Make a barcode

It depends on who will scan it. Products sold in shops use UPC-A (North America) or EAN-13 (most other countries), and cartons use ITF-14. For your own labels, shelves, inventory and shipping, Code 128 is a common choice because it holds any text and stays compact; Code 39 is the older option some systems still ask for. If a customer, shop or marketplace named a type, use that one.

This page draws the barcode, but it cannot give you the number. Shops and marketplaces generally expect product numbers (GTINs) issued to your company by GS1, and a number you invent may already belong to someone else’s product. Get your number first, type it in here, and the page adds the check digit and draws the barcode.

The last digit of UPC-A, EAN-13, EAN-8 and ITF-14 is a check digit, worked out from the other digits so a scanner can tell when it misread. If you type the number without it (11, 12, 7 or 13 digits), the page adds it and shows you which digit it added. If you type the full number and the last digit is wrong, the page tells you what it should be instead of drawing a barcode a shop’s system would reject.

PNG for documents, slides and web pages. SVG for print and design tools: the bars are exact rectangles, so they stay sharp at any size. PDF when you want a single file to send to a printer or open in any PDF reader; it holds the PNG image on a page the size of the image.

Bar width and height here are in pixels on screen. In print, what matters is the width of the narrowest bar, so save the SVG, scale it in your layout program, and keep the blank space (the quiet zone) left and right of the bars. Shops, carriers and warehouses often publish the size range they accept; follow theirs, then scan a printed copy before you print a whole sheet.

Each type has its own alphabet. UPC, EAN and ITF are digits only. Code 39 takes capital letters, digits, space and - . $ / + %, and the page turns lowercase letters into capitals. Code 128 here takes the characters on a standard keyboard, which covers letters, digits and punctuation but not accented letters or emoji.

No. A QR code is a different, two-dimensional type. Use the QR code generator for a link, Wi-Fi network or contact card.

No. The barcode is drawn by code running in this page, so the number or text you type stays on your device. After your first visit and a short wait you can turn off your internet connection and it still works.