Free EAN-13 Barcode Generator

How the EAN-13 check digit works

An EAN-13 always has 13 digits. The last one is fixed by the first 12: moving from the right, the check-digit position is not included, the rightmost data digit is multiplied by 3, the next by 1, and that alternation continues. The check digit is whatever makes the total end in 0. This page does that arithmetic and draws the symbol only when the digit is correct.

ISBN-13 uses the same check digit. You can paste a hyphenated ISBN such as 978-0-306-40615-7. The hyphens are removed before the number is checked.

Before you print it on a product

The bars follow the EAN-13 pattern, including the quiet zone on both sides. That is the drawing. It is not a GS1 prefix, a product listing, or a promise that a particular retailer will accept the number. If you sell the item, use a GTIN you are authorized to use, then scan a physical proof.

Need a 12-digit retail symbol instead? Use the UPC-A generator. For a SKU that contains letters, use Code 128. All three formats are also on the barcode generator.

EAN-13 vs UPC-A

EAN-13 is 13 digits. UPC-A is 12. Both are retail GTINs, and a UPC-A number is often stored as an EAN-13 with a zero added on the left. The printed symbols are still different: the quiet zone, the guard pattern, and where the digits sit. A spec that names UPC-A wants the UPC-A generator. A product that carries a 13-digit number wants this page.

Neither image registers the number. When goods you sell need a GS1 company prefix, that prefix comes from GS1. This page calculates the check digit and draws the bars.

The barcode tells a scanner which product it is. A Scanely QR beside it on the label can open a product page, a manual, or an offer, and you can change that page after the print run. Scanely counts those scans. The inventory label guide separates identifying an item from updating its record. Size the QR with the QR size calculator.

How to create an EAN-13 barcode

1. Enter 12 digits to add the check digit, or 13 digits to verify one you already use. Hyphens in an ISBN-13 are ignored.
2. Download PNG for a document or SVG for a design file. Keep the quiet zone that is already in the file.
3. Scan a printed proof with a retail scanner before the package goes to print.

PNG, SVG, and the margin

PNG is the straightforward file for a document or label. SVG is the one to place in a design file because it does not go soft when enlarged. Keep the exported margin. Cutting into the quiet zone, or printing light bars on a light background, is a common reason a correct number still will not scan.