — that is the redundancy the logo is spending.
Curious how we build and check these codes? Read our methodology.