This article we will be discussing 5 Free Open Source QR Code Generator applications that run on Windows.
There are many free applications out there on the world wide web for generating QR codes from Text, URL, Email address, etc. So after exploring a lot of them, we have compiled a list of these 5 applications.
Let’s look at these applications to generate Open Source QR code in detail below.
1. QRPlusPlus
This is a very simple, free, and open source QR code generator for Windows that you can download from the link that we have provided below. Since it is a portable application, it does not require any installation.
Just launch the application by running its EXE file, type or paste the text that you wish to encode and specify the Error correction, Border size and Color using the drop downs. Next choose where you wish to save the QR Code image by clicking on the browse button and selecting the folder and finally click on ‘Generate’. The QR code will be instantly generated and saved as an SVG file in the specified folder.
One drawback to this application is that the QR Code that is generated is displayed in the application window in real-time. You must open it using some image viewer like Paint to see the QR Code.
Click here to download QRPlusPlus for Windows. The name of the Zip file is QRplusplus.1.00.Portable.zip.
2. Barcodrod.io
Let’s move on to the next open source QR Code generator namely, Barcodrod.io that you can download from the Microsoft Store by searching for it. The link to the GitHub repo has also been provided below to access the source code.
Just run the application, click on ‘Encode’ in the panel towards the left and select QR_Code. Enter the text to be encoded in the box that has been provided and click on ‘Create Barcode’. The QR Code will be generated instantly and displayed on the right side of the application window. Click on ‘Save Image’ to save the QR Code in PNG, JPG, BMP and many other image formats. There is no provision to specify the Error correction level, Color, Border etc.
Click here to access the GitHub repo of Barcodrod.io. To download from the Microsoft Store, simply search for Barcodrod.io.
3. Zint BarCode Studio
This powerful Windows application can be used to generate QR codes as well as Bar Codes of numerous types such as Code 11, Code 2, Pharma Code and many more. The link for downloading the application from Sourceforge.net has been provided below. This is a portable application and does not require any installation.
Just launch the application by running the qtZint.exe file, choose QR Code in the Symbology drop-down and type the content that you wish to encode in the ‘Data to Encode’ field. The settings related to QR code such as Size, Error correction, Encoding Mode etc. can be configured through the QR Code tab while the Appearance settings like Border type / width, Color, Rotation etc. of the QR code can be configured using the ‘Appearance’ tab.
To save the QR Code as an image file, click on ‘Save As’, select the file format such as PNG, JPG, BMP, SVG etc. and then save it in your local system.
Click here to download Zint BarCode Studio.
4. Gerayis
The next one in the list of open source QR Code generators is Gerayis that you can download from its GitHub repo using the link provided by us. It can generate Bar Code as well as QR Codes.
Just install the application using the setup file and launch it. Choose QR code, type the text that you wish to encode and click on generate to create the QR code and display it in real-time. Click on ‘Copy’ to copy the QR Code to the clipboard or click on ‘Save’ to save it to your local disk on PNG or JPG format.
There are no provisions to configure any settings pertaining to the QR Code such as Error correction, type of Encoding etc. You can configure the foreground / background color by clicking on Settings | QR Code settings.
Click here to download Gerayis from the GitHub repo.
5. Just another QR Code Generator (JAQRGen)
Let’s now move to the final QR Code generator in this list namely, JAQRGen that you can download from Sourceforge.net. The link for this has been provided below.
Like a few of the previous applications, this one too is portable and does not require any installation. Just click on its EXE file to launch it, type the content to be encoded, choose the output folder including the name of the image file, specify the size of the QR Code and the Error Correction level and finally click on the ‘Generate’ button. The QR Code will be visible in the application window and a copy of it will be saved in the location that you specified. JAQRGen does not provide any other settings to change the Color, Border width etc of the QR Code.
To download JAQRGen, click here.
Closing Words:
All the QR Code generators that we have explored above are free and open source and work perfectly. You may go through each one of them to find out which applications works best for your needs. In my opinion, Zint BarCode Studio is the one that stands out due to the flexibility that it awards in configuring the appearance and many other aspects of your QR Code.
Often you may need to create multiple or a series of QR Codes at one go and it becomes quite irritating in case you go about generating them one by one. There are windows applications that can help you in such bulk generation of QR codes. Click here to read and explore them.
