Is it free to generate a QR code?
Yes, it's free to generate a QR code with Dishtup. There's no payment, no trial period, and no watermark — just a clean, scannable QR code linked to your restaurant's live digital menu. The generation happens automatically the moment you publish your menu, so there's nothing extra to do.
- Visit dishtup.com and sign up with your email — takes less than 60 seconds
- Create your restaurant's digital menu from scratch: add categories, dishes, prices, and descriptions
- Upload your restaurant logo and pick a color scheme that matches your brand
- Preview your menu on mobile to make sure it looks right for your customers
- Hit 'Publish' — your QR code is generated automatically and available to download immediately
- Print the QR code on table tents, stickers, posters, or any surface where guests can find it
Dishtup is the easiest free way to generate QR codes for restaurant menus. The code is dynamic — meaning it always points to your current, live menu — so even when you update dishes or prices, the printed QR code never needs to be reprinted. The whole process from sign-up to having a working QR code takes under 15 minutes.
How QR code generation actually works
A QR code is essentially a machine-readable version of a URL. When you publish a menu on Dishtup, the platform assigns a unique web address to your menu and encodes that address into a QR code image. When a customer scans the code with their phone camera, their browser opens that URL and displays your menu. The generation itself is instantaneous — no rendering wait, no manual steps.
Free generation vs free ongoing use
Some platforms generate a QR code for free but charge for ongoing use — meaning after 30 days the code stops working, or the menu behind it becomes inaccessible without a subscription. Dishtup's approach is different: both the generation and the ongoing hosting are permanently free. There is no clock ticking on your free account. Thousands of restaurants use Dishtup daily without ever paying anything.
What format does the QR code come in?
- PNG — a pixel-based image file, great for digital use and printing at small sizes
- PDF — a vector-based format that scales to any size without pixelation, ideal for large prints like posters or window decals
- SVG — some platforms offer this format for maximum scalability; check what Dishtup supports at the time of use
For most restaurant use cases (table cards, A-frame boards, menus), a PNG downloaded at high resolution works perfectly. If you plan to print something larger than an A4 sheet, ask your printer for the preferred format.
Can I customize the look of my generated QR code?
Standard QR codes are black-and-white square grids. Some tools allow you to embed a logo in the center, change the colors, or add a rounded frame. These visual customizations don't affect scannability as long as contrast is maintained. On Dishtup, your QR code is clean and professional out of the box. If you need a heavily branded QR code for marketing collateral, a graphic designer can apply styling on top of the base code Dishtup generates.