Barcode Generator — Free Online

A free barcode generator for every common format

This barcode generator makes print-ready barcodes in eleven formats: Code 128, EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E, Code 39, ITF-14, Codabar, MSI, Pharmacode and ISBN. Pick a format, type your number or text, and the barcode is drawn instantly. It is free, with no sign-up and no watermark. Download high-resolution PNG, vector SVG or JPG files, or print directly from the page.

This online barcode generator works in your browser, so the numbers you type are never uploaded. That matters when you are labelling unreleased products or internal stock.

How to make barcode in four steps

Wondering how to generate barcodes for free? Four steps:

1. Choose the format. Not sure which? Use EAN-13 for retail products in India and Europe, UPC-A for the US and Canada, ISBN for books, and Code 128 for anything in-house (stock, shipping, asset tags).
2. Enter your data. Type the number or text. For EAN, UPC, ITF-14 and ISBN you can leave off the last digit — the check digit is calculated for you. If you type it, the tool validates it and tells you when it is wrong.
3. Adjust the look. Set bar width, height, margin, bar colour and background colour. Show or hide the human-readable text under the bars and change its font size.
4. Download or print. Save as PNG, SVG or JPG, or print the barcode directly.

The JPG option suits apps that only accept JPG; SVG is best for print. Need to run the barcode generator in bulk? The bulk barcode generator takes a list or a CSV file and makes up to 1000 barcodes at once, as a ZIP or an A4 label sheet.

What is barcode and how does it work?

A barcode is a pattern of dark bars and light spaces of different widths that stands for numbers or characters. A scanner shines light across it, measures the widths of the reflections and turns them back into text. Each format (symbology) has its own rules for which widths mean which character, plus start and stop patterns so the scanner knows where the code begins and ends.

How does a barcode generator work?

It simply applies those rules: it turns your input into the correct sequence of bars, adds the start, stop and check characters, and draws the image. It does not assign numbers, register products or connect to any database. What a product barcode means comes from the number itself — and, for retail, from the GS1 system that issued it.

What is barcode used for?

• Retail billing: every packaged product at a supermarket counter carries an EAN-13 or UPC-A.
• Books: the barcode on the back cover is the ISBN written as EAN-13.
• Warehouses and shipping: ITF-14 on outer cartons, Code 128 on courier and logistics labels.
• Inventory and assets: Code 128 or Code 39 on shelves, tools, laptops and files.
• Libraries, labs and pharmacies: Codabar, MSI and Pharmacode.

Barcode formats compared

Barcode generator Code 128 for numbers, text and names

Code 128 is the most flexible linear barcode. It holds letters, numbers and symbols, and packs digits tightly, so a long number still gives a compact barcode. With Code 128 selected, this handles numbers, letters and symbols — the barcode generator with text you need for roll numbers, file IDs and SKUs. If you want a barcode generator with name labels for staff badges or files, Code 128 handles that too. Every modern scanner reads it.

EAN 13 barcode generator — online, free, with check digit

In this barcode generator, EAN-13 is the default choice for retail packs. Our EAN 13 barcode generator, free and online, needs only 12 digits; it covers UPC and EAN-13 in one place, because both belong to the same GS1 system.

What is EAN 13 barcode?

EAN-13 (European Article Number, now called GTIN-13 by GS1) is the 13-digit barcode on retail products almost everywhere outside North America. The first two or three digits are the GS1 prefix of the organisation that issued the number — 890 for GS1 India. The prefix shows where the number was registered, not where the product was made. Next come the company prefix and the item reference, and the last digit is the check digit. So what is EAN 13 barcode used for? Billing: the shop's software looks up the number to find the product and its price.

EAN-13 check digit, explained

Take the first 12 digits. Multiply them alternately by 1 and 3 from the left, add the results, and find the number that brings the total up to the next multiple of 10. For the classic EAN-13 barcode example 400638133393, the weighted sum is 89, so the check digit is 1 and the full number is 4006381333931. You do not need to do this by hand — type 12 digits and the tool adds the thirteenth.

How to create EAN 13 barcode

Choose EAN-13, type your 12 or 13 digits from GS1, and set the height and bar width. You can create EAN 13 barcode online in seconds and download it straight away.

EAN 13 barcode size

At 100% (nominal) size, an EAN-13 symbol is about 37.29 mm wide and 25.93 mm tall including the number underneath. GS1 allows scaling roughly from 80% to 200%. Avoid cutting the height short (truncation) on retail packs, as it makes scanning harder. Download the SVG to generate EAN 13 barcode vector files your designer can place in Illustrator, CorelDRAW or InDesign at the exact size.

UPC-A vs EAN-13

In this barcode generator, UPC codes use 12 digits and are meant for the US and Canada. It is the same system: add a leading 0 to a UPC-A and you get a valid EAN-13. Checkout scanners worldwide read both.

Barcode generator, GS1 numbers and your products

This is the most important point on the page. A barcode generator for products creates the image of a barcode. It does not give you a number that shops will accept. Retail barcodes (EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E, ITF-14) must use numbers licensed from GS1 — in India, from GS1 India. You join, get a company prefix, and then assign your own numbers to each product and pack size. Even with a perfect image from a barcode generator, India's supermarkets and marketplaces check these numbers against GS1's database. If you are asking how to create barcode for product packaging that shops accept, start with GS1.

Are barcodes required by law? In India there is no general legal rule that every product must carry a barcode, but most supermarkets, modern retail chains and many online marketplaces require a valid GS1 barcode before they list your products. If you use a barcode generator for food products, the barcode sits alongside the labelling your product needs anyway (MRP, FSSAI details and so on).

Once you have your licensed numbers, generate the barcodes here for free.

Barcode generator with MRP — can a barcode show the price?

No — a retail barcode stores only the product number. The shop's billing software looks up the price. Print the MRP as text on the label. For your own shop, you can encode a SKU in Code 128 and link it to the price in your billing software.

ISBN barcode generator for books

Use this ISBN barcode generator online, with no sign-up. Choose ISBN and type your ISBN-10 or ISBN-13, with or without hyphens. The tool converts it into the EAN-13 "Bookland" barcode that starts with 978 or 979 — the format printed on the back cover of books. An ISBN-10 such as 0-306-40615-2 becomes 978-0-306-40615-7, with the check digit recalculated for you. The ISBN barcode size follows EAN-13, about 37.29 × 25.93 mm at 100%.

What is the difference between ISBN and barcode?

The ISBN is the book's identification number. The barcode is simply that number drawn as bars so a scanner can read it. So, what barcode type is ISBN? EAN-13, with the 13 digits shown under the bars when human-readable text is switched on.

How to get ISBN barcode in India

First you need the ISBN itself. In India, ISBNs are issued by the Raja Rammohun Roy National Agency for ISBN, which gives them free of charge to publishers and self-publishing authors. Other countries have their own national ISBN agencies. An ISBN does not automatically come with a barcode image. Can I make my own ISBN barcode? Yes: once you have the number, generate the barcode here, download the SVG or high-resolution PNG and add it to your cover file. This tool makes the main EAN-13 barcode; it does not add the small 5-digit price add-on some bookshops use.

Printing and scanning tips

• Contrast: black or dark blue bars on a white background scan best. Avoid red bars — most scanners use red light and cannot see them.
• Quiet zone: keep a clear margin on both sides of the barcode. Use the margin setting rather than cropping it tight.
• Bar width: thin bars need a sharp printer. For thermal label printers, pick a bar width that matches whole printer dots and use the PNG at the right size, or the SVG.
• Don't stretch a barcode unevenly in design software — scale width and height together.
• Scan test: check the printed label with a phone or a USB scanner before a print run. Our barcode and QR code scanner reads EAN, UPC, Code 128, Code 39 and more from your camera or an image.

Barcode generator, QR code maker or both?

A linear barcode holds a short number or code and is what checkout counters and warehouse scanners expect. A QR code holds much more — a full web link, WiFi details or a payment request — and any phone camera can read it. Use a barcode for billing and stock; use our QR code generator when people should scan with their phones, or a location QR code to share an address.

Frequently asked questions

Updated 2026-09-19