vCard QR Code Generator
Type the contact once and you get both artefacts: a QR code that opens the contact card on any phone camera, and the .vcf file itself — same bytes, no account, nothing leaves your browser. Scan it, print it, or hand the file to whoever runs your website.
This code is static: it holds the contact exactly as typed. Want a card you can keep editing after printing — and that can collect a sign-up or a check-in instead of only being saved? Make it a card: one sentence in, no signup needed.
Preview · what the camera sees
Fill in a name to get a code.
The exact bytes in your file
01
What a vCard actually is
A vCard is a plain-text contact file — the format behind "Add to contacts" on every phone. Version 3.0 is what almost every device still reads, which is why this generator writes 3.0 rather than the newer 4.0. Your phone does not need an app to open one: scanning the code hands the text to the contacts app, which shows the card and asks you to confirm the save.
02
Why most vCard codes break
The format uses ; , \ as separators, so a company written as Examples, Ltd or an address with a comma splits into the wrong fields unless those characters are escaped. The address block is another common break: ADR takes its components in a fixed order (street, city, region, postal code, country) separated by semicolons, and skipping a component still needs its semicolon. This page escapes both for you — the preview is exactly what your phone will read.
03
Two fields carry the name
A vCard holds the display name in FN and the sortable parts in N as Last;First;;;. Contacts apps use N to alphabetise and FN to show, so an unbalanced pair gives you a card that looks right and files itself under the wrong letter. Fill both name boxes and the generator keeps them consistent.
04
Print size and error correction
A full contact is 150–300 characters, so the code lands around version 9–14. We use error-correction level L here on purpose: with a long payload a higher level pushes the module count up until small prints stop scanning. Keep at least a 4-module white quiet zone, print the code at 20 mm or larger, and test with the phone you actually hand out to.
vCard questions, answered
Is a vCard QR code the same as a digital business card?
They overlap but are not the same object. A vCard code hands over your contact record — the recipient saves it and the interaction ends. A digital business card is a page or app profile; a QR Card is a printed card that can also collect something back, such as a sign-up or feedback, with the count visible afterwards.
Do I need an account, and does the scanner?
Neither. The generator runs in your browser, the file is created on your machine, and the person scanning only needs a camera — no app and no login at either end.
Can I change the details after printing?
Not in the code itself: a vCard code is static ink carrying a fixed text. If you need editability, generate a card instead and point it at the contact details — the printed mark keeps pointing at whatever you set behind it.
What is the difference between a .vcf file and the QR code?
Same content, different delivery. The file is what you email, upload to a phone book, or hand to whoever maintains your site. The code is what you print. Both come from the same text you see in the payload box on this page.
No statistics are quoted here about scan rates or adoption — the page describes the format and what this generator does with it.