Both a PDF menu and a proper web page work behind a QR code — but they fail in different ways, and picking wrong causes real frustration for hungry customers.
Where a PDF menu falls short
A PDF designed for A4 printing forces guests to pinch-zoom repeatedly on a phone screen — readable text becomes tiny, and scrolling sideways on a phone is genuinely annoying. It also can't adapt: the same cramped layout regardless of screen size.
Where a simple web page wins
A basic web page (even a single simple page, no ordering system required) reflows to fit any phone screen automatically, loads faster on average, and lets you update a price or mark an item sold out without reprinting anything or replacing a file.
When a PDF still makes sense
If you already have a nicely designed printable menu and building a web page feels like too much extra work, a PDF is still far better than nothing — just make sure it's the text-readable print file, not a giant image scan of a printed page, which is nearly unreadable zoomed in on mobile.
The QR code itself doesn't care
Technically, our website QR generator works identically whether the link points to a PDF or an HTML page — this decision is entirely about what happens after the scan, not about the QR code itself.