Barcodes are everywhere. Be it your favorite candy bar, clothing brand, or your favorite author, one thing common with all these items is certainly the cryptic-looking barcode on the packaging. Barcodes have become so ubiquitous that almost everyone is familiar with the process of scanning them in SMS text, calendar events, email, etc to retrieve the stored information.
Both Android and iPhones have built-in QR code reader capabilities with the native camera app. But if you feel they are too obscure or not robust enough to fulfill your needs, you might look for third-party QR/barcode reader apps. For some users, the built-in mobile scanners are not fast and reliable enough to get instant and accurate results.
Hence, the following eight apps come to the rescue. They are among the most functional and popular solutions available for scanning barcodes on iPhone/iPad. So, without further ado, let’s review them & check their capabilities.
8 Best QR And Barcode Scanner For iPhone (2023)
All these best free QR and Barcode reader apps for iPhone are widely used in both the commercial and industrial sectors.
1. QR Reader for iPhone
| USP: Capable of scanning in low lighting, glare or warped surfaces. |
| Price: Free, In-app purchases start from $0.99 |
| Download Now! |
QR Reader for iPhone is one of the best free QR and barcode reader apps for iPhone to use in 2023. The app can also be used as a PDF scanner, puzzle scanner, database scanner, and business card scanner. You can use the app to browse products, coupons, and deals. It receives frequent updates to enhance user experience.
Key Highlights:
- Robust auto-detect scanning capabilities. Just point, hold & it’s done!
- Allows you to create your own QR codes and export them as PNG or SVG.
- Ability to send barcodes to a server/API.
- Comes with an NFC Scanner, which is compatible with NFC devices.
2. Scandit Barcode Scanner
| USP: Supports scanning multiple barcodes at the same time. |
| Price: Free |
| Download Now! |
Scandit is an advanced iOS scanning application that enables smart devices to flawlessly interact with everyday items by capturing the data from associated barcodes, texts & IDs. The app is capable of capturing data from almost all types of barcodes & even sharing the barcode format after scanning it.
Key Highlights:
- Advanced capabilities to scan a barcode from over two meters away & in low light.
- Supports optical character recognition with built-in Scandit OCR.
- Uses AR to show all the additional information present on the top of barcodes.
- Highly optimized barcode scanner for enterprise use cases in Retail or Industrial scenarios.
3. QR Code & Barcode Scanner
| USP: Get information by adding custom website links into the barcode search. |
| Price: Free, Pro version starts from $3.99 |
| Download Now! |
Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, QR Code & Barcode Scanner is another terrific application you can use for scanning, creating & sharing your own codes. The application supports scanning both QR and Barcodes to open URLs, add events, read VCards, connect to Wi-Fi, make payments, and so on.
Key Highlights:
- Ability to generate a QR code from within Safari to share a website URL.
- Useful barcode scanner app for managing inventory on iPhone with business scanner mode.
- Multilingual & lightweight barcode scanner app for iPhone.
- Keep your scanning history synchronized via iCloud across all Apple devices.
4. Barcode to Sheet
| USP: Effortless barcode scanner app for managing inventory on iPhone. |
| Price: Free, Pro version starts at $1.99 |
| Download Now! |
Barcode to Sheet is one of the most advanced QR and barcode scanners for iPhone to use in 2023. It lets you scan the codes and keep the data on the sheet in different ways. It’s a fantastic application for people who run small businesses & often feels the need to enter and update information about their products and services.
Key Highlights:
- Inventory & Warehouse Management, to keep track of your inventory and logistics.
- Attendance Management, to scan & keep a record of attendees in schools & meetings.
- Library Management, to scan & keep a record of books present in the library & update their quantity.
- Compatible with languages like English, French, Russian & Spanish.
5. Quick Scan – QR Code Reader
| USP: Scan contacts’ QR code & add them to Address Book in a few seconds. |
| Price: Free barcode reader for iOS |
| Download Now! |
As the name entails, Quick Scan – QR Code Reader is one of the quickest QR code Readers designed for iPhone users. It holds the ability to decode almost all types of QR codes for websites, text messages, emails, calendar events, locations, plain text, contacts, and whatnot. It can keep unlimited storage of scan history, allowing you to access them anytime you want.
Key Highlights:
- Save useful and favorite QR codes separately.
- Supports scanning barcodes from photos saved in your gallery.
- Share QR codes by email and text message.
- Rapidly performs all the actions related to your QR code without quitting the app.
6. Barcode Scanner – QR Scanner
| USP: Supports flashlight so that you can scan codes even in dark environments. |
| Price: Free, Pro version – $2.99 |
| Download Now! |
Barcode Scanner – QR Scanner is lightning fast and supports scanning all sorts of QR codes and product barcodes without any hiccups. It redirects you instantly to decoded web addresses. It has a clean and easy-to-use interface and is compatible with a variety of languages like English, French, Russian, Spanish, etc.
Key Highlights:
- One of the fastest barcode reader apps I’ve ever come across.
- QR Code Generator to create custom codes for URLs, Calendar Events, phone numbers,
- Save scan codes to access them later or share them via SMS, Email, Facebook, or Twitter.
- Ability to track all scanning history and access it later whenever required.
7. ShopSavvy – Barcode Scanner
| USP: Has a huge database of 70,000 retailers so that you can grab the best deal & offer. |
| Price: Free, Pro version starts at $1.99 |
| Download Now! |
When you want to grab the best deal or offer, use the ShopSavvy – Barcode Scanner and scan any item’s barcode to compare the best prices across the app’s database of retailers. With this free barcode scanner app for iPhone, you can also review customers and read comprehensive product details.
Key Highlights:
- Create and share the list of compared products with your friends & family members.
- Works automatically as soon as you visit the product pages of any retailer.
- Compare important details like arrival date, price, estimated shipping cost,
- Enter a postal code in Options to explore items’ prices, available at nearby stores.
8. QR Code Reader – QuickMark Barcode Scanner
| USP: Supports continuous bulk scanning. (Feature available with in-app purchases) |
| Price: Free, In-app purchase – $1.99 |
| Download Now! |
QR Code Reader – QuickMark Barcode Scanner is a simple yet powerful code reader and generator to use in 2023. It supports the following barcode formats: 2D barcodes (QR Code, Data Matrix & Quick Code) and 1D barcodes (EAN8/13 (Products, Books), Code 39 (Bills), and Code 128 (Packages).
Key Highlights:
- Using the app is effortless, just locate the barcode within the camera viewfinder & read its content.
- Supports accessing a web link, directly making a phone call, sending email, adding a contact,
- Ability to export the scan history in CSV format & save it on the cloud – Dropbox.
- Shows you the number of times a URL or Product Barcode is scanned.
Bottom Line
This is a comprehensive list of QR and barcode reader applications, whether you’re an inventory handler or simply like to capture and read important details of a product or event. Our personal recommendation would be QR Reader for iPhone. As it not only allows scanning QR codes & barcodes but also turns your iPhone into a complete digital scanner to scan documents, contacts, puzzles, and whatnot.
In the end, you can select any of these 8 best barcode scanner apps for iPhone, depending on your scope of use.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1. How do I use a barcode scanner on my iPhone?
To use the built-in camera to read a barcode or QR code, this is what you need to do:
- Simply open the Camera app & position your device accordingly, so that the code appears on the screen.
- Hit the pop-up that appears on the screen to navigate to the results.
Q2. How do I scan a barcode to my iPhone with the Control Center?
Here’s another method to scan a QR or Barcode using Control Center, follow the steps below:
- Launch Settings & navigate to the Control Center.
- Tap Code Scanner & position your device accordingly, so that the code appears on the screen.
- Tap on the notification that appears on the screen and navigates to the results
Q3. Are there any free barcode scanner apps for iPhone?
Yes, there are a couple of the best barcode reader apps that are available for free of cost without any in-app purchases:
- Scandit Barcode Scanner
- Quick Scan – QR Code Reader
- Barcode Scanners by Cognex Corporation