EAN, UPC, Code 128 or ISBN? Choosing the right barcode
By Uxair Ijaz · 2026-10-22 · 2 min read
"Barcode" covers many different formats, and scanners and shops expect specific ones. This guide helps you pick the right one.
The short answer
| You are… | Use |
|---|---|
| Selling in shops outside North America | EAN-13 |
| Selling in shops in the USA or Canada | UPC-A |
| Publishing a book | ISBN (printed as an EAN-13 starting 978 or 979) |
| Labelling stock, shelves or parcels internally | Code 128 |
| Working with older industrial equipment | Code 39 |
EAN-13 and UPC-A: retail products
These hold numbers only: 13 digits for EAN, 12 for UPC. The last digit is a check digit calculated from the others, which catches scanning mistakes. The barcode generator can work it out for you.
To sell in shops, your product numbers must come from GS1, the organisation that issues barcode numbers. Retailers check that the number belongs to your company. A number you make up may scan, but it will not be accepted for retail.
ISBN: books
An ISBN is a 13-digit book number issued by your national ISBN agency. On the back cover it is printed as an EAN-13 barcode (starting with 978 or 979). Paste the ISBN with or without dashes; the generator converts it. Older 10-digit ISBNs convert automatically too.
Code 128: the warehouse workhorse
Code 128 encodes letters, digits and symbols, is compact and very reliable. Use it for SKUs, bin locations, asset tags and shipping labels: anything that only your systems need to scan. There is no registration needed.
Code 39: older systems
Code 39 encodes upper-case letters, digits and a few symbols. It is wider than Code 128 for the same data, but some older scanners and industries (automotive, defence) still require it.
Printing tips
- Size: do not shrink retail barcodes far below their standard size (EAN-13 is about 37 × 26 mm at 100%).
- Quiet zones: keep clear space on both sides of the bars.
- Contrast: black bars on white. Red bars do not scan, because many scanners use red light.
- Format: download SVG for print so the bars stay crisp.
Hundreds at once
Paste a list of values into the bulk barcode generator to download a ZIP of images, or print them straight onto label sheets with the label generator.