How to Make a Barcode for Free (CODE128, EAN, UPC Explained)
Guide · Image Tools
Barcodes aren't one universal format — different formats exist for different purposes, and using the wrong one is a common reason a code won't scan at the register or won't be accepted by a marketplace.
Which barcode format do you actually need?
| Format | Best for |
|---|---|
| CODE128 | Shipping labels, internal inventory, anything with letters and numbers mixed |
| EAN-13 / EAN-8 | Retail products sold in Europe and internationally |
| UPC-A | Retail products sold in the US and Canada |
| CODE39 | Legacy inventory and asset-tracking systems, warehouses |
| ITF-14 | Case and carton-level shipping barcodes |
If you're putting a product on a retail shelf, EAN or UPC is what the point-of-sale scanner expects — and for a product to be assigned an official UPC/EAN, you typically need to purchase a GS1 company prefix and register the specific number. A barcode generator makes the visual code from a number you already have; it doesn't assign you a new official product number.
Making one in under a minute
- Open the Barcode Generator and choose your format.
- Type or paste in the number or code — each format has its own length rule (for example, EAN-13 needs exactly 12 or 13 digits).
- Adjust bar width, height, and whether to show the human-readable number underneath.
- Download as PNG for quick use, or SVG if you need to resize it without any quality loss for print.
Printing barcodes so they actually scan
- Print at 100% scale — scaling a barcode up or down distorts the bar widths and can make it unreadable.
- Use a high-contrast printer setting; a faded thermal print or low-ink inkjet run can blur bars together.
- Leave the quiet zone (blank margin) around the barcode intact — cropping too close to the bars is a common cause of scan failures.
- Test-scan the printed barcode with a phone scanner app before running a full batch.