What actually happens to your printed codes when you stop paying each platform — read from the vendors' own documents, dated, and published in full because this table is the checker's brain.
| Vendor | Codes point at | Class | The policy in one line | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QRFY | qrfy.io | Dies if unpaid | Yes. QRFY switches codes off when the 7-day free trial ends or the subscription lapses — whether or not you have already printed them. | QRFY support page (trial & deactivation policy); complaint reports incl. r/weddingplanning $175 stationery case (2026-03-28 syndicated report) |
| QR Tiger | qrtiger.io | Dies if unpaid | QR Tiger's free codes go inactive after 500 scans each. Paid codes live only while the subscription behind them is active. | QR Tiger help center (free-tier scan limits; pricing page) |
| The QR Code Generator (Egoditor) | qr-codes.io, qrco.de | Dies if unpaid | Yes — trial codes from qr-code-generator.com stop working when the 14-day trial ends unless you keep paying. | Egoditor support docs (trial deactivation); Trustpilot rating as reported 2026-03-28 |
| Uniqode | qrcodes.pro | Account-dependent | Uniqode says its dynamic codes “cannot expire” — but the code only works while the link behind it keeps resolving on Uniqode's paid platform. | Uniqode Help Center, “Will editing the URL change my Website QR Code?” (Sept 14, 2026) and Uniqode dynamic-QR FAQ; pricing from Uniqode plan comparisons |
| Flowcode | flowpage.com | Survives | No. Flowcode never turns codes off. If the plan lapses, the codes keep scanning — you only lose the ability to edit them. | Flowcode support (post-lapse code behavior) |
| Scanova | scnv.io, scnv.app | Account-dependent | Scanova codes run on Scanova's own redirect domains (scnv.io, newer accounts scnv.app). Scanova is subscription software — the code lives as long as the account behind it does. | Scanova support docs (redirect domains; custom-domain CNAME) |
| ME-QR | me-qr.com | Account-dependent | ME-QR codes route through me-qr.com and live on ME-QR's redirect. Free codes also show an ad page before your destination. | Palo Alto Networks Unit 42, QR shortener census; ME-QR free-tier model |
| QR.io | qr.io | Account-dependent | QR.io is a subscription QR platform. Its codes encode qr.io redirects, so a printed code depends on the account behind it staying active. | Palo Alto Networks Unit 42, QR shortener census |
| Unitag | qrs.ly | Account-dependent | qrs.ly is a QR platform redirect domain, attributed to Unitag in Palo Alto Networks' census of QR shorteners. A code on it lives as long as the platform account behind it does. | Palo Alto Networks Unit 42, QR shortener census (owner attribution not independently re-verified) |
Not every dynamic code is a trap, and a checker that claimed otherwise would be lying to sell you something. These allowances exist today:
| Vendor | The allowance | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Flowcode | Codes never deactivate; only edit access lapses. | Flowcode support |
| TQRCG (the-qrcode-generator.com) | 2 free dynamic codes that never expire. | Pctechmag vendor comparison, checked 2026-09-11 |
| Hovercode | 3 free dynamic codes that survive cancellation. | Pctechmag vendor comparison, checked 2026-09-11 |
| QRCodeChimp | 10 free dynamic codes; they pause at 1,000 scans/month. | Pctechmag vendor comparison, checked 2026-09-11 |
| QR Code Prime | 10 free-for-life dynamic codes. | Pctechmag vendor comparison, checked 2026-09-11 |
Paid tiers increasingly let a business run the vendor's redirect on its own domain (Scanova and Flowcode both document this). A code like that looks direct — and from the pattern alone, it is indistinguishable from direct. It still lives on the vendor's service. If a code points at your domain but a QR company runs the redirect behind it, treat the code as account-dependent. Our checker prints this caveat on every “permanent” verdict, because honesty about the limit is the product.
Think we have a policy wrong, or one has changed? Email help@doogex.com with the vendor's page — corrections get a dated note on the vendor's page here.