Stop Paying Per Scan: How QR Pricing Should Work
Your QR code campaign just went viral. Thousands of scans. People are sharing it, engaging with your content, buying your product. You should be celebrating.
Instead, you get an email: "You've exceeded your scan limit. Upgrade now or your codes will stop working."
That's not a hypothetical. That's how most QR platforms actually operate. Your code is printed on 5,000 flyers. People are scanning it right now. And the platform just killed it — because you succeeded too much.
That's scan anxiety. And it's built into how most QR platforms price their product.
The problem with per-scan pricing
Most QR code platforms operate like this: you pick a plan based on how many scans you expect. If you exceed that number, one of three things happens:
- Your codes stop working entirely (worst case).
- You get hit with overage charges (annoying).
- You're forced into a higher tier you don't need (wasteful).
In all three cases, success is punished. The better your campaign performs, the more you pay. It's like being charged extra because your ad got too many clicks.
How altQR does it
We don't think a viral campaign should come with a surprise bill. That's why Pro plans and above come with unlimited scans — no caps, no overage charges, no anxiety.
Instead of gating by scan count, we gate by features you actually need:
| Free | Pro ($12/mo) | Business ($35/mo) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| QR codes | 5 | 200 | Unlimited |
| Scans | 500/mo | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| QR types | Basic (20+) | All (40+) | All (40+) |
| Custom branding | — | Colors, logos, gradients | Full customization + themes |
| Analytics | Basic (7 days) | Full history + export | Advanced + geo + webhooks |
| API access | — | Yes | Yes |
| Team members | — | — | Yes |
The pattern is simple: more QR codes and more features as you grow. Not more expensive scans.
When free is enough
For a lot of people, the free plan is the right place to start. Five QR codes, 500 scans per month, basic analytics, and 25 QR types including website URLs, social media links, WiFi credentials, and vCards. If you're a freelancer, a small shop, or just testing QR codes for the first time, start there.
You'll know when it's time to upgrade — when you need more codes, unlimited scans, more types (like payment links, PDF viewers, or menus), or custom branding. Not because you got too popular.
The principle
We don't think you should have to predict how many people will scan your code before you create it. Once you're on a paid plan, your scans are unlimited — no surprises. You make a code, you put it out there, and the internet does what it does. Your pricing shouldn't be a bet against your own success.