Round dots, round corners
Circular modules are the most requested custom shape and the easiest to pull off — the data is unchanged, only the geometry of each module moves.
Round dot code
Generated on this page with the same encoder. Scan it if you want to check the colors hold up.
Round dot code style code
PNG is exported at 1024×1024. Print at 2 cm minimum for a sticker or business card, 4 cm for a flyer, 8 cm for a wall sign.
Five dot shapes, one payload
Everything on this page encodes the same way. Square is the reference look; rounded softens each module; dots and extra-rounded push further toward circles; classy rounds only the outer corners of each module, which reads as a hybrid between the two. The style selector on this page switches between all five and the code updates as you click, so you can compare them on your actual link rather than on a demo.
What you cannot change is the three finder patterns' job. Those corner squares are what a scanner locks onto first to find the code's orientation and scale. This generator draws them as proper concentric rings — dark, light, dark — rather than treating them like ordinary dots, which is why stylized codes here scan when hand-built grid recolors do not.
How much data a rounder code loses
Nothing, mechanically. But scanner tolerance is not the same as capacity, and round shapes are the ones that push it. Between adjacent modules there are diagonal gaps that a square grid does not have, so the edge contrast is slightly lower at print scale. If you are printing at 2 cm, stay on square or rounded. If you are printing at 4 cm and up, dots are reliable on current phones.
Where round codes look right
Invitations, wedding signage, packaging inserts, tote bags, loyalty cards — anywhere the design language is soft or hand-drawn. They are less appropriate where the code has to be read fast in bad conditions: a dusty warehouse label, a scratched sticker, a receipt printed on a low-end thermal printer.
Printing round codes
Download the SVG for print shops — vector output keeps the circles crisp at any size, where a raster PNG rounds them off unevenly. Keep the quiet margin: round shapes need the same clear border around the code as square ones, and clipping the outermost circles is the most common way a round code stops scanning.
Round and custom shape questions
Can I upload my own logo shape or an SVG of a square dot?
Only the five built-in dot shapes and three corner shapes here. Arbitrary per-module artwork is not something a scanner tolerates, and tools that offer it usually warn about scan failure — this one does not offer it at all.
Do round codes hold more data than square ones?
No, identical data produces an identical module count. Shape changes what a module looks like, not how many there are.
What is a custom QR code shape, exactly?
It means the finder patterns and dot geometry differ from the default squares — circles, rounded corners, hexagons. What it does not mean is encoding a picture into the code shape itself. That is a different technique, and a fragile one.
Will a dot-style code scan with an older phone camera?
At 4 cm or larger, generally yes. Small dot-style codes are where older cameras struggle first — if your audience may be on older hardware, print larger or use rounded.
Try the other custom styles
Same generator, different look. All three scan the same way.