The QR code image itself is free. You can generate one in a browser in seconds. What you pay for is the redirect and the analytics that make a dynamic code dynamic — the live service that forwards each scan and records it. That service runs every month the code is in the field, which is why dynamic codes are a subscription and static codes are not.
How much does a dynamic QR code cost?
A dynamic QR code costs whatever the redirect subscription costs, which ranges from free on entry tiers to roughly $5 to $90 a month on paid plans, depending on the provider and the model. There is no per-print charge and no cost in the ink. The bill is for hosting the short link, resolving every scan, and storing the analytics. Because those costs scale with usage, providers meter you on one of two things: how many scans you generate, or how many codes you create.
What are the two pricing models?
The two models are scan-based pricing and code-count pricing, and they meter completely different things. Understanding which one you are on tells you where your bill will grow.
| Model | What it meters | Bill grows when | Hidden ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scan-based | Number of scans per month | Your campaign gets popular | Scan volume |
| Code-count | Number of dynamic codes | You make more codes | Code count |
Scan-based pricing charges for the thing that actually costs the provider money — resolving and logging each scan — and usually lets you make many codes. Code-count pricing advertises “unlimited scans” but caps how many codes you can have, so your ceiling is the number of campaigns you can run at once.
What does scan-based pricing look like in practice?
Scan-based pricing gives you a monthly scan allowance across a generous number of codes, with a defined overage rate when you exceed it. redireo prices this way:
| Plan | Price | Scans/month | Codes | Overage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 500 | 1 | — |
| Pro | $39/mo ($23.40/mo annually) | 250,000 | 250 | $6 / 100k |
| Business | $149/mo ($89.40/mo annually) | 2,000,000 | 2,000 | $5 / 100k |
The number you watch is scans. If a campaign takes off, you may cross into overage, but the overage is a published rate ($6 per additional 100,000 scans on Pro, $5 on Business) rather than a surprise. You are never limited to a handful of codes, so you can spin up a code per campaign, per location, or per package variant without the count being the thing that gates you.
What does code-count pricing look like?
Code-count pricing sells tiers defined by how many dynamic codes you can have, and markets scans as unlimited. Uniqode, for example, scales its plans by code count — roughly 3 codes on the entry tier, then 50, 250, 500, and unlimited on higher tiers (Uniqode plan comparisons, reviewed July 2026). QR Tiger advertises no scan limit within a subscription, while gating the number of codes and deactivating codes beyond the free tier’s three if you cancel (QR Tiger plan documentation, reviewed July 2026). “Unlimited scans” sounds generous, but the ceiling did not disappear — it moved from scans to codes. If you run many small campaigns, a low code cap can force you up a tier faster than any scan meter would.
Which model is cheaper for you?
The cheaper model depends on your shape of usage: few codes with heavy scanning favors code-count, while many codes with moderate scanning favors scan-based. A single high-traffic code — one poster in a train station scanned a million times — is cheapest on an “unlimited scans” code-count plan. A print/packaging operation running hundreds of serialized codes, each scanned a modest number of times, is cheaper and simpler on a plan that gives you many codes and meters the scans you actually generate. Map your real usage before you pick, because the two models can differ by an order of magnitude for the same workload.
What else changes the real cost?
The headline price often excludes things you will need, so the real cost includes add-ons like custom domains, seats, and API access. Some providers charge separately for a branded domain or require an enterprise contract to get one. redireo includes a custom domain with no surcharge on paid plans and keeps analytics for the life of the code rather than expiring them after 30 days, both of which are common line items or tier-gates elsewhere. Note also that several providers advertise their prices on annual billing only, so the monthly number you saw may require a year’s commitment. Add these up before comparing headline prices, because a cheap base plan with paid add-ons can cost more than an inclusive one.
Is the free tier enough?
A free tier is enough to test the mechanics but rarely enough to run a real campaign, because free plans cap both codes and scans hard. redireo’s free tier covers 500 scans on one code, which is plenty to confirm a dynamic code does what you expect — edit the destination, watch the scan register, see it in analytics. Once you are printing for the field, the scan allowance and code count on a paid plan are what actually carry a campaign. Use the free tier to learn the tool, not to run your business on it.
The cost of a dynamic QR code is the cost of keeping a redirect alive and honest. Pick the metering model that matches how you actually work, read the overage and add-on terms, and the monthly number stops being a surprise.