A static QR code has the destination printed into the pattern itself, so it can never be changed or counted. A dynamic one encodes a short link you control, which means you can repoint it after it is printed and see how often it is scanned.
The difference that matters
- StaticThe destination is the pattern. Change the destination, change the pattern
- DynamicThe pattern points at a link you own, and that link can point anywhere
- Static scansCannot be counted — nothing of yours is involved when someone scans it
- Dynamic scansCounted, with time, country and device
The editor says so plainly when you pick: static QR codes cannot be tracked.
Why this decides itself in practice
The cost of a wrong static code is reprinting. If a code goes on a menu, a label, a poster or a vehicle, the destination will eventually need to change — a campaign ends, a page moves, a product is renamed. A dynamic code turns that into a thirty-second edit. A static one turns it into a print run.
- Use dynamic for anything printed Anything you cannot easily take back and replace.
- Use dynamic if the number matters If you would like to know whether the poster worked, it has to be dynamic.
- Static is fine for what is not a link WiFi details, a phone number, a vCard, a block of text. There is no destination to change and nothing to count.
A static code is permanentOnce it is printed, the only way to change where it goes is to reprint it. If there is any chance the destination will move, make it dynamic before you send it to the printer.
Next: creating a QR code.