When comparing Barcode Scanner (ZXing) vs QR Code Reader, the Slant community recommends QR Code Reader for most people. In the question“What are the best QR and bar code scanners for Android?” QR Code Reader is ranked 2nd while Barcode Scanner (ZXing) is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose QR Code Reader is:
This is a free app with no ads.
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Pros
Pro Keeps history of scanned codes
You can keep a history of every code scanned, or just the ones that you've scanned more than once.
Pro Can generate QR codes for apps, bookmarks, contacts, and clipboard data
Pro Auto-use Flash
Can turn on from settings to turn on the Flash light automatically.
Pro Supports Wi-Fi QR codes
Can be generated on https://zxing.appspot.com/generator/
Pro Open source
Barcode Scanner is an open source project and the Github repository can be seen here.
Pro Automatically open webpage when scanned
Pro Long history and strong support
Pro Free and no ads
This is a free app with no ads.
Pro Seamless scanning
Just point the camera at what you need to scan, and it's done. No need to take a picture, or press any extra buttons. If the QR code contains a URL or a text file, it will be opened automatically. For contact info, like emails and phone numbers, you will be prompted to choose the right action.
Pro Great for scanning product barcodes
QR Code reader recognizes most popular barcode formats, including UPC, EAN, and ISBN. It will show you the price of the product, online reviews, and other info it can gather.
Pro Recognizes many formats of QR labels
This app easily handles different QR formats, including encoded website URLs, email addresses, phone numbers, SMS, and product bar codes.
Cons
Con Bad design
Con Slow
Con Collects a lot of private data
This app requires a lot of permissions to run: your location, photos and other media, Wi-Fi connection.
Con Requires newer phones to scan barcodes
To be able to scan a barcode, you need a smartphone with a good camera resolution.
