Barcode generator tool
Generate a barcode
15 formats, live preview, and a real bulk mode for generating many at once.
1. Select a format
Choose the format that matches your use case.
Retail & POS
Logistics
Industrial
GS1 / Supply Chain
Publishing
2. Enter data
Standard retail product barcode (12 digits + check)
Example: 5901234123457
3. Customize
Preview
Your barcode appears here
Updates automatically as you type
EAN-13 — format info
Character set
Numeric only
Data length
12–13 chars
Use case
Standard retail product barcode (12 digits + check)
Which format should I use?
- Retail / grocery: EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E
- Shipping / logistics: Code 128, ITF-14, GS1-128
- Inventory / internal: Code 39, Code 93, Code 128
- Healthcare: Pharmacode, Code 128
- Books / publishing: ISBN-13 (EAN-13)
- URLs / mobile scanning: use the QR Code Generator instead
Which format do you actually need?
Match the format to where it gets scanned, not to whichever one looks most familiar.
| Your scenario | Use this format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Product on a retail shelf, sold outside North America | EAN-13 | The global retail standard most supermarket and marketplace scanners expect by default. |
| Product sold in a US or Canadian store, including Target and Walmart | UPC-A | The North American retail standard. Large retailers enforce it as part of vendor compliance, alongside a correctly registered GTIN. |
| A small package with no room for a full-size barcode | EAN-8 or UPC-E | Compact versions of EAN-13 and UPC-A built specifically for lipstick tubes, candy, and other small packaging. |
| Shipping label, inventory tag, or hospital wristband | Code 128 | The most flexible 1D format — it encodes full ASCII text, not just digits, and reads reliably at high density. |
| Outer shipping carton or corrugated box | ITF-14 | Thick, high-tolerance bars that stay readable even on rough cardboard printing. |
| Internal inventory system with no external compliance requirement | Code 39 or Code 128 | No registration needed. You define the data; the format just needs to encode it reliably. |
| A URL or link someone scans with a phone | QR Code (not a 1D barcode) | 1D formats need a dedicated scanner. A phone camera reads a QR code directly — use the QR Code Generator for this instead. |
Software, an app, or a browser tool — what's actually different
People search for barcode "software" and barcode "app" expecting different things. Here's what each actually means in practice, stated plainly.
Desktop barcode software
Installed on one machine, often licensed per seat. Powerful for high-volume label printing with a physical label printer, but it's a real install and often a real cost.
A dedicated barcode app
Convenient on a single phone, but usually built for scanning rather than generating, and rarely gives you full control over bar width, quiet zone, or export format.
This tool
Nothing to install, works on any device with a browser, and covers 15 formats with full style control and a bulk mode, all for free.
Print size and quality, by the actual standard
A barcode that's too small, or missing its quiet zone, is the single most common reason a scan fails at checkout.
EAN-13 minimum size
37.29mm wide by 25.93mm tall at 100% magnification. Scale up for shelf-edge labels and outer packaging.
Code 128 bar height
Minimum 6.35mm. Taller bars give scanners more area to read and improve first-pass success.
Quiet zones
Blank space on both sides equal to at least 10 times the narrow bar width — not optional, and not decorative.
File format for print
Always SVG for anything going to a printer. It's vector, so it renders sharp at any physical size.
Five mistakes that get a barcode rejected
Almost all of them show up after printing, not before.
Assuming any 13-digit number makes a valid EAN-13
The 13th digit is a calculated check digit, not an arbitrary number. A barcode with the wrong check digit either fails to scan or scans as different, wrong data.
Let the generator calculate the check digit for you — enter the first 12 digits and the tool handles the rest.
Downloading PNG for something going to a commercial printer
PNG is a fixed-resolution raster image. Scaling it up for a large label or carton print introduces visible pixelation that can make bars unreadable.
Always download SVG for print. It's vector, so it stays crisp at any physical size.
Shrinking the quiet zone to fit more on a label
The blank margin on either side of a barcode isn't decorative — scanners use it to know where the code starts and ends. Too little quiet zone causes misreads or false rejections.
Keep at least 10 times the narrow bar width as blank margin on both sides, per GS1's published specification.
Using Code 128 for a retail product barcode
Code 128 is flexible but isn't what retail point-of-sale scanners are configured to expect at checkout. A perfectly valid Code 128 barcode can still get rejected at a register that's only set up for EAN/UPC.
Match the format to where it will actually be scanned: EAN/UPC for retail checkout, Code 128 for internal or logistics use.
Skipping GS1 registration for a product going into real retail distribution
An unregistered barcode number can collide with someone else's product. Major retailers verify GTIN ownership before accepting inbound inventory.
If the product is genuinely going to retail or a marketplace like Amazon, register through GS1. For internal or prototype use, a self-assigned number is fine.
Do you need to register a barcode?
It depends entirely on where the barcode is going, not on the format itself.
Selling through real retail stores or major marketplaces like Amazon or Walmart typically requires a legitimate Global Trade Item Number issued by GS1, which means a paid GS1 membership. The prefix in that number tells retailers who manufactured the product and guarantees it's globally unique.
For internal use, inventory tracking, warehouse racking, document labeling, or any private system, no registration is required. The data is yours to assign however your own workflow needs it.
Tools that pair well with a barcode
A barcode rarely stands alone in a real workflow.
QR Code Generator
For a URL, WiFi network, or contact card that a phone camera scans directly.
Barcode Scanner
Test a barcode you just generated by scanning it back, straight from a photo or your camera.
URL Shortener
Shorten a link before encoding it, so the resulting QR code stays simple and scans faster.
Questions people ask before generating a barcode
Direct answers on formats, bulk generation, registration, and how this compares to other tools.
Yes. No account, no subscription, no per-download fee, and no watermark on anything you export, whether it's one barcode or a full bulk batch.
Yes — this runs entirely in your browser. There's nothing to install, unlike desktop barcode software or a dedicated mobile app.
No. Barcode symbologies like EAN-13 and Code 128 are fixed, published standards — the bar pattern for a given value is exact and deterministic, not something a machine-learning model infers. This tool encodes your data directly using the open-source JsBarcode library, so the same input always produces the exact same, correct barcode.
Adobe doesn't have a dedicated barcode generator, but Illustrator plugins and Creative Cloud workflows exist for barcode creation, typically requiring a paid subscription and design software installed. This is a free, single-purpose browser tool: no subscription, no software, no design skills required.
Yes. Turn on Bulk Mode, then paste a column of values from a spreadsheet straight into the rows, one per line. Every value generates using the same format and style settings, and downloads in a single click.
Select UPC-A for the standard North American retail format, encoding 11 digits plus an automatically calculated check digit. Use UPC-E instead if the package is too small for a full UPC-A barcode.
Code 128 can encode a URL as plain text, but a 1D barcode like that needs a dedicated barcode scanner, not a phone camera. If the goal is for people to scan a link with their phone, use the QR Code Generator instead — that's what QR codes are actually built for.
Only if you're selling through real retail channels or major marketplaces, which typically require a GTIN registered through GS1. For internal inventory, warehouse tracking, or any private system, you can assign your own numbers with no registration required.
This tool isn't tied to any specific inventory platform, which makes it flexible for exactly that use: pick Code 128 or Code 39, encode your own internal SKU or asset ID, and print labels for shelves, bins, or equipment without registering anything.
Generate your first barcode
No signup. No watermark. Bulk mode included.