Generate Aztec codes online: the compact 2D matrix barcode used on boarding passes and rail tickets. Free, no signup, nothing uploaded. Type → instant barcode · nothing is uploaded
Aztec is a two-dimensional matrix symbology built around a concentric-square bullseye in the center. That finder pattern gives it a property no other 2D code has: it needs no quiet zone — the code can be printed edge-to-edge and still scan, which is why it fits on cramped tickets and wristbands. Data is layered outward from the center in up to 32 layers, with Reed–Solomon error correction woven in, so a code remains readable even when a corner is torn off.
Its best-known habitat is travel: most airline boarding passes worldwide carry an Aztec code under the IATA Bar Coded Boarding Pass standard, and many European rail operators and Apple Wallet passes use it for the same reason — high data density in a tiny square, readable from a phone screen at arm's length. It also appears on patient wristbands and parcel labels where space is tight.
QR codes win when the audience is the general public pointing phone cameras — every camera app reads QR natively, while Aztec support depends on the scanning app. Aztec wins when the receiving scanner is controlled (an airport gate, a rail validator) and space or print quality is constrained. If your use case is a URL or contact card for strangers' phones, use the QR/vCard page; if a spec says Aztec, nothing else will do.
Up to about 3,832 digits, 3,067 letters or 1,914 bytes in the largest 32-layer symbol. Typical tickets hold a few hundred characters, which keeps the symbol small and fast to scan.
Some do, some do not — support varies by phone model and app. Boarding passes work because the airline's gate scanners and wallet apps are built for Aztec. For sharing with the general public, QR is the safer choice.
The symbol grows in layers with the amount of data. Shortening the text shrinks the code immediately — drop scheme prefixes like 'https://' where the reader can assume them.
The core patents were dedicated to the public domain, and ISO/IEC standardized the symbology (ISO/IEC 24778). You can generate and use Aztec codes freely, including commercially.
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