Read the QR code in a screenshot or photo and see the link or text it holds. Fast, free, and built for simple browser-based workflows.
Choose an image with a QR code in it, then click Read QR Code.
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QR Code Reader is a free online tool that decodes the QR code inside an image and shows you the text it holds. Choose a screenshot or a photo, click Read QR Code, and the link, phone number or message stored in the pattern appears as text you can copy.
It earns its keep when the code is on a screen you cannot scan with a phone. Reach for it when a QR code arrives in an email or a PDF invoice, when you want to see where a poster code actually leads before following it, when a ticket needs checking against its booking reference, or when a screenshot is all you were sent.
The image is decoded by your own browser and never leaves your device, so a boarding pass, a ticket or a payment code stays on your machine. Reading the link as text first is also the safer habit, because you see the destination before deciding to open it. The decoding library loads from a public CDN on first use, so the page needs a connection.
Click Choose an Image Containing a QR Code and pick a screenshot or photo. It appears in the preview with its file name and pixel size, so you can check the whole code is in shot.
Click Read QR Code. The decoded text appears in the Decoded Content box, with a line above it saying what kind of data the code held.
Click Copy Result to put the text on your clipboard. If it is a web address, Open Link opens it in a new tab once you have read where it goes.
Click Clear to empty the preview and the result, then choose the next image. Nothing from the previous file is kept.
Yes! All our tools are 100% free to use with no hidden costs, no registration required, and no credit card needed.
Absolutely. All tools run entirely in your browser (client-side). Your data never leaves your device and is not sent to our servers.
Yes! All our tools are free for both personal and commercial use.
No. This tool reads a code that is already in an image file, so you point your phone camera at a poster and use its own scanner, or take a photo and upload that photo here. A screenshot works just as well, which is the case a phone camera cannot help with.
Usually the code is cut off, blurred or too small in the frame. Include the whole pattern plus its blank border, since the decoder uses that border to find the edges. A sharp screenshot beats an angled photo, and cropping tightly to the code helps when the picture has a lot else in it.
Reading it here is safe, because decoding only turns the pattern into text and nothing is opened for you. That is the point of checking a code this way: you see the full address before you decide. Treat an unexpected link, a shortened domain or a login page reached by QR code with the same caution as any emailed link.
Not directly, because it takes an image file. Open the PDF, take a screenshot of the page area holding the code, and read that screenshot here. Zoom in before capturing so the pattern has enough pixels to decode cleanly.
No. It returns the first code it finds, so an image holding two codes gives you one result. Crop the picture down to each code and read them one at a time if you need both.
Any text, which is why the result varies so much. Common ones are a web link, an email address written as mailto:, a phone number as tel:, WiFi network details, a map location, or a full contact card in vCard format. The tool names which of these it recognised above the decoded text.
No, only QR codes. A product barcode, a Data Matrix square or an Aztec code uses a different pattern and will come back as no code found. The same goes for a QR code that has been heavily stylised or has a large logo covering its centre.