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Barcode Generator

Processed Client Side

Generate Code 128, EAN, UPC, Code 39, and ITF-14 barcodes from any text. Download as SVG or PNG.

Options
Barcode
CODE128
1234567890

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About Barcode Generator

This tool runs entirely in your browser. Whatever you paste is processed on your own device and is never uploaded, logged, or sent to any server.

The Barcode Generator creates standard retail and logistics barcodes from a value you type, and hands you back a PNG or a print-ready SVG. It supports the formats that actually turn up in inventory and point-of-sale work — Code 128, Code 39, EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, and ITF-14 — and validates your input against the rules of whichever you pick, so an EAN-13 with the wrong digit count tells you immediately instead of producing a barcode no scanner will accept. Bar colour, background colour, and the human-readable text underneath are all adjustable, and everything is drawn in your browser with no account or usage limit.

Key features

  • Six formats: Code 128, Code 39, EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, and ITF-14
  • Per-format validation with a clear message when the value does not fit the symbology’s rules
  • Check digits calculated for you on EAN and UPC codes — supply the 12, 7, 11, or 13 data digits and the final digit is derived
  • Live preview that redraws as you type
  • Download as SVG for print, or as PNG rendered at 2× for crisp on-screen use
  • Adjustable bar colour and background colour
  • Toggle the human-readable text printed underneath the bars
  • Code 128 encodes letters, digits, and symbols, making it the right choice for internal SKUs and asset tags
  • Runs entirely in your browser — product codes and internal identifiers are never uploaded

How to use it

  1. Choose the barcode format you need — Code 128 if you are not bound to a retail standard.
  2. Type the value. The hint on each format tells you how many digits it expects.
  3. Fix any validation error shown; retail formats are strict about length and character set.
  4. Adjust the colours and decide whether the human-readable text appears underneath.
  5. Download the SVG for print or the PNG for screens, and test-scan it before committing to a print run.

Tips & common mistakes

  • Use Code 128 unless a standard forces your hand. It is compact, encodes the full ASCII set, and is the usual choice for internal SKUs, shipping labels, and asset tags.
  • EAN-13 and UPC-A are retail identifiers, not free-form codes. A real one has to be issued through GS1 — generating the image is easy, but a number you invented will not be recognised outside your own systems.
  • Enter the data digits and let the check digit be calculated. Typing all 13 digits of an EAN-13 yourself usually produces a mismatch error, because the last one is derived rather than chosen.
  • Always download the SVG for print. Bars must stay crisp with sharp edges, and a rasterised barcode scaled to fit a label is the most common reason a scanner struggles.
  • Leave the quiet zone alone and keep bars black on white. Scanners read contrast, and coloured or inverted bars fail far more often than they appear to in testing.
  • Keep the human-readable text on for anything a person handles. When a scan fails, it is the only way to key the value in manually.
  • Code 39 is verbose and takes more width per character than Code 128, but it remains common in older industrial and automotive systems that were built around it.
  • Need a QR code instead of a linear barcode? Generate one with the QR Code Generator.

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Frequently asked questions

10

Code 128, Code 39, EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, and ITF-14 — the symbologies that cover retail, logistics, and internal asset tracking.

Code 128 for anything internal: it is compact and encodes letters, digits, and symbols. Use EAN-13 or UPC-A only when you have real retail identifiers, and ITF-14 for shipping cartons.

Enter the 12 data digits and the thirteenth check digit is calculated for you. EAN-8 takes 7, UPC-A takes 11, and ITF-14 takes 13, each with the final digit derived.

Retail symbologies are strict about length and character set. EAN and UPC accept digits only and a fixed count; Code 39 has a limited character set. Code 128 is the flexible option.

You can generate the image, but a genuine retail barcode must be issued through GS1. A number you invented will not be recognised by retailers or scanned into their systems correctly.

SVG for anything printed — bars must stay sharp, and vector output scales without blurring. PNG is fine for screens and is rendered at 2× so it stays crisp.

Yes, but keep dark bars on a light background. Scanners read contrast, and coloured or inverted barcodes fail far more often in practice than they do in testing.

It is the human-readable value, and it lets someone key the code in manually when a scan fails. Leave it on for anything a person will handle.

Usually it was printed too small, scaled from a raster image so the bar edges blurred, printed with insufficient contrast, or had its quiet zone cropped by the surrounding layout.

No. Everything is drawn in your browser, so internal SKUs and product identifiers are never uploaded.