Free UPC Barcode Generator

A UPC (Universal Product Code) is the barcode scanned at checkouts in the United States and Canada. UPC-A holds 12 digits: a number system digit, a company prefix and item reference assigned through GS1, and a final check digit calculated from the other 11. A UPC barcode generator draws those digits as bars and spaces at the size checkout scanners expect.

The first digit tells the scanner what kind of number it is. Most products start with 0, 1, 6, 7, 8 or 9. Numbers that start with 2 are for random weight items priced in the store, 3 for drugs with a National Drug Code and 4 for in-store use, while 5 is reserved by GS1 US (it used to mark coupons). The UPC barcode generator above explains the first digit of every number you type.

In the United States, UPC numbers come from GS1 US, the only official source. You can license a single GS1 US GTIN for one product, or a GS1 Company Prefix that lets you number a range of products yourself. Once you have a number, enter it into the UPC barcode generator to make the barcode artwork.

A single GTIN costs $30 with no renewal fee, but it cannot be used for drugs, variable measure products, mixed cases or coupons, and each one is a separate purchase. A company prefix starts at $250 plus $50 a year for 10 products and goes up to $10,500 plus $2,100 a year for 100,000. We checked these prices on the GS1 US website in October 2026.

If you sell one or two products with no plans for more, a single GTIN is the cheapest way to get a real UPC. If you plan a product line, a company prefix costs less per number and ties every barcode to your brand in the GS1 registry.

Be careful with cheap UPCs from resellers. They are often numbers from old prefixes that still belong to another company, and Amazon and many retailers check UPCs against GS1 records, so a listing can be blocked. Amazon also offers a GTIN exemption for some products without a barcode, such as handmade, private label and bundled items.

GS1 asks for a new GTIN for every product and every variation of it. Each size, color, flavor, style and pack count gets its own UPC, so a 12 oz and a 32 oz bottle of the same drink need two numbers, and a 6 pack needs a third.

With a company prefix you assign those numbers yourself. The digits left after your prefix are the item references: a 6 digit U.P.C. prefix leaves 5 digits, room for 100,000 products, while a 10 digit prefix leaves one digit for 10 products. Batch mode in this UPC code generator counts them up for you and exports a sheet that records which number went to which product. Never reuse a number for a different product.

GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is the name of the number; UPC and EAN are the barcodes that carry it. UPC-A carries a GTIN-12 and EAN-13 carries a GTIN-13. Put a 0 in front of a UPC and you get the same item as a GTIN-13, which is why scanners around the world read UPCs.

Online catalogs often ask for a 14 digit GTIN. Pad the UPC with zeros to 14 digits for those fields, but keep printing the UPC-A barcode on the pack for stores in the US and Canada. The number panel in the UPC barcode generator shows all three forms, ready to copy. For EAN-13, ITF-14 and other types, use the free barcode generator.

UPC-E is a shortened UPC for packs too small for UPC-A. It drops zeros from the middle of the number, so it only works for numbers that start with 0 and whose manufacturer code ends in enough zeros: product codes 00000 to 00999 when the code ends in 000, 100 or 200, and fewer as the zeros run out.

Most numbers from a modern company prefix have no UPC-E form. Switch the UPC barcode generator to UPC-E and it either shortens your number or tells you which rule it misses. If there is no UPC-E form and UPC-A will not fit, use a larger panel or a label rather than printing the barcode below 80%.

At 100% a UPC-A barcode is about 1.47 inches (37.3 mm) wide including its quiet zones and about 1.02 inches (26 mm) tall with its digits. GS1 allows 80% to 200%. Do not cut the bars shorter to save space: GS1 advises against truncated barcodes because scanners can then read them from fewer angles.

Put the barcode on the back of the pack, in the lower right quarter, at least 8 mm (0.3 in) from any edge. Keep it off folds, seams, flaps and perforations, and never put it on the neck of a bottle. On narrow bottles and cans, turn it 90 degrees so the bars run around the curve; the bottle check in this UPC barcode generator tells you when.