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Event QR Code Generator

Event QR code that drops into Apple Calendar and Google Calendar

Type the event title, start and end times, location and description. The generator builds an RFC 5545 ICS payload that iOS Camera and Android both add to the default calendar in a single tap.

Scan to add to calendar

What to encode

Style

Frame

  • Files never leave your device
  • Runs in your browser
  • Free, no signup

How it works

  1. 1

    Fill in the event details

    Title, start, end, location and description. Pick an IANA time zone for the venue.

  2. 2

    Check the encoded VEVENT

    We surface the RFC 5545 payload so you can verify TZID and times before printing.

  3. 3

    Download PNG or SVG

    PNG for digital invites and stories. SVG for posters, badges and stage backdrops.

What this event QR generator does

RFC 5545 ICS payload

Standards-compliant VEVENT block. Apple Calendar, Google Calendar and Outlook all parse the same QR.

IANA time zone support

Set TZID to America/New_York or Europe/London. Phones convert to local time automatically.

Recurring events ready

Add RRULE for weekly meetups or monthly events. Calendar apps add the full series in one tap.

Where this helps

Conference

Conference badges

2 cm QR on the lanyard. Encodes the keynote or the full schedule subscribe URL.

Live music

Concert and festival posters

3 to 4 cm QR with the gate-open time. Fans add the show to their calendar from the bus stop.

Webinar

Webinar landing pages

Page-embedded QR with the start time in UTC. Attendees in any zone see the right hour.

Open house

Open-house invitations

QR on the printed invite with the address as the LOCATION. Tap loads Maps when the event is open.

Sports

Sports fixture cards

Season fixture cards with one QR per match. Fans add their team's full schedule with one scan each.

Class

Recurring class schedules

RRULE encodes weekly Tuesday classes. Students add the series in one tap, not 12 individual taps.

Tips that help

  • 1

    Use full IANA zone names

    Set TZID to America/New_York, not EST. Abbreviations are ambiguous and land events an hour off.

  • 2

    UTC for global webinars

    Encode timestamps with a Z suffix. Phones in every zone convert to the right local time.

  • 3

    Keep RRULEs simple

    Weekly or monthly works on every scanner. Nested rules confuse some camera-integrated parsers.

  • 4

    Hold stage QRs for 15 seconds

    Audience cameras need time to lift, focus and capture. A 3-second flash is too short for back rows.

How to set up a calendar event QR that lands on the right day at the right time

An event QR is a printed shortcut for the moment a guest sees your poster and thinks 'I want to go'. The QR encodes a calendar event in the iCalendar format defined by RFC 5545. The phone parses it, opens the default calendar app and the event drops in. The hard part is the time zone, the recurrence rules and the placement on the print.

Set up the VEVENT payload

Every event QR encodes a `VEVENT` block inside a `VCALENDAR` wrapper. Required fields are `DTSTART`, `DTEND`, `SUMMARY` (the event title), `UID` (unique identifier) and `DTSTAMP` (creation time). Optional fields are `LOCATION`, `DESCRIPTION`, `URL` and `RRULE` for recurring events.

Event QR code that drops into Apple Calendar and Google Calendar

Use a full IANA time zone like `America/New_York`, not an abbreviation like `EST`. RFC 5545 names the `TZID` parameter as the canonical way to bind a time to a place. The full spec lives at RFC 5545 from the IETF.

For events happening at a fixed wall-clock time worldwide (a global webinar with a hard start), encode in UTC with a `Z` suffix on the timestamps. Phones convert to local time automatically, so guests in Tokyo and Lisbon both see the right hour without you generating per-zone QRs.

Where to print the event QR

Flyers and posters in physical spaces: 3 to 4 cm QR with the event date and headline above it. Caption the QR with `Scan to add to calendar`. The headline carries the brand and the QR carries the action; both belong on the same panel.

Conference badges and wristbands: 2 cm QR sized for badge-at-reading-distance scanning. The QR can encode the full schedule subscribe URL or a single keynote event. Pair it with a printed program for guests who prefer paper.

Stage backdrops and screens: 15 to 20 cm QR for the audience at the back to scan. Hold the slide for at least 15 seconds so phones at the back rows can lift, focus and capture. A 3-second flash is too short for most camera setups.

Read more

What to print around the QR

Event name, date, time, location, QR, caption. The name and date sit at the top in display type. The QR sits centred. The caption goes underneath: `Scan to add to your calendar`. Time zone and venue confirm what the QR will deliver.

Include a URL fallback in plain text under the QR. Some guests prefer to type the URL into a laptop; others have older phones without camera-integrated QR scanning. A short URL like `event.com/calendar` works as a third channel for guests who skip the QR.

Keep the QR on a clean white panel with four-module quiet zones. Posters with photo backgrounds bleeding behind the QR cause autofocus to lock on the photo instead of the QR pattern. Give the QR its own small white island in the layout.

Common mistakes that send the event to the wrong hour

Floating time without a TZID. The QR encodes `DTSTART:20260615T190000` without a zone. The phone interprets that in whatever zone the device is set to, which is rarely the venue's zone. Always set `TZID=...` or use UTC with a `Z` suffix.

Abbreviated time zone names. `EST` is ambiguous (Eastern Standard Time in the US, but also Eastern Standard Time in Australia). Always use the full IANA name like `America/New_York` so the phone knows exactly which zone to apply.

Stuffing a full festival lineup into one QR. Camera scanners often add only the first event in a multi-event payload. For schedules longer than one event, point the QR at a hosted ICS subscribe URL so the calendar app pulls the full series.

Frequently asked questions

Honest answers to what people ask before using this tool.

A calendar event in the iCalendar (ICS) format, defined by RFC 5545. The QR carries a `VEVENT` block with start time, end time, title, location and description. Modern iOS Camera and Android scanners parse the block and offer to add the event to the phone's default calendar. The same payload works in Apple Calendar, Google Calendar and Outlook without conversion or extra apps.

Yes for both. iOS Camera detects a `VEVENT` payload and prompts to add it to Apple Calendar. Android with Google Lens or the camera-integrated scanner does the same for Google Calendar. The event keeps its time zone, title, location and description fields. Recurring rules (`RRULE`) work too, though most camera scanners only preview the first instance before adding the full series.

RFC 5545 supports both floating (no time zone) and zoned (`TZID`) times. For an event happening at a fixed wall-clock time everywhere in the world, use UTC with a `Z` suffix. For an event tied to a venue, use a `TZID` like `America/New_York` so the phone shows the right local time regardless of where the guest scans from. Mismatched zones are the most common reason events land an hour off.

Yes. Add an `RRULE` line like `RRULE:FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=TU` for every Tuesday. Calendar apps will add the full recurring series. Camera scanners preview the first occurrence before confirming. Keep recurring rules simple; complex nested rules confuse some scanners and the user ends up with one-off events instead of the series. For multi-pattern events, link to a hosted ICS file instead of encoding everything inline.

Depends on placement. On a flyer or poster at arm's length, 3 cm minimum. On a conference badge or wristband, 2 cm with the badge held at reading distance. On a stage backdrop scanned from the audience, 15 to 20 cm so attendees at the back rows can lock focus. The 10:1 distance rule is a useful guide: the QR side length should be one-tenth of the typical scan distance.

If the event has strong branding (a festival mark, a conference logo), centring the logo at 20% of the QR width helps recognition. The generator flips error correction to H so the cutout fits inside the scan headroom. Skip the logo for short-life prints like one-off staff training notices; a plain QR keeps generation fast and prints cleanly at any size without the contrast checks a logo demands.

An ICS QR adds the event directly from the camera scan. A URL QR opens a webpage where the guest taps a download button to add the event. ICS is one tap fewer and works offline. URL is better when the event page has other content (speakers, map, tickets) the guest should see first. Pick ICS for save-the-date moments and URL for full event landing pages.

Yes. Put the join link (Zoom, Meet, Teams) in the `URL` field of the VEVENT block. Calendar apps show the link inside the event invitation, so the guest taps once to join when the time arrives. Add the same link in the description for older calendar clients that ignore the `URL` field. Set the location to `Virtual` or the platform name so the calendar entry self-identifies at a glance.

Time zone mismatch is the cause nine times out of ten. The QR encoded a floating time but the phone interpreted it in the device zone, or the `TZID` did not match an IANA-recognised zone like `Europe/London`. Always use a full IANA zone name and verify on a test phone in a different city before printing. The payload readout shows the encoded time so you can compare against the venue's local time.

Technically yes (multiple `VEVENT` blocks inside a single `VCALENDAR`), but camera scanners often add only the first one. For a multi-event series, encode the first event in the QR and point the description at a hosted ICS file with the full series. Conference schedules and festival lineups belong on a hosted page or a calendar subscribe URL, not stuffed into one image.

Further reading

Independent references if you want to go deeper on the formats and tradeoffs.

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