EAN-13 Barcode Generator
Retail EAN-13 barcodes with the check digit calculated for you.
How to use EAN-13 Barcode Generator
Type the 12 digits of your EAN (the GS1 prefix, company number and product code) — the 13th check digit is added automatically. Paste all 13 and it is verified instead.
Add an EAN-5 (price) or EAN-2 (issue) add-on if your product needs one, and set the bar height and width.
Check the preview: the encoded number is shown so you can compare it with the one on your packaging artwork.
Download SVG for print or PNG for documents — or switch to Batch to download a whole product list as a ZIP.
What an EAN-13 barcode generator actually has to get right
An EAN-13 is thirteen digits, and only twelve of them are yours. The first two or three are the GS1 prefix of the country where your company registered, the next block is the company number GS1 assigned to you, the block after that is the product reference you chose — and the thirteenth is a check digit computed from the other twelve. A scanner reads all thirteen, recomputes the check digit, and rejects the code if the two disagree. That single digit is where hand-made barcodes fail: an off-by-one in a spreadsheet, a copied number from a different product, a check digit someone worked out by hand and got wrong.
This generator takes the twelve digits you own and computes the thirteenth, then shows the full encoded number under the preview so you can compare it against your packaging artwork before anything is printed. Paste a complete thirteen-digit code and it is verified instead — and if the check digit is wrong, the message tells you what it should have been rather than just refusing. Content that is not digits, or is the wrong length, is explained the moment you type it.
EAN-13 for products, books and magazines — with add-ons
Most EAN-13 codes stand alone on a product, but two industries attach a small second barcode to the right of the main one. Books carry an EAN-5 add-on encoding the recommended price, and periodicals carry an EAN-2 add-on with the issue number. The generator draws both: pick the add-on, type its two or five digits, and it is rendered with the correct gap so retail scanners read the pair as one code. A book EAN, incidentally, is simply the ISBN-13 — the same thirteen digits, same check digit — so an ISBN can be typed straight in.
The bars themselves are standard: guard patterns left, centre and right, the number printed underneath in the layout scanners and cashiers expect. You control bar height and bar width (two to three pixels per module is the safe range for labels), the quiet zone either side, and whether the human-readable number appears. Colours can be changed, but a retail code should stay dark bars on a light background — red bars in particular are invisible to the laser scanners still common at tills.
- Type 12 digits → the check digit is added and shown; type 13 → it is verified
- EAN-5 add-on for book prices, EAN-2 for magazine issues
- ISBN-13 encodes directly as EAN-13
- Bar width, height, quiet zone and text all adjustable; SVG for print, PNG at up to 4×
Printing EAN-13 labels that scan first time, in bulk
Download SVG for anything going to a printer or into packaging artwork: it is vector, so the module widths stay mathematically exact whatever size the designer scales it to. PNG at 3× or 4× is right for product listings, spec sheets and label printers that only accept bitmaps. Either way, print one label and scan it with a phone or a handheld before running the batch — a check digit can be perfect and the code still fail because it was printed too small or the quiet zone was trimmed.
Every step runs inside your browser, using the WebAssembly and Canvas APIs your device already ships with. No file is uploaded, no copy is kept, and nothing sits in a queue on a server waiting to be deleted — which is also why the tool keeps working with the network disconnected.
A product catalogue rarely needs one barcode. Switch to Batch, paste a column of EAN numbers from your spreadsheet — twelve or thirteen digits per line, up to 500 — and download a ZIP with one PNG per product plus a CSV manifest listing each file next to its number. Entries that fail validation are named and skipped rather than silently producing a bad label. The number itself still has to be one GS1 assigned to you: a generator draws barcodes, it cannot allocate them, and every marketplace and retailer checks the number against the GS1 registry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I get an EAN-13 number for my product?
From GS1, the organisation that assigns company prefixes, either directly or through a GS1 member organisation in your country. This tool draws the barcode from the number you already own; it cannot allocate a new one.
How is the EAN-13 check digit calculated?
Multiply the 12 data digits alternately by 1 and 3 starting from the left, add them up, and take the amount needed to reach the next multiple of 10. The tool does this for you and shows the result under the preview.
What is the difference between EAN-13 and UPC-A?
They are the same system: a UPC-A is an EAN-13 whose first digit is 0. EAN-13 is used in Europe and most of the world, UPC-A in North America — and virtually every scanner reads both.
Where do I get an EAN-13 number for my product?
From GS1, the organisation that assigns company prefixes, either directly or through a GS1 member organisation in your country. This tool draws the barcode from the number you already own; it cannot allocate a new one.
How is the EAN-13 check digit calculated?
Multiply the 12 data digits alternately by 1 and 3 starting from the left, add them up, and take the amount needed to reach the next multiple of 10. The tool does this for you and shows the result under the preview.
What is the difference between EAN-13 and UPC-A?
They are the same system: a UPC-A is an EAN-13 whose first digit is 0. EAN-13 is used in Europe and most of the world, UPC-A in North America — and virtually every scanner reads both.
Can I make an ISBN barcode with this?
Yes. An ISBN-13 is an EAN-13 — type the 13 digits (or the first 12) and add an EAN-5 add-on with the price code if your distributor requires one.
Can I generate EAN-13 barcodes for a whole product list?
Switch to Batch, paste one number per line (up to 500) and download a ZIP of PNGs with a CSV manifest. Each number is validated and the check digit is added where it is missing.
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