Long story short, QR codes can hold a lot more data that traditional linear barcodes and there are many QR code types. Compared to QR codes, anyway.īecause QR codes utilize the vertical dimension, the amount of unique characters they can hold is in the thousands.

There’s simply not that many combinations. The amount of variability with parallel lines of differing width and space within a finite amount of room is restricting. Some can contain up to 80 unique characters.

There are over 30 types of linear barcodes-all differing slightly in their presentation of parallel lines. QR Code vs Barcode: Amount of Information Why a QR Code Is Better Than a Barcodeīecause QR codes represent data in two directions, horizontally and vertically, there are three distinct advantages of QR codes over barcodes. That makes QR codes 2D barcodes, and such barcodes are typically square. So QR code readers scan QR codes both side-to-side and up-and-down. That means QR codes encode information horizontally and vertically. QR codes, on the other hand, represent data using a series of squares in a two-dimensional matrix. That’s why they’re also called linear or one-dimensional barcodes. Optical scanners (also called barcode readers) read traditional barcodes from side-to-side, like a person reads a sentence.

Anyway, this format lends itself to a rectangular shape, which the vast majority of traditional barcodes are. Those signal durations are actually called dots and dashes, heh. Those lines are based on the principles of Morse code, the old school telecommunication method that uses combinations of two signal durations-beeps and boops-to communicate. Traditional barcodes represent data through the spacing and width of vertical parallel lines. Our QR code vs barcode comparison necessarily starts with their appearance. But now their monopoly is threatened by 1994’s very own QR code. Traditional barcodes, invented in 1951, have adorned nearly every commercial product since the 60s. Comparison of Barcode and QR Code: QR Code vs Barcode So let’s compare QR codes, traditional barcodes, 2D barcodes, and RFID to see which contactless solution is best for whom. That’s what we aim to go over in this post. There are other similar technologies, too. They’re actually on the front lines of a new pandemic-inspired movement to integrate principles of social distancing into the DNA of consumer transaction. And it unlocks a whole slate of possibilities for a hygienic, touchless consumer experience. A different kind of communication technology.

This is the world of QR codes, barcodes, and RFID. One that’s been slowly simmering away, evolving, and improving. But there’s another wireless world out there. Cell phones and the internet get all the credit.

Qr barcode