The price anchor
| Scantrail | QR Tiger | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $0 — no subscription | $15/mo |
| Annual | $0 after purchase | $180 |
| 5-year total | $69 | $900 |
| 10-year total | $69 | $1,800 |
Subscription figures from the vendor's published pricing ($15/mo, ~$180/yr); the Scantrail column is the full price, paid once.
Break-even analysis
Under five months of QR Tiger pays for Scantrail — and your printed codes can never be held hostage again.
- After 1 year: Scantrail has cost you $69 total — QR Tiger has cost $180.
- After 3 years: Scantrail is still $69 — the subscription is at $540.
- After 5 years: Scantrail is still $69 — the subscription is at $900.
What you get for $69 once
- Dynamic codes. The QR encodes /q/your-slug on your domain and 302-redirects to an editable destination. Reprint nothing, ever.
- Scan analytics. Total + unique scans, scans-over-time chart, device/OS/browser breakdown, country, hour-of-day heatstrip and a recent-scan log.
- Every QR type you need. URL (dynamic + tracked), vCard (serves a .vcf download, also tracked), WiFi, plain text, email and phone.
- Design studio. Foreground/background colors, square / rounded / dots module styles, error-correction level, center logo upload, live preview.
- Print-ready export. PNG at 512 / 1024 / 2048 / 4096 px and true vector SVG.
- No renewal, ever. The license does not expire and there is no per-seat meter — $69 is the whole price.
Pricing questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — MIT source at github.com/bensblueprints/qr-tracker-mvp. $69 buys the signed installer, 1-click setup and updates.
Why do dynamic codes need a server?
Because the QR encodes a URL on your domain that redirects to the real destination — that's what makes it editable after printing. A $5 VPS covers it; desktop mode is fine for designing, testing and static codes.
What happens to my codes if I stop using Scantrail?
Nothing — they point at your domain, not ours. As long as your server answers, every printed code keeps working. That's the whole difference from hosted services, where codes die with your plan.
How does country tracking work?
It reads Cloudflare's free CF-IPCountry header — put free Cloudflare in front of your VPS and country analytics appear. Without it, country data degrades gracefully to unknown. No paid geo API.
Scantrail — $69, one time
Or get Scantrail plus every other app in the suite: the OneTimeSuite bundle is currently $97, one time.