Comparison · Design-forward marketing QR
Scanlight vs Flowcode
Flowcode is a design-led QR platform aimed at marketers, with heavily styled codes, campaign analytics and brand controls. Scanlight prioritises a different thing: a code that is proven to scan and correctly sized for print, free as a static code with no account. Choose Flowcode for polished branded codes and marketing analytics; choose Scanlight when reliability and a free, verified code matter more than styling.
Make a code and see for yourself
Step 1
What should this code do?
Opens a web page
We add https:// if you leave it off.
Step 2 · Make it yours (optional. A plain code works great.)
Colour
Every one of these is dark enough to survive print. Pick one, or set your own below.
Codes with a label are scanned noticeably more often than bare ones.
A logo covers modules. We raise error correction to compensate and then decode the finished code to confirm it still reads.
Higher settings keep the code readable even if it gets scuffed or partly covered, but pack the dots tighter. Standard is right for almost everyone.
Step 3
We’ll tell you exactly how big to print it so it scans easily from that distance.
What Flowcode does better
Design and brand polish. Flowcode's codes are highly styled and its platform is built for marketing teams that want on-brand codes with campaign analytics. If a distinctive, designed code is the priority, Flowcode leans into that.
How they differ
Flowcode sells design and marketing analytics: beautiful, branded codes as a campaign asset.
Scanlight's priority is that the code works: heavy styling and logos are exactly what break scannability, so Scanlight lets you style a code and then decodes it to confirm it still reads, and tells you how large to print it. Free static codes with no account round out a tool focused on reliability over polish.
Side by side
| Flowcode | Scanlight | |
|---|---|---|
| If you stop paying | Refunded codes become non-functional; the service agreement offers credits, not restored codes. | 30 days of grace, then a plain page. Never an advert, never an error, kept for a year. Written on the pricing page. |
| Check a code you already have, from anywhere | No | Free checker: reads a photo, reports contrast, margin and print size |
| Decodes styled codes to confirm they still scan | No | Yes, critical when styling a code |
| Free static codes, no account, no watermark | Account and plan oriented | Unlimited, forever |
| Print-size guidance | No | Yes, per placement |
| Design & brand styling depth | Extensive | Colours, shapes, logo, verified |
| Marketing campaign analytics | Extensive | Counts and breakdowns |
A highlighted cell marks the genuine edge; where both are strong it is left even. An honest read, not a scorecard.
Choose Flowcode if
- A highly designed, on-brand code is the priority and you have a marketing team.
- You want deep campaign analytics and brand controls.
- You are running consumer marketing where the code's look matters most.
Choose Scanlight if
- You want to style a code and be sure it still scans afterwards.
- You want a free static code with no account or watermark.
- You are printing and need the correct size for the scan distance.
Common questions
- Is Scanlight a Flowcode alternative?
- Yes, with a different emphasis: reliability and free, verified codes over design depth. Flowcode leads on styling and marketing analytics; Scanlight makes sure a styled code still scans and gives you a free static one. If polish is everything, Flowcode; if the code working is everything, Scanlight.
- Can I add a logo and still have the code scan?
- Yes, Scanlight raises error correction for a logo automatically and then decodes the finished code to confirm it still reads. A logo covers modules the reader has to reconstruct, so verifying is exactly the step most generators skip and Scanlight does not.