---
title: "What are the best Flowcode alternatives?"
description: "The best Flowcode alternatives compared from each vendor's own pages: Hovercode, QR TIGER, Uniqode, Bitly, QR Code Generator PRO and Linkbreakers. Prices, dynamic QR code limits, scan analytics, API and MCP, and what happens to printed codes when you stop paying."
canonical: "https://linkbreakers.com/help/article/best-flowcode-alternatives"
last-updated: 2026-10-26
---

# What are the best Flowcode alternatives?

> The best Flowcode alternatives compared from each vendor's own pages: Hovercode, QR TIGER, Uniqode, Bitly, QR Code Generator PRO and Linkbreakers. Prices, dynamic QR code limits, scan analytics, API and MCP, and what happens to printed codes when you stop paying.

## Short answer

The best Flowcode alternative depends on why you are leaving. Today Flowcode's Free plan allows 2 Flowcodes with analytics for the first 500 scans, Pro Plus costs $25 a month billed yearly or $60 month to month for 50 codes, and its API starts on Growth at $250 a month, billed yearly only. Six alternatives cover the usual reasons to switch:

- **Hovercode**, for dynamic QR codes that stay free: its Free plan keeps 3 dynamic codes active for good, with unlimited scans. Paid plans start at $12 a month.
- **QR TIGER**, for the lowest paid entry price: $7 a month, or $65 a year, for 12 dynamic codes with unlimited scans. Its codes stop working when the plan expires.
- **Uniqode**, for larger and regulated teams: plans from $9 a month (15 dynamic codes) up to Business+ with lifetime analytics, compliance and API rate limits up to 100 requests per second. Billing is yearly only, and there is a 14-day trial instead of a free dynamic plan.
- **Bitly**, for short links, QR codes and landing pages in one account: from $10 a month billed yearly. Codes on bit.ly keep working after a downgrade.
- **QR Code Generator PRO**, for print and packaging marketers who want many QR code types: from $9.99 a month billed yearly, after a 14-day trial.
- **Linkbreakers**, when a scan should do more than redirect: a form, routing by device or country, and the visitor sent on to your CRM through webhooks, the API or an MCP server, all on the Free plan. Printed codes keep redirecting after a paid plan ends.

Every price and limit on this page was read on the vendor's own pricing, help center or terms page on 2026-10-26, and each is linked in Sources. Prices are in US dollars, before tax. Linkbreakers is our product, so its row comes from our pricing catalog and our own code.

## Flowcode today: what you are comparing against

| Flowcode plan | Price | Flowcodes | Scan analytics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Up to 2 | First 500 scans |
| Pro Plus | $25 a month billed yearly, $60 month to month | Up to 50 codes and landing pages | First 6,000 scans, 3 seats |
| Growth | $250 a month, annual only | From 150 codes and landing pages | First 10,000 scans, with geo-location; CRM integrations and API access |
| Growth Plus | Usage based | Tiered | Real-time analytics and custom dashboards |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | Unlimited |

Three details matter when you compare:

- **Scans never stop, analytics do.** Every plan reads "Always scan" for lifetime scans. The analytics cap is not per code: Flowcode's help center says it "pertains to all Flowcodes in your account".
- **Its own documents disagree about cancelling.** The help article on cancelling says that after a downgrade "all other codes left in your account will continue to scan and direct users to the destination you specified". Flowcode's Terms of Use say codes above the Free plan's threshold "will be archived and re-directed to flowcode.com or another location of our choosing", without analytics. If your print is long-lived, plan on the terms, not the help article.
- **Contact cards exist, business cards are Enterprise beta.** A Flowcode can open a vCard. Digital business cards are a beta for Enterprise accounts, opened on 2026-07-02.

### A Flowcode MCP server exists, undocumented

On 2026-10-26 we sent an MCP `initialize` request to `https://mcp.flowcode.com/mcp`. It answered `401` with an OAuth bearer challenge, and its OAuth metadata names `https://mcp.flowcode.com/` as issuer, with dynamic client registration. Nothing on flowcode.com documents it, so which plans can use it and what its tools do is not published. Bitly, Hovercode, QR TIGER, Uniqode and Linkbreakers all document theirs.

## Comparison: prices, codes and analytics

| Tool | Free plan | Paid plans: month to month / billed yearly (per month) | Dynamic QR codes per plan | Scan analytics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flowcode | 2 Flowcodes, analytics for 500 scans | Pro Plus $60 / $25. Growth $250, yearly only. Growth Plus usage based. Enterprise custom | 2 / 50 / from 150 / unlimited | Capped per account at 500, 6,000 and 10,000 scans; unlimited on Enterprise |
| Hovercode | 3 dynamic codes in total, unlimited scans, no ads | Pro $12 or $120 a year. Business $39 or $390 a year. Business Plus $99 or $990 a year | 3 in total / 100 in total / 600 a month / 2,000 a month | Free: total and unique scans, 3 months of history. Pro adds time, device, browser, city and country, 12 months. Business: unlimited history |
| QR TIGER | 3 dynamic codes, 500 scans each, QR TIGER logo popup | Regular $7 or $65 a year. Advanced $16, Premium $37 and Professional $89 a month billed yearly | 3 / 12 / 200 / 600 / 1,200 | Basic on Free; paid plans add time, location, device OS and a GPS heat map. Retention not published |
| Uniqode | Static codes only; 14-day trial, no card | Yearly only: Essential $9, Core $49, Plus $99, Business+ $399 a month | 15 / 250 / 500 / 2,000 | Essential: total and unique scans. Time, location, device and CSV export from Core. Kept 60 days, 90 days, 180 days, lifetime |
| Bitly | 2 QR codes a month, with ads, destination cannot be changed | Core $10, yearly only. Growth $35 / $29. Premium $300 / $199 | 2 / 5 / 10 / 200 created a month | No data history on Free; 30 days, 120 days, 1 year. City and device data on Premium |
| QR Code Generator PRO | None; 14-day trial, no card | Starter $19.99 / $9.99. Advanced $18.99 and Professional $49.99 a month billed yearly | 2 (10,000 scans) / 50 / 250 | Scans over time, OS, country and city, unique scans, CSV. Retention not published |
| Linkbreakers | $0, no card: credits for 5 new links a month, 500 tracked journeys a month | Light $7.90 / $5.90. Pro $34.90 / $24.90, 14-day trial. Enterprise on usage | Every link is a dynamic QR code; credits pay for 5 / 30 / 250 new links a month | Time, device, location, the visitor and their form answers. Kept 2 weeks, 3 months, 2 years |

## Comparison: printed codes, API and MCP

| Tool | Printed codes when you stop paying | API | MCP server |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flowcode | Help center: they "continue to scan". Terms: codes above the Free threshold can be "archived and re-directed to flowcode.com or another location of our choosing" | Growth and Enterprise | Live but undocumented (our test above) |
| Hovercode | First 3 dynamic codes stay active; the rest become inactive, not deleted, and come back if you subscribe again. Codes on a custom domain stop working | Business and up: 120 reads and 60 writes a minute. Scan webhooks on Business Plus | Yes, documented at hovercode.com/mcp/docs |
| QR TIGER | "If your plan expires, it will stop working." Free codes stop at 500 scans | Regular 500, Advanced 3,000, Premium 10,000 requests a month | Yes, at `qrtiger.com/mcp`, on Professional and Enterprise |
| Uniqode | "Dynamic QR codes stop working on your renewal date", and when a trial expires | Core and up: 10 requests a second and 250,000 a month on Core | Yes, a Claude connector on Plus and up |
| Bitly | "Your bit.ly links continue to work after you downgrade", and QR codes behave the same. Links on a complimentary domain stop when its registration expires | 1,000 requests a month on Free, up to 50,000 on Premium | Yes, hosted. Bitly's MCP page says no extra subscription; its support article says some paid plans |
| QR Code Generator PRO | Keep redirecting to the end of the paid period plus 30 days, then go to "a service page". After a trial, deactivated | Advanced 3,000 and Professional 10,000 requests a month, for static codes; a newer API is in preview | None found |
| Linkbreakers | Keep redirecting. The workspace returns to the Free plan | All plans: 250 calls a month on Free, 10,000 on Pro; 1 webhook on Free | Yes, hosted with OAuth, on the Free plan |

## Stay on Flowcode if...

- **You run TV or broadcast spots.** Flowcode has sold QR codes for TV since it introduced FlowcodeTV in 2020, and says it tested them on over 60 networks. None of the alternatives above has a TV-specific product.
- **You use Growth or Enterprise integrations.** CRM integrations, the API and Enterprise features such as SmartFlow and CDP connections are built around Flowcode's data; rebuilding them elsewhere costs time.
- **You have many printed codes you cannot reprint.** Your printed Flowcodes encode a Flowcode URL, and Flowcode's terms allow codes above the Free threshold to be archived after you downgrade. Staying can be cheaper than reprinting.
- **The analytics caps fit your volume.** If you stay under 6,000 scans across your account, Pro Plus at $25 a month billed yearly is a fair price for 50 codes with unlimited scans.

## How to choose

1. **How long will the print live?** For packaging, signs and anything printed in volume, read what happens when you stop paying before you print. Of the tools above, Bitly (on bit.ly), Hovercode (first 3 codes) and Linkbreakers keep codes redirecting without a subscription; QR TIGER, Uniqode and QR Code Generator PRO switch them off.
2. **How many codes, and how often?** Bitly and Linkbreakers allow a number of new codes per month; Hovercode's lower plans and the others count codes in total.
3. **Counts or people?** Most tools report scans: time, device, place. If you need to know who scanned, a form or another step has to sit between the scan and the destination.
4. **Does it need to reach your systems?** Check which plan opens the API, webhooks and MCP. On Flowcode it is Growth; on Hovercode, Business; on Uniqode, Core; on QR TIGER, MCP needs Professional.

## Where Linkbreakers fits, and where it does not

A Linkbreakers QR code runs a [workflow](/help/article/what-is-a-workflow-in-linkbreakers-and-how-it-powers-automation): it can show a form, route the visitor by device, country or time, ask for a password or open a contact card before the redirect, and post the visit to your endpoint as a [signed webhook](/help/article/how-do-webhooks-work-in-linkbreakers). The REST API, webhooks and the [MCP server](/help/article/mcp-server-setup) are on the Free plan.

**What happens when you stop paying, precisely.** When a paid subscription ends, the workspace returns to the Free plan. The service that answers a scan does not check the plan or the billing status, so every printed code keeps redirecting. A code stops only if its link is deleted or has an expiration date that has passed, or its workspace is deleted. The Free plan's limits apply from then on: visits beyond 500 tracked journeys a month still redirect and are still recorded, but stay locked until you upgrade. See [What happens when you reach your plan limits](/help/article/what-happens-when-you-reach-your-linkbreakers-plan-limits).

It is not the best fit if you need many codes for little money: QR TIGER and Hovercode include more codes per dollar on their entry plans. It has no TV-specific product. And on the Free plan, analytics are kept for 2 weeks.

## Moving away from Flowcode

No provider can take over a printed Flowcode: the image encodes a Flowcode URL. You have two options.

1. **Reprint** with codes from the new provider. Cleanest, and the only way to stop paying Flowcode for good.
2. **Route through, then retire.** While your Flowcode plan is active, change each Flowcode's destination to the new provider's link, so scans of the old print pass through the new tool's analytics and workflows. Keep the Flowcode plan until that print is gone, since its terms allow codes above the Free threshold to be archived once you downgrade.

## Limits and caveats

- **Prices change.** Everything here was read on 2026-10-26. Check the vendor's page before you buy.
- **Regional prices.** Bitly and Hovercode show other currencies or lower prices in some countries. The figures above are their US prices.
- **Vendors contradict themselves.** Flowcode's help center and terms disagree on cancelling; Bitly's MCP page and support article disagree on which plans get MCP; Uniqode's press release says its MCP connector manages QR codes, while its help article describes scan analytics.
- **Not every vendor publishes everything.** "Not published" means we could not find it on the vendor's own pages, not that it does not exist.
- **We make Linkbreakers.** We have tried to state each competitor's facts in its own words and link them so you can check.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the best free Flowcode alternative?

It depends on what free has to cover:

- Hovercode's Free plan keeps 3 dynamic codes active with unlimited scans and no expiry.
- Linkbreakers Free gives credits for 5 new links a month with 500 tracked journeys, plus the API, a webhook and the MCP server.
- QR TIGER's free codes stop after 500 scans each.
- Bitly's Free plan makes 2 QR codes a month, but you cannot change where they point.

### Do Flowcode codes stop working if I cancel?

Flowcode's help center says codes "continue to scan" after a downgrade, but its Terms of Use say codes above the Free plan's threshold can be archived and redirected to flowcode.com or elsewhere. Treat the terms as the binding text.

### Which Flowcode alternative is cheapest?

For a paid plan billed monthly, QR TIGER Regular at $7 a month for 12 dynamic codes. Billed yearly, QR TIGER Regular at $65 a year, then Linkbreakers Light at $5.90 a month and Uniqode Essential at $9 a month. Flowcode's cheapest paid plan is Pro Plus at $25 a month billed yearly.

### Which Flowcode alternatives have an MCP server for AI agents?

Bitly, Hovercode, QR TIGER (Professional and Enterprise), Uniqode (Plus and up, Claude only) and Linkbreakers (Free plan) all document one. Flowcode runs one at `mcp.flowcode.com` but does not document it.

### Can I move my existing Flowcodes to another platform?

Not the printed images. You can point each Flowcode at a link on the new platform while your Flowcode plan is active, then reprint over time, as described in "Moving away from Flowcode" above.

### Does Flowcode offer digital business cards?

A Flowcode can open a vCard contact card on any plan. Full digital business cards are an Enterprise beta. Linkbreakers has [contact cards](/help/article/how-to-create-contact-cards-vcard-in-linkbreakers) on every plan, including Free.

For a one-to-one comparison, see [Linkbreakers vs Flowcode](/help/article/linkbreakers-vs-flowcode-which-offers-better-tracking-customization-and-roi).

## Sources

All read on 2026-10-26.

- Flowcode: [pricing](https://www.flowcode.com/pricing), [scan data caps](https://help.flowcode.com/en/articles/8461766-flowcode-scan-data-caps-faqs), [what happens to my Flowcodes when I cancel](https://help.flowcode.com/en/articles/6927502-what-happens-to-my-flowcodes-when-i-cancel), [will my codes expire](https://help.flowcode.com/en/articles/7061611-will-my-codes-pages-expire), [Terms of Use](https://www.flowcode.com/terms/terms-of-use), [contact cards](https://help.flowcode.com/en/articles/7061661-how-to-make-a-flowcode-contact-card), [digital business cards beta](https://help.flowcode.com/enterprise/en/articles/10064207-digital-business-cards-beta-onboarding-guide), [FlowcodeTV](https://www.flowcode.com/blog/introducing-flowcode-tv)
- Hovercode: [pricing and FAQ](https://hovercode.com/pricing/), [API](https://hovercode.com/api/), [MCP server](https://hovercode.com/mcp/docs)
- QR TIGER: [pricing](https://www.qrcode-tiger.com/payment), [FAQ](https://www.qrcode-tiger.com/faq), [free plan](https://qrtiger.helpscoutdocs.com/article/201-is-using-qr-tiger-free), [MCP server](https://www.qrcode-tiger.com/mcp-server)
- Uniqode: [pricing](https://www.uniqode.com/pricing), [what happens to QR codes when you cancel or downgrade](https://docs.uniqode.com/en/articles/17190918), [plans and pricing](https://docs.uniqode.com/en/articles/17025518), [MCP setup](https://docs.uniqode.com/en/articles/15201266), [press release, 2026-07-30](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/uniqode-launches-una-an-ai-assistant-to-improve-qr-campaign-performance-302838490.html)
- Bitly: [pricing](https://bitly.com/pages/pricing), [what happens when I downgrade](https://support.bitly.com/hc/en-us/articles/360029870551), [MCP server](https://bitly.com/pages/ai/mcp), [MCP support article](https://support.bitly.com/hc/en-us/articles/44149601528205)
- QR Code Generator PRO: [pricing](https://www.qr-code-generator.com/pricing/), [cancelling a subscription](https://support.qr-code-generator.com/hc/en-us/articles/7665399659277), [when the trial expires](https://support.qr-code-generator.com/hc/en-us/articles/7665046137613)
- Linkbreakers: [pricing](/pricing), [plan limits](/help/article/what-happens-when-you-reach-your-linkbreakers-plan-limits), and the Linkbreakers api source for the redirect behaviour after a subscription ends
- Flowcode MCP endpoint: our own `initialize` request to `https://mcp.flowcode.com/mcp` and its `/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server` metadata, 2026-10-26

## Last reviewed

2026-10-26, against every vendor page listed above and the Linkbreakers pricing catalog.