“Unlimited scans” is the headline that sells a lot of QR plans, and scan-based pricing is the model people are told to fear. It is worth answering the objection directly, because the framing is backwards more often than not. Neither model is unlimited. Both put a ceiling somewhere. The only question is whether you can see where the ceiling is before you hit it.
Does “unlimited scans” mean unlimited use?
No — “unlimited scans” almost always comes with a cap on the number of codes, so your real limit is how many codes you can run, not how many scans they get. A plan that lets you scan a code a million times but only lets you create three dynamic codes has a hard ceiling; it is just labeled differently. The scan meter is off, but the code meter is on. If your work involves many codes — one per campaign, per location, per product — the code cap bites long before any scan limit would have.
What does scan-based pricing actually meter?
Scan-based pricing meters the thing that costs the provider money on every use — resolving and logging each scan. Every scan hits the redirect, gets forwarded, and gets recorded, and each of those events consumes real infrastructure. Charging for scans charges for actual usage. redireo’s Pro plan includes 250,000 scans a month for $39 ($23.40 billed annually) across 250 codes, with overage at a published $6 per additional 100,000. You can see exactly what a busy month costs before it happens, because the meter and the overage rate are both stated up front.
What does each model hide?
Each model hides its ceiling in a different place, and the marketing points you away from it. Here is what to look for behind each headline:
| Model | Headline | Where the real limit is | The surprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Code-count | “Unlimited scans” | Number of codes | Need an 11th code, must jump a tier |
| Scan-based | “100k scans included” | Scan volume | A viral code crosses into overage |
The difference is predictability. An “unlimited scans” plan hides the code cap in the fine print, and you discover it the day you try to create the code the cap won’t allow. A scan-based plan puts the number in the headline and states the overage rate, so crossing it costs a known amount rather than forcing a tier jump.
Which model punishes success?
Both can, but in opposite directions — code-count plans punish running many campaigns, and scan-based plans meter high traffic. If your success looks like launching lots of small codes, an “unlimited scans” plan with a low code cap punishes exactly that. If your success looks like one code going viral, a scan-based plan meters the surge. The honest version of scan-based pricing softens this with a flat overage rate: redireo charges $6 per additional 100,000 scans rather than bumping you to a pricier tier, so a good month costs a predictable amount instead of a renegotiation.
Why does scan-based pricing get a bad reputation?
It gets a bad reputation because a scan meter feels like a taxi meter — visibly ticking while you use the product. “Unlimited” feels safer by comparison, even when it is not. But the comparison is unfair, because the “unlimited” plan simply moved its meter to a number you check less often. A code cap is still a meter; you just do not watch it until you need one more code. Predictable metering on the thing that scales beats a hidden cap on the thing you didn’t think to count.
How do you choose between them?
You choose by mapping your real usage to whichever ceiling you are less likely to hit. Two questions settle it:
- How many distinct codes will you run at once? Many codes favors a scan-based plan with a generous code count.
- How concentrated is your scan volume? One or two very high-traffic codes can be cheapest on an “unlimited scans” plan — as long as its code cap fits.
A packaging operation running 200 serialized codes at moderate volume is a poor fit for a three-code “unlimited” plan and a good fit for scan-based pricing. A single blockbuster poster is the reverse. Do the mapping with your actual numbers, not the headline.
Is there a genuinely honest version of either?
Yes — an honest plan states its real ceiling in the headline and prices overage at a flat, published rate. That is the bar to hold both models to. For scan-based pricing, that means the scan allowance and the overage rate are both visible before you buy, which is how redireo prices it: 250,000 scans and $6/100k on Pro, stated up front. For an “unlimited scans” plan, honesty means the code cap is just as prominent as the word “unlimited.” When a provider buries the cap, the problem is not the model — it is the marketing. Read past the headline to the number that will actually stop you, and price the plan on that.
Neither “unlimited” nor “metered” is inherently better. One hides its limit in the code count; the other prints its limit on the label. Pick the model whose ceiling you can see, and whose overage you can afford to cross.