Who each one is for
Apple’s support article “Scan a QR code with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch” is short. Open the Camera app from the Home Screen, Lock Screen or Control Centre, hold the device so the code is in view, and tap the notification to open the link. The Code Scanner control does the same from Control Centre and opens web links in its own browser. Nothing else is described: no history, no saved-photo scanning, no generation.
That is enough for the most common QR moment: a menu, a poster, a boarding gate. Every QR Studio user has this on their phone too, and we do not pretend otherwise. QR Studio starts where the Camera stops, at making the code.
Where QR Studio is better
- It creates codes. URL, Wi-Fi, vCard, text, email, SMS, geo and more. The Camera creates nothing.
- Design. Dot and eye shapes, logos, colours and an AI design partner, with every variant checked for scannability.
- Export. PNG, SVG and print-ready PDF with bleed and crop marks.
- Dynamic codes and analytics. Edit the destination after printing; see scan counts.
- Scanning extras. Reads codes from Photos and shows the raw payload before opening anything, which is useful for checking your own prints.
Where the Camera and Code Scanner are better
- Already there. No install, no account.
- Speed to scan. One swipe to the Lock Screen camera.
- Privacy. Apple’s own app, no third-party label to read.
- Cost. $0, with nothing to buy.
Pricing side by side
| QR Studio | iPhone Camera and Code Scanner | |
|---|---|---|
| Scanning | Free | Free, included with iOS |
| Creating codes | Free, unlimited static codes, no ads | Not available |
| Design, SVG, print PDF, dynamic codes | Pro $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year | Not available |
| One-off | Lifetime $69.99 | Nothing to buy |
Switching
Keep both. Use the Camera to scan what the world puts in front of you. Use QR Studio to make what you put in front of the world, and to test your own prints from Photos before they go out.
Note
Apple updates iOS every year. We read support article 102680 on 7 September 2026; it was last revised by Apple on 15 September 2025. Features that appear in later iOS versions are not listed here until Apple documents them.
Try it yourself