vCard QR code: save a contact, or a card you can update

Phones already know how to save a contact from a QR

The usual payload is a BEGIN:VCARD string — name, optional organisation, title, email, phone, and URL — documented as a barcode content type in the ZXing barcode contents guide. The current IETF contact format is RFC 6350 (vCard 4.0). qrcode.house writes a vCard 3.0 file because Camera apps have treated that as Save Contact for years. Use a free download if this exact person record stays put.

On qrcode.house the vCard type writes those fields into the file. That is a static download. A free URL download is different: it is already a short link, first destination frozen, until you unlock. Billing is about whether you can retarget a door after print — not about running an address book for the internet.

Free is enough when the details are stable

Many “always buy dynamic” guides skip this. If scanners should always save the same name and number, a free vCard file or Adobe Express is enough. No unlock required.

• Name, number, and email will not change

  A conference badge this week, a one-run card, or a personal card you reprint when you move jobs can stay a free vCard file. Adobe Express and a phone’s own contact QR work the same way.

• You want Save Contact, not a browser tab

  A BEGIN:VCARD payload is the point. Camera apps offer to add the person. A URL to LinkedIn is a worse handshake if the details will never move.

• The print is cheap to replace

  A same-week event badge, a slide, or a stack you will throw away can stay free. Reprinting is cheap when the paper is disposable.

Unlock when the card stock must outlast the details

After unlock, a scan hits a short link on qrcode.house and we load the contact you last saved — a page with Save Contact, not a social network. That is the product: a retargetable door. Flow: how dynamic QR works.

• The card stock has to outlast a job or number change

  A box of cards, a window decal, or a name badge you will not reprint should not bake today’s mobile into the modules. Unlock $9.99/year so the printed door stays; edit the contact on your account.

• You share one print for contact now and something else later

  A card that is your vCard this season and a booking page, portfolio, or closed-for-holiday note next season is a destination edit — not a new print run. That is an unlocked code, not a frozen contact file.

• The public page you would rather open will move

  A replaced LinkedIn URL, a new personal site, or a renamed /contact path is a new address. A baked vCard cannot follow it. A URL code — free until you unlock — stores the short link on your account.

One unlocked code can cover the box of cards

If every card in the box should open the same contact, print the same file. That is one destination and — if you unlock — one $9.99/year code, not a code per card. A phone-case sticker is a second print when that door should be different. Bitly and QR Code Generator typically sell a monthly platform plan for a pool of dynamic codes and campaign tools. A single lasting business card is the per-code case — when that model wins is on dynamic QR price vs monthly SaaS. The two live prices are on the pricing page.

Treat a vCard QR as a public contact card

Encoding a phone number in the pattern is convenient. It is not a vault. The longer safety guide is is this QR code safe.

• Put a work or public number on the card. Do not print a private line you would not give a stranger at a stall.
• Assume anyone who can see or photograph the card can save the payload. Change the number on an unlocked code, or reprint a vCard-type file, if that is no longer acceptable.
• Print your name next to the code so people can check the Camera preview before they save.

What we do not do

• We do not run a public people directory, sell leads, or replace a digital-card network. The vCard type lives in the downloaded file until you unlock a saved code.
• We do not claim scan-count dashboards, team seats, or bulk CSV. Those belong on a monthly platform plan.
• Custom centre logos ship with a dynamic unlock; free downloads use the QRcode.house logo.

FAQ

Can I make a free vCard QR code?

Yes. Choose vCard on qrcode.house, enter a name plus optional title, company, email, phone, website, and note, then download PNG, JPEG, SVG, or PDF with no account. The file encodes a vCard 3.0 string in the pattern. Free files include the QRcode.house centre mark.

Is a vCard-type QR dynamic?

Not the free download. The vCard type bakes the contact into the modules, the same model as Adobe Express and most phone contact QRs. Change the number and that printed file is wrong. Unlock $9.99/year on a saved code if the print must stay while the details move.

What happens after I unlock a vCard?

The downloaded pattern becomes your qrcode.house short link. A scan opens a contact page with a Save Contact button. Edit name, title, company, email, phone, website, or note from your account — same cards. Codes you never unlock stay free downloads.

Does the QR contain my phone number and email?

Yes, if you use the free vCard type. Anyone who photographs the card can read the payload. Treat it as a public contact card. An unlocked short link still shows those fields on the contact page — it is a convenience, not a private directory.

Related guides

• Phone QR sticker — the same contact idea, stuck on the case instead of the card.
• DIY QR template — a static vCard export is enough when you will never change the number.
• Digital business cards — a short earlier note. This page is the accurate static-versus-unlock version. More on the blog.