QR code analyticssee every scan, in real time.

Every dynamic QR code on Build QR comes with full scan analytics — time, location, device, unique vs returning — captured the moment each scan happens. No setup, no third-party trackers, no PII.

Dashboard preview

Build QR Cafe Menu

build-qr.com/qr/cafemenuCreated Mar 18, 2026
Daily

Total Scans

8,247

Unique Visitors

5,613

Last Scanned

2 minutes ago

Scans Over Time
Performance based on the selected time range
0300600Apr 02Apr 04Apr 06Apr 08Apr 10Apr 12Apr 14
Devices
iOS
47%
Android
38%
Desktop
11%
Other
4%
Top Locations
IndonesiaJakarta
3,127
IndonesiaSurabaya
1,843
SingaporeCentral
768
MalaysiaKuala Lumpur
542
ThailandBangkok
324
Recent Scans
TimeLocationOS
2 mnt laluJakarta, IDiOS 17.4
7 mnt laluSurabaya, IDAndroid 14
11 mnt laluSingapore, SGiOS 17.4
18 mnt laluBandung, IDAndroid 13
24 mnt laluKuala Lumpur, MYiOS 16.7

Illustrative dashboard — your actual data populates the moment your code starts getting scans.

Metrics

What you can measure

Every dimension you need to evaluate a QR campaign — and nothing you don't need.

Total scans

Every scan is counted in real time, including repeats from the same device. The headline number that tells you whether your code is being scanned at all.

Unique devices

Deduplicated against a rotating device fingerprint so you can tell whether 1,000 scans came from 1,000 people or one obsessive curator.

Time series

Scans per hour, day, week, or month. Spot the peak hours and run-rates that tell you when your audience is most engaged.

Geography

Country and city breakdowns derived from the scanner's IP — never precise coordinates, never the raw IP itself. Aggregate by region to compare campaign reach across markets.

Device & browser

iOS, Android, desktop, plus the browser families behind them. Useful for sanity-checking that your scanners are landing on a page that works on their device.

Referrer (when present)

If the scan was triggered from inside a QR-aware app that supplies a referrer header, you see it. Most native phone cameras do not — that's normal, not a bug.

Why QR code analytics matter for campaigns

A QR code on a flyer, a piece of packaging, or a poster is a marketing dark spot if you can't measure it. Without analytics, you know the code was printed — but you don't know whether anyone's scanning it, whether scans cluster in the locations you expected, or whether the people scanning are converting on whatever the QR sends them to. You're flying blind on the most measurable channel you have.

The point of QR code analytics is to close that loop. Every scan you can attribute is a scan you can act on — repointing a slow-performing code to a different landing page, pulling budget away from underperforming placements, or doubling down on regions that are clearly working. The data tells you which physical placements are pulling their weight and which are silent, and lets you swap destinations in response without reprinting anything (that's the dynamic QR code half of the equation).

The unique-vs-returning split matters too. A code with 10,000 total scans but only 200 unique devices is being scanned mostly by your own staff testing it. A code with 8,000 scans and 5,500 unique devices is doing what you wanted. The shape of the data is often more informative than the headline number, and it's the bit you can't guess from outside.

The same logic applies to time-of-day patterns. Restaurant menu codes scanned heavily between 6pm and 9pm tell a different story than ones scanned at 11am — different audience, different intent, different landing-page expectations. A product packaging code scanned mostly on weekends signals a different buyer journey than the same code scanned mostly on weekday mornings. Without time-series analytics, this kind of pattern is invisible; with it, you can tune the destination page, the offer, or the campaign cadence to match the rhythm of how your audience actually engages. The dashboard gives you the data; the decisions are yours.

See your own dashboard — start free

Dashboard & integrations

The dashboard covers the vast majority of campaign-evaluation use cases out of the box — filter scans by date range, drill into geography and device breakdowns, and compare unique vs returning across any time window within your tier's retention.

Pro accounts also get programmatic API access for QR code management — create, update, archive, and list QR codes from your own systems. Scan-data export and analytics API endpoints are on the roadmap; in the meantime, dashboard views and filters cover most analysis needs.

Dashboard analytics

View scans by time, location, device, and unique-vs-returning. Available on all tiers within your retention window.

QR management API — Pro tier

Programmatic CRUD for QR codes from your own systems. Scan-data export via API is on the roadmap.

Plans with analytics

Analytics is included on every dynamic QR code — even on the free tier. Scale up when you need more codes or programmatic access.

Try it
Free
$0
  • 1 dynamic QR code
  • 5 static QR codes
  • 1,000 scans / month
  • Basic analytics (30-day retention)
Most popular
Starter
$6/mo
  • 25 dynamic QR codes
  • Unlimited static QR codes
  • Unlimited scans
  • Full analytics (365-day retention)
Scale
Pro
$15/mo
  • 150 dynamic QR codes
  • Unlimited static QR codes
  • Unlimited scans
  • Full analytics (365-day retention)

See the full feature comparison on the main pricing page.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about QR analytics

What gets tracked in each QR code scan?
Every scan is logged with a timestamp, the approximate location derived from the IP (city and country, never the precise GPS coordinates), the device type (iOS, Android, desktop), the browser, and the referrer if one was sent. We classify whether the scan is a unique device or a returning device based on a rotating, salted identifier — not on any cookie or personally identifiable information. That is the complete list of what is captured on the scan event.
Do you track personally identifiable information?
No. We deliberately do not capture names, email addresses, phone numbers, account identifiers, or precise locations. The raw IP address used to derive the approximate location is hashed (SHA-256) rather than stored in cleartext — only the resolved city, country, and the hashed value are kept, the latter only for unique-vs-returning deduplication. We do not set tracking cookies on scanners' devices. The pipeline is designed to give campaign owners actionable data without putting their audience under surveillance.
How long is scan data retained?
Retention is tier-based: Free retains scan data for 30 days, Starter and Pro retain for 365 days, and Enterprise retains for 730 days. You can view all data within retention from the dashboard. Older data is rolled off as it ages out of the window.
How fresh is the analytics data?
Scan events are written to the database inline with each redirect, so the dashboard reflects new scans on the next page load. There's no nightly batch job — the data shown is the data captured so far. Refresh the dashboard to see new scans as they come in.
Can I export my analytics data?
Yes — from the dashboard you can view and analyze your historical scan data within your tier's retention window. Pro accounts also get programmatic API access for managing QR codes; scan-data export is on the roadmap. For now, dashboard views and filters cover the most common analysis needs.
How does unique-vs-returning scan deduplication work?
We compute a SHA-256 hash from the user-agent and IP at scan time and compare it against hashes seen previously for that QR code. A match counts as a returning scan; a new hash counts as a unique scan. The hash cannot be reversed to identify the actual device. The exact dedup window depends on plan tier and the retention period for your scan data.

See your first scan land in real time

Create a dynamic QR code, point it anywhere, and check the dashboard to see scans as they come in. Free tier includes one code with basic analytics (30-day retention), no credit card required.

Create Free Account

Already convinced? See the dynamic QR generator or real-world examples in our customer case studies.