Barcodes Vs QR Codes

At first glance looking at barcodes vs QR codes, the differences between a QR code and a barcode might not seem much. They look similar, with maybe just the shape being different. However, there are several crucial differences between QR codes and barcodes. In fact, their very purpose and uses are very different from each other. One cannot be swapped out for the other.

Here are some basic differences between the two.

 

A single barcode cannot be used on different products or product variants.A single QR code can be used on any number of products or product variants.

 

 

BARCODE	QR CODE
The retail barcode is usually scanned by retailers to retrieve product information such as pricing, product name etc.. at the point of checkout.	A QR code can be scanned by anyone with a phone app to retrieve information encrypted in it.
A barcode cannot hold product or any other information in itself.	A QR code can hold information in itself. It can be used to link to a website URL or to contain company or product information.
It stores information horizontally.	It stores information horizontally and vertically.
A barcode is represented in the form of bars and spaces of varying width which can be read with an optical barcode scanner.	QR codes are based on the Morse code.
Retail barcodes are mandatory on any product being sold in the market.	QR codes are not mandatory.
Retail barcodes are 1D barcodes.	These are 2D Barcodes.
A single barcode cannot be used on different products or product variants.	A single QR code can be used on any number of products or product variants if required.

 

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