Graklink vs QRCodeChimp
ON THIS PAGE
- Graklink vs QRCodeChimp: which should you use?
- How much does each cost?
- What actually happens to a QRCodeChimp QR code?
- So what is the actual problem with a pause?
- When would a wedding invitation or a menu actually hit 1,000 scans?
- What does QRCodeChimp do better?
- What does it cost over five years?
- When to pick which
- Common questions
Graklink vs QRCodeChimp: which should you use?
Choose QRCodeChimp if you want a broad platform with digital business cards, forms, and landing pages, and a monthly bill fits how you work. Choose Graklink if you are about to print something and you want the shortest possible list of things that can switch the QR code off later.
Sending a plant home with its own care instructions helps its new owner feel ready to look after it. The card gives them somewhere to check when they forget how often to water. The QR code needs to open the instructions now, even if the shop’s other QR codes have had a busy month. This comparison looks at the shared scan allowance as well as the plan price.
How much does each cost?
QRCodeChimp runs a free tier and three paid ones. Verified on their pricing page on 24 July 2026, in the US dollar view:
| Plan | Yearly cost | Dynamic QR codes | Scans per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 10 | 1,000 total |
| Starter | $83.88 ($6.99/mo billed yearly) | 50 | 10,000 |
| Pro | $167.88 ($13.99/mo billed yearly) | 300 | 150,000 |
| Ultima | $419.88 ($34.99/mo billed yearly) | 900 | Unlimited |
Static QR codes are unlimited and free on every tier, including the free one.
A Graklink dynamic QR code is a one-time purchase. There is no monthly plan on the QR code, no scan ceiling, and no subscription required. Free static QR codes cost nothing here too.
What actually happens to a QRCodeChimp QR code?
The two conditions to check are plan expiry and the monthly scan allowance.
If your plan lapses, the account drops to Free. The last ten dynamic QR codes remain in the free allowance and additional QR codes are paused. Upgrading can reactivate paused QR codes.
If you run out of scans, the QR code pauses until the month resets. On the free plan that ceiling is 1,000 scans a month, shared across every dynamic QR code in the account rather than counted per QR code.
Neither of those destroys anything. Both of them stop the redirect.
So what is the actual problem with a pause?
A paused QR code does not take the reader to the intended destination. The QR code may be recoverable from your dashboard, but the reader still needs another way to reach the information in the meantime.
For a plant-care card, include the shop’s readable website address alongside the QR code. If the QR code must remain available regardless of monthly activity, compare plans without a scan cap.
When would a wedding invitation or a menu actually hit 1,000 scans?
Count expected activity across the whole account, not just one printed QR code.
A hundred and fifty wedding guests scanning an invitation two or three times each will put a few hundred scans through one QR code. That is fine on its own. But the free plan’s 1,000 is the total for every dynamic QR code on the account, so the registry QR code, the photo-gallery QR code, and the RSVP QR code all draw from the same pot. A single QR code that outperforms expectations spends the month’s allowance and pauses the others with it.
QRCodeChimp is straightforward about the fix, and their own guide names it: “On Ultima and higher plans, scans are unlimited. There is no monthly cap, so this pause can’t happen. If your QR codes are on packaging, retail displays, or anything where scan volume is unpredictable and a pause would be expensive, that’s the reason to be on one of those plans.”
At the cited annual rate, Ultima costs $419.88 for unlimited scans and a much larger QR code allowance. That package may make sense at scale; a single Graklink QR code is a one-time purchase with no scan cap.
A Graklink QR code has no scan ceiling at any price. There is no plan on it to move up.
What does QRCodeChimp do better?
QRCodeChimp offers several specialized workflows.
Its tools include digital business cards with wallet support, forms, event ticket validation, pet ID tags, folders, sub-accounts and bulk upload on higher tiers. The free tier includes ten dynamic QR codes. If you need one of those specialized tools, include it in your comparison.
Its documentation distinguishes paused QR codes from deleted QR codes and explains the shared scan allowance. Those details help you choose a plan for your expected usage.
Graklink also offers short links and landing pages. It does not replace QRCodeChimp’s specialized ticketing or sub-account workflows.
For the printed care card, start with destination editing, uninterrupted access under the plan’s scan rules, and the reporting you will actually use.
What does it cost over five years?
For a single printed QR code that you need to keep working, held for five years:
| Year 1 | Year 5 total | |
|---|---|---|
| Graklink | $7.99 | $7.99 |
| QRCodeChimp Starter | $83.88 | $419.40 |
| QRCodeChimp Ultima (no scan cap) | $419.88 | $2,099.40 |
The free tier costs $0 while you stay within its allowances. The table compares unchanged prices over five years and excludes optional features.
When to pick which
Pick QRCodeChimp if you want the platform: business cards, forms, ticketing, sub-accounts, and a design suite. If your scan volume is low and predictable and 10 QR codes is plenty, the free tier is a legitimately good deal and we are not going to pretend it isn’t.
Pick Graklink if the QR code is going on something you cannot cheaply reprint, and you would rather the list of things that can stop it be as short as possible. Purchased redirects have no subscription expiry or scan allowance.
If the destination will never change, a free static QR code is enough.
Common questions
Do QRCodeChimp QR codes stop working if you stop paying?
Their documentation says the account drops to Free, retaining the last ten dynamic QR codes while additional QR codes are paused. Paused QR codes can be reactivated by upgrading. A paused QR code does not redirect to its destination.
What is QRCodeChimp's scan limit?
On the free plan it is 1,000 scans per month, and that is a shared total across all of your dynamic QR codes, not per QR code. QRCodeChimp's own FAQ says that once you hit it, scans are paused until the next month. Paid plans raise the ceiling to 10,000 on Starter and 150,000 on Pro. Scans are only unlimited on Ultima, which is $34.99 a month billed yearly, about $419.88 a year.
Is QRCodeChimp free plan good enough for a printed QR code?
For something low-traffic, it might be. You get 10 dynamic QR codes and unlimited static QR codes for nothing. The thing to check before you print is the 1,000-scans-a-month shared ceiling, because a single QR code that does better than you expected can spend the whole month's allowance and pause every other QR code in the account with it.
What does QRCodeChimp do better than Graklink?
QRCodeChimp offers digital business cards, forms, ticket validation, pet IDs and team-management tools. Graklink offers QR codes, short links and landing pages. Compare the particular workflow you need.
Which should you choose?
Choose QRCodeChimp if you want the wider platform and the monthly bill suits you, or if you need the free tier's 10 QR codes and your scan volume is comfortably under the cap. Choose Graklink if the QR code is going on something printed and you want the simplest possible guarantee: paid once, no scan ceiling, no subscription required, nothing to reactivate.
Sources and verification dates
Source links, check dates and available archived copies are listed below.
- QRCodeChimp pricing
Checked September 15, 2026. Archived copy
(US/USD view). Free: 10 dynamic codes, 1,000 total scans/month, unlimited static. Starter $9.99/mo or $6.99/mo billed yearly ($83.88/yr), 50 dynamic, 10,000 scans/mo. Pro $19.99/mo or $13.99/mo yearly ($167.88/yr), 300 dynamic, 150,000 scans/mo. Ultima $49.99/mo or $34.99/mo yearly ($419.88/yr), 900 dynamic, unlimited scans.
The linked archive is an earlier snapshot; the live page was checked again on September 15, 2026.
- QRCodeChimp pricing FAQ (scan cap and lapse behavior)
Checked September 15, 2026. Archived copy
. On the cap: 'Under the free plan, we provide 1000 scans per month free for all the dynamic codes combined. Once you reach the 1000 scans limit for a month, scans are paused, but they reopen next month for another 1000 scans.' On lapse: 'If you are a paid user, the dynamic QR codes given in your plan will remain active till you recharge the plan regularly. Otherwise, your account will be moved to a free plan, and the dynamic codes other than the last 10 will be paused.'
The linked archive is an earlier snapshot; the live page was checked again on September 15, 2026.
- QRCodeChimp, Do QR Codes Expire?
Checked July 24, 2026. Archived copy
, page last updated 2026-07-11. 'When a paid plan isn't renewed, the account downgrades to the free plan and dynamic codes beyond your free-plan allowance are paused. They are not deleted.' And on the cap: 'On Ultima and higher plans, scans are unlimited. There is no monthly cap, so this pause can't happen. If your codes are on packaging, retail displays, or anything where scan volume is unpredictable and a pause would be expensive, that's the reason to be on one of those plans.' IMPORTANT correction made at sourcing: the '30 days and permanently removed' rule on this page applies to codes DELETED into Trash, not to codes paused by a lapsed plan. Do not conflate the two.
- QRCodeChimp help center (validity)
Checked July 24, 2026. Archived copy
'If the plan is not renewed, your account will downgrade to the free plan, and all dynamic QR Codes except the last 10 will be deactivated.'
- Graklink terms
Checked September 15, 2026.
Purchased products, subscription cancellation, trial conditions and service continuity.
Graklink’s published product information.