# Scan rate

> Scan rate is the share of people who see a QR code and scan it. There is no universal benchmark worth quoting — placement, context and the reason to scan swamp every other variable, including the design of the code itself.

Source: https://useqr.app/glossary/scan-rate · Last reviewed 2026-08-21 · UseQR is free forever, MIT licensed, no signup.

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## Why published benchmarks are close to useless

Vendor-published scan rates are drawn from their own customers' campaigns, with no control
for placement or offer, and are usually reported as a ratio to impressions that nobody
measured. A "3% average scan rate" is a marketing artefact, not a statistic.

## What actually moves it

1. **Distance and dwell time.** A code someone stands next to for thirty seconds
   outperforms one across a room by an order of magnitude.
2. **A stated reason.** "Scan for the wine list" beats "Scan me" by a wide margin.
3. **Physical accessibility.** Eye level, unobstructed, matt.
4. **Size for the distance.** Under the ten-to-one rule, most codes are too small.
5. **What happens next.** A slow or irrelevant landing page kills repeat scanning of every
   code you print thereafter.

## Measuring your own

Use [UTM parameters](/glossary/utm-parameter) and read your own analytics. Compare like for
like — same offer, different placement — and you will learn more in a fortnight than any
industry benchmark will tell you.