Free · No sign-up · No watermark
The free barcode maker for scanner-ready UPC, EAN, Code 128 and GS1-128 barcodes — and printable labels for products, garments and shipping.
Formats
Retail products use EAN-13 or UPC-A. Shipping labels use Code 128 or GS1-128. Cartons use ITF-14.
| Format | Typical use | Data | Check digit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
EAN-13'ean13'
|
RetailProducts sold worldwide | 12 digits + check | Mod 10, automatic | Create → |
|
UPC-A'upca'
|
RetailProducts in the US and Canada | 11 digits + check | Mod 10, automatic | Create → |
|
EAN-8'ean8'
|
RetailSmall packages | 7 digits + check | Mod 10, automatic | Create → |
|
Code 128'code128'
|
LogisticsShipping, asset tags, SKUs | Full ASCII, variable | Mod 103, built in | Create → |
|
GS1-128'gs1-128'
|
LogisticsGTIN, batch and expiry data | Application Identifiers | Mod 103, built in | Create → |
|
ITF-14'itf14'
|
LogisticsOuter cartons and cases | 13 digits + check | Mod 10, automatic | Create → |
|
Code 39'code39'
|
IndustrialAutomotive, defense, ID badges | A–Z, 0–9, 7 symbols | Optional Mod 43 | Create → |
|
Codabar'codabar'
|
IndustrialLibraries, blood banks | Digits, 6 symbols, A–D | None | Create → |
Also available: Code 93, Code 11, MSI Plessey, Pharmacode, Interleaved 2 of 5, UPC-E, EAN-5/EAN-2 add-ons, and postal formats (POSTNET, Intelligent Mail, RM4SCC). See all 30+
Use cases
From a single product barcode to thousands of shipping labels — these are the barcode types each industry relies on, and what to enter for each.
Products sold in stores and online carry a GTIN encoded as UPC-A (US and Canada) or EAN-13 (everywhere else). Shopify, Amazon, Walmart and virtually every point-of-sale system read both. Enter the number issued by GS1 — BarcodeFox adds the check digit, then exports the barcode or a sheet of UPC labels at the exact size your printer expects.
Create a UPC barcode →Hang tags and care labels with style, size and a unique barcode per piece — numbered in sequence.
Make garment tags →Price stickers with MRP, product name and barcode, on A4 sheets or thermal rolls.
Print MRP stickers →FNSKU labels are Code 128. Paste your X00… code and print it on 30-up label sheets.
Make FNSKU labels →SSCC pallet labels use GS1-128 with Application Identifier (00), and outer cartons carry ITF-14. Both need large X-dimensions so they scan from a distance on a conveyor or forklift.
Create a GS1-128 label →Bin locations, asset tags and internal SKUs — any letters and numbers.
Create a Code 128 barcode →An ISBN-13 is an EAN-13 that starts with 978 or 979.
Create an ISBN barcode →Codabar is still common on library cards and blood-bank labels.
Create a Codabar barcode →Features
Set width in mm, cm, inches or pixels. X-dimension and quiet zones follow GS1 guidance, so labels print at exactly the size you specified.
Computed or verified as you type — a mistyped digit is caught before it reaches the printer.
↳ check digit 1 · mod 10
Crisp SVG for print, PNG at any resolution, or a Data URI for HTML and email.
Paste a list or upload a CSV to generate hundreds of barcodes at once, laid out on standard A4 and US Letter label sheets.
skus.csv → 240 labels · Avery L7160
Guard bars, text placement and ITF-14 bearer bars follow the standard. Nothing decorative a scanner might trip on.
Warns you before export when colors are too light, inverted, or red — the shade laser scanners can’t see.
Generated locally in your browser. Product codes and serial numbers are never uploaded.
0 bytes sent to a server
Barcode basics
A barcode is a machine-readable pattern of parallel dark bars and light spaces that represents a number or short text. A scanner sweeps light across the pattern, measures the width of every bar and space, and decodes them back into characters.
Linear (1D) barcodes such as EAN-13, UPC-A and Code 128 store data in one direction, so any laser, CCD or camera scanner can read them. That is why they remain the standard on retail products, shipping labels and inventory tags — and why BarcodeFox focuses on linear barcodes only.
How it works
Select the symbology your retailer, carrier or scanner requires. Each format lists what data it accepts.
Type or paste the number. BarcodeFox validates it and appends the check digit when the format needs one.
Adjust height, width and text, then download SVG or PNG — or copy the matching code for your app.
Print guide
GS1 defines EAN-13 and UPC-A at a nominal size of 37.29 × 25.93 mm (100% magnification, 0.33 mm X-dimension). You can scale from 80% to 200%; below 80% many retail scanners start to fail. Select a row to preview it at true proportion.
| Magnification | X-dimension | Width × height | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80% | 0.264 mm | 29.83 × 20.74 mm | Minimum for retail |
| 90% | 0.297 mm | 33.56 × 23.34 mm | Small packaging |
| 100% | 0.330 mm | 37.29 × 25.93 mm | Recommended (nominal) |
| 120% | 0.396 mm | 44.75 × 31.12 mm | Larger products |
| 150% | 0.495 mm | 55.94 × 38.90 mm | Outer packaging |
| 200% | 0.660 mm | 74.58 × 51.86 mm | Maximum |
Or use SVG, which stays sharp at any size. Low-resolution PNGs blur bar edges.
No text, borders or die-cuts within 3.63 mm left and 2.31 mm right of an EAN-13 at 100%.
Truncated barcodes scan poorly from an angle. Scale the whole symbol instead.
Black on white is safest. Red, orange and yellow bars are invisible to laser scanners.
For developers
BarcodeFox runs on etiket, an open-source, zero-dependency TypeScript library. Every control in the generator maps to an option.
Glossary
The vocabulary you will meet on retailer spec sheets, GS1 guides and printer settings.
FAQ
Still stuck? Most scan failures come down to size, contrast or quiet zones.
For products sold in retail stores, use EAN-13 (worldwide) or UPC-A (US and Canada). For shipping cartons use ITF-14, and for logistics labels carrying batch or expiry data use GS1-128. For internal inventory, Code 128 is the most compact and flexible choice.
Yes. There are no watermarks, limits or licence fees. Retail barcodes (EAN/UPC) require a company prefix registered with GS1 — BarcodeFox draws the barcode, but does not issue the number.
EAN-13 is nominally 37.29 × 25.93 mm at 100% magnification and can be scaled between 80% and 200%. Keep the quiet zones clear and avoid reducing the bar height.
The most common causes are low contrast (use dark bars on a light background — never red bars), a missing quiet zone, printing below the minimum size, or an incorrect check digit.
Join GS1 in your country to license a company prefix, then assign a unique number to each product. Paste that number into BarcodeFox to draw the barcode — the generator never issues numbers itself.
You can make the barcode image free here, but the number inside it has to be unique and registered. Cheap resold UPC numbers often fail Amazon and large-retailer checks, because they verify the GS1 company prefix. For marketplaces and retail, license numbers from GS1; for products you only sell in your own shop, internal Code 128 codes work fine.
Almost. GTIN-13 is the 13-digit product number; EAN-13 is the barcode symbol that encodes it. Likewise, a UPC-A barcode encodes a GTIN-12, and ITF-14 encodes a GTIN-14.
Yes. FNSKU labels use Code 128. Choose Code 128, paste the X00… code from Seller Central, and print on 30-up US Letter or 24-up A4 label sheets.
Use at least 300 dpi for office and label printers, and 600 dpi for small barcodes on thermal printers. For professional print, export SVG — vector bars stay perfectly sharp at any size.
Code 128 encodes all 128 ASCII characters and is far more compact, so it is the default for shipping and inventory. Code 39 only supports uppercase letters, digits and a few symbols, and is mainly kept for legacy automotive and defense systems.
Yes, but keep dark bars on a light background. Black, dark blue and dark green are safe. Red, orange and yellow bars disappear under red-laser scanners, and BarcodeFox warns you before export.
Yes. Paste a list or upload a CSV in the generator to produce a batch, then export individual files or a printable label sheet.
No. Barcodes are generated entirely in your browser using the open-source etiket library.
Free barcode generators
BarcodeFox is a free online barcode generator for linear barcodes. It creates EAN-13, UPC-A, EAN-8, Code 128, GS1-128, ITF-14, Code 39 and Codabar barcodes directly in your browser, exports SVG and PNG files at exact print sizes, and is built on the open-source etiket library.