The menu changes. The table tent doesn't have to.
Half the QR menus printed since 2020 are dead links now, because the service behind them wanted a monthly fee forever. A customer sitting at your table pointing a phone at an error page is not ambience. Your menu code should outlast the laminator, not the billing cycle.
What is the best QR code for a restaurant menu?
The right menu code is a dynamic QR code you buy once and can repoint anytime. Change the menu and you update one link, and every table tent, window decal, and to-go bag keeps working. At Graklink that is a one-time $7.99, with no subscription on the code and nothing that expires. If you want a separate code per table or per surface so you can tell which one people actually use, bulk pricing starts at $5.99 each.
Most QR menus printed since 2020 are dead links now. Not because the lamination wore out, but because the service behind the code wanted a monthly fee forever and switched the code off when the fee stopped. A guest at your table pointing a phone at an error page while the food gets cold is not ambience. Your menu code should outlast the laminator, not the billing cycle.
Design a menu code that keeps working: start at graklink.com.
Static or dynamic: which code a menu actually needs
A menu changes, so the code behind it has to be the kind you can change. That is the whole decision.
A static QR code bakes the destination straight into the pattern. It is free and it never expires, but the day your menu moves to a new link, every printed static code is dead and you are reprinting table tents. A dynamic code points at a short redirect you own, so you can send it anywhere and change where it goes anytime, without touching the print.
| Static code | Dynamic code (Graklink) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | $7.99 once |
| Change the destination after printing | No | Yes, anytime |
| Reprint when the menu link changes | Every time | Never |
| Expires or needs a subscription | No / No | No / No |
| Best for | A link that will never change | A menu, which changes |
For a menu, dynamic is the only sane choice, and buying it once instead of renting it is what keeps it alive.
Ready to make one? Design your code.
Where your menu code should point
Because the code is dynamic, one printed square can point almost anywhere, and you can move it whenever service calls for it. The best destinations for a restaurant:
- Your live menu page or a hosted PDF. The everyday default.
- Online ordering. Toast, Square, ChowNow, or whatever you use, so a scan turns into a takeout order.
- Tonight’s specials or a seasonal menu. Point at the regular menu Monday through Thursday, swap to the prix fixe on Valentine’s Day, swap back Sunday.
- Happy-hour vs dinner. Repoint the same code by time of day so it always shows what is being served now.
- A Google review link, after the plates are cleared. A second code on the check presenter is the single easiest way to grow reviews.
- Reservations, the waitlist, a wine list, or an allergen guide. Anything a guest reaches for.
The print stays put. Where it goes is yours to change from a phone in the kitchen, as often as you like.
Pick your menu code and point it wherever you need.
Recommended setup
Most restaurants overthink this. Here is the short version.
- Start with one code, pointed at your menu. It is the simplest thing that works, and for most rooms it is all you need. One-time $7.99.
- Add codes in bulk when you have real surfaces to cover. Dine-in, takeout, the window, and the bar can each get their own code and their own destination. Bulk is $5.99 each for 2 to 9, $4.99 for 10 to 24, and $3.99 at 25 and up, with the custom design charged once for the whole batch.
- Turn on analytics only when you have a question it would answer. Pro is $9.99 a month or $99 a year, unlimited codes, 30 days free, and it shows scan counts, timing, and rough location. Skip it if you just want a working menu. Add it when you want to know which surface earns its spot on the table.
Our take: one code on the menu today, bulk and analytics later if the data would actually change a decision.
What a menu code really costs
This is where buying beats renting. A subscription QR service charges every year, and the code goes dark the moment you stop.
| Option | What you pay | Ongoing? | Code dies if you stop paying? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graklink | $7.99 once | No | No, never |
| QR Tiger | From $84 / year | Yes, forever | Yes |
| Bitly | From $120 / year (5 QR codes/mo) | Yes, forever | Yes |
$7.99 once is less than one appetizer, for a code that works as long as the restaurant does. The subscription math only gets worse the longer you run.
Buy your code once and stop renting a menu link.
Make sure it scans before you print a hundred
A menu code that has not been scanned is a guess, and a bad code usually looks perfectly fine sitting on the table. Before you send fifty table tents to the printer, run down this list:
- Strong contrast. Dark code on a light background. If you brand it with color, keep the code much darker than what sits behind it.
- A clear quiet zone. Leave an empty margin on all four sides. Do not crowd it with a logo or a price.
- A small logo, if any. A modest mark in the center is fine. A big one eats the data the code needs.
- At least an inch across, and square. Larger for a window read from a distance. Never stretch it to fit the layout.
- Then scan it. On more than one phone, before it goes to print.
The full breakdown of why codes fail, with pictures, is in our guide: why QR codes don’t scan. Size is the one people get wrong most often on a menu, and how big a QR code should be for print has the actual measurements. If you are still deciding between a table tent, a sticker on the table, and a poster by the door, we compared the surfaces.
Sources
- Graklink pricing and policy. Verified against the graklink.com checkout, last checked 2026-07-12.
- QR Tiger pricing: qrcode-tiger.com/payment. Dynamic-QR plans from $7/month billed annually ($84/year); codes stop if the subscription lapses. Last checked 2026-07-12.
- Bitly pricing: bitly.com/pages/pricing. Cheapest paid plan $10/month billed annually, 5 QR codes per month. Last checked 2026-07-12.
Your menu will change a dozen times. The code doesn’t have to. Design one that lasts at graklink.com.
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Questions restaurants actually ask
What should a restaurant QR code point at?
Your menu, wherever it lives: a page on your site, a hosted PDF, your online-ordering link, or tonight's specials. Because the code is dynamic, you change the destination anytime from your phone and every printed code updates within seconds.
Do I have to pay monthly to keep my menu code working?
No. It is $7.99 once. There is no subscription attached to the code, so there is nothing to lapse. Table tents you laminate today still work when you renovate the dining room. Subscription services like QR Tiger start around $84 a year and the code stops when you stop paying.
What happens to my printed table tents when I change the menu?
Nothing, and that is the point. Update the destination once and within seconds every table tent, window decal, and takeout flyer points at the new menu. The print never changes; only where it goes does.
Can I use different codes for dine-in, takeout, and the window?
Yes, and bulk pricing makes it cheap: from $5.99 each for 2 or more, down to $3.99 each at 25 and up, with the design fee charged once for the batch. Separate codes let each surface point somewhere different and tell you which one gets scanned.
Will it work if the restaurant Wi-Fi is spotty?
The code is just print. It needs the customer's phone to have signal, not your Wi-Fi. The redirect resolves from a global network, so the extra hop is measured in milliseconds.
Do QR code menus expire?
A Graklink menu code does not expire and never stops working for a billing reason. It is a one-time purchase with no subscription on the code, so as long as the menu link is valid it keeps redirecting for the life of whatever you printed it on.