QR Code vs Barcode
Traditional barcodes (like UPC/EAN codes on retail products) are one-dimensional — a single row of lines holding roughly 20-25 numeric characters. QR codes are two-dimensional, hold up to thousands of alphanumeric characters, and can be scanned from any angle rather than needing a straight-on pass.
The practical difference shows up immediately in what each can encode: a 1D barcode is essentially a lookup key (a product ID that a database looks up), while a QR code can carry the actual content — a full URL, a complete vCard, a Wi-Fi password — with no database lookup required.
1D barcodes still make sense for retail point-of-sale, where speed and a tiny print footprint matter more than data capacity. QR codes took over almost everywhere content needs to travel with the code itself: marketing, ticketing, payments, contact sharing.