Free EAN-13 Barcode Generator

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Generate EAN-13 retail barcodes online for free. EAN-13 is the global standard for consumer-product identification outside North America: 13 digits arranged as a GS1 country prefix, a manufacturer code, a product reference, and a single check digit. Enter 12 digits and the check digit is computed for you automatically — or paste all 13 and the generator will verify it. Export as print-ready PNG or SVG, adjust bar width and quiet zone for carton or label stock, and download the result instantly. Everything runs in your browser — no account, no uploads, no tracking.

1. Select barcode type

2. Enter content and adjust style

12–13 digits — e.g. 590123412345

Style

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100px
15px

3. Preview and download

No barcode yet — click Generate

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Retail and commerce use cases

EAN-13 is required for products sold through supermarkets, pharmacies, bookshops, and most online marketplaces outside North America. Even Amazon, eBay, and most D2C platforms now require a GS1-allocated EAN-13 or GTIN to list a product. The code also appears on books (prefixed 978/979, forming the ISBN-13), magazines (977), and coupons (99-series).

Printing for retail compliance

Retailers enforce strict bar-width and quiet-zone tolerances. For a standard EAN-13 printed at 100% scale, use a bar width of at least 0.33 mm (about 4 px at 300 DPI) and a left quiet zone of at least 3.63 mm. Never print an EAN-13 smaller than 80% of its nominal size (29.83 × 20.73 mm) — most till scanners will refuse smaller codes. Export as SVG and scale precisely in your packaging artwork.

FAQ

What is EAN-13?

EAN-13 (European Article Number, 13 digits) is the international barcode used on nearly every consumer product sold outside North America. A valid EAN-13 encodes a GS1 country prefix (2–3 digits), a manufacturer code, a product reference, and a trailing check digit. It is specified in ISO/IEC 15420 and is scannable at every modern retail till on the planet.

How is the EAN-13 check digit calculated?

The check digit is derived from the first 12 digits using a weighted modulo-10 algorithm: multiply digits at odd positions by 1, digits at even positions by 3, sum the products, take the result modulo 10, and subtract from 10 (with a zero result staying zero). This generator computes the check digit automatically when you enter 12 digits, or validates it when you enter all 13.

Do I need to register my EAN-13 with GS1?

If the product will be sold through retailers, yes — absolutely. Retail systems match every EAN-13 against the global GS1 registry, and an unregistered or self-assigned code will fail at the till. GS1 national member organisations sell company prefixes (the first 7–10 digits); the product reference that follows is yours to allocate. For purely internal use — catalogues, price lists, mock-ups — you can generate any valid 13-digit code without registering.

Where is EAN-13 used versus UPC-A?

EAN-13 is the retail standard in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Australia — essentially everywhere except the United States and Canada, where UPC-A (12 digits) remains dominant. The two formats are technically compatible: a UPC-A barcode is simply an EAN-13 with a leading zero, and all modern scanners read both interchangeably. For maximum international compatibility, use EAN-13.

Can I enter only 12 digits?

Yes — and it is the recommended workflow. Paste the 12 significant digits (country prefix + manufacturer + product reference) and the generator calculates the 13th check digit for you. If you already have a full 13-digit code from a GS1 allocation, paste all 13 and the generator will verify that the check digit is correct before producing the barcode.

What do the first three digits of an EAN-13 mean?

They identify the GS1 member organisation that allocated the prefix — not, as commonly believed, the country of manufacture. Prefixes 400–440 are allocated by GS1 Germany, 500–509 by GS1 UK, 690–699 by GS1 China, and so on. A product assembled in China but branded by a UK company will typically carry a 500-series prefix. The full list is published on the GS1 website.

Glossary

EAN-13

The International Article Number, 13 digits, used for retail product identification worldwide. Structured as a GS1 prefix (2–3 digits) + manufacturer code + product reference + check digit. Scannable at virtually every retail till outside the United States and Canada.

GS1 prefix

The first 2–3 digits of an EAN-13 that identify the GS1 member organisation (typically a country) that issued the subsequent company prefix. Examples: 50 = UK, 400–440 = Germany, 978 = books (Bookland / ISBN). Not a country-of-manufacture indicator.

Check digit

The final digit of an EAN-13 calculated by a weighted modulo-10 sum over the first 12 digits. Scanners recompute it on read and reject the scan if the values do not match, providing lightweight tamper and misread detection without a full checksum.

GTIN-13

The Global Trade Item Number in its 13-digit form — the modern GS1 name for the same numeric identifier encoded by EAN-13. GTIN is format-agnostic, so the same number can appear as EAN-13, UPC-A (GTIN-12 with a leading zero), or inside a 2D Data Matrix code.

UPC-A

The 12-digit retail barcode used primarily in the United States and Canada. A UPC-A is technically an EAN-13 with a leading zero stripped, so every UPC-A has a canonical EAN-13 equivalent and all modern scanners read both.

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