Free Barcode Generator: Create UPC, EAN,
Code 128 & More Barcode Formats Online

Barcode basics

What Is a Barcode?

How it works

How to Create a Barcode in 4 Steps

QRKIT's barcode generator makes it easy to create professional barcodes in under 3 minutes. Follow these steps.

Pricing

Barcodes Are Free — When You Need a QR Code

QRKIT's barcode generator is completely free — there is no paid barcode tier. Barcodes are static images, so if you need a code you can edit after printing or track scans on, that is a job for a dynamic QR code.

Barcode Generator — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free barcode generator?

QRKIT is a strong free barcode generator for most users: it generates fourteen formats — ten 1D linear (Code 128, UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-13, EAN-8, Code 39, Code 93, ITF-14, ITF, Codabar) and four 2D (Data Matrix, GS1 DataMatrix, Aztec, PDF417) — with unlimited free generation, multiple download formats (PNG, SVG, PDF), and no signup or credit card. It doubles as a UPC barcode generator for retail and an EAN barcode generator for international products. TEC-IT and Morovia are worth a look if you need a symbology outside that list — GS1-128 in particular, which QRKIT does not produce. Shopify’s barcode generator works well if you’re already on Shopify for e-commerce.

How do I create a barcode?

A barcode needs three things from you, and the format is the one that decides the other two. Pick it first: UPC-A and EAN-13 take digits only and work out their own check digit, Code 128 takes any ASCII text up to 48 characters, ITF needs an even number of digits, and Code 39, Code 93 and Codabar are uppercase alphabets. Then type or paste your data — the generator checks it against that format as you type, so anything the encoder would reject is caught before you download rather than after you print. Finally set the finished size: enter a print width in millimetres, inches or pixels, then pick a resolution (72, 150, 300 or 600 DPI). The resolution is what turns that width into pixels — it decides how sharp a PNG prints, and it is also how a width typed in pixels becomes a physical size on the PDF, which is itself drawn as true vector rather than a picture of one. SVG carries no resolution at all, so the picker disappears the moment you choose it.

What are the uses of barcodes?

A barcode does one job, and everything it is used for follows from it: it turns a short identifier into something a machine reads in a fraction of a second, with no one typing it. That is why it appears wherever the same number is read thousands of times a day — a till, a loading dock, a hospital wristband, a library shelf, a warehouse bin. Worth knowing before you print one: the symbol itself holds no price, no stock level and no patient record. It holds a key, and the system behind the scanner looks the rest up. So the useful question is not which barcode looks best but what the number means and which database it points into. If you want the code to carry the information itself — a link, Wi-Fi credentials, contact details — that is a QR code, not a barcode.

What is the difference between a barcode and a QR code?

The difference that matters in practice is what the code carries. A 1D barcode encodes a short key — a product number, a tracking number — which a laser scanner or camera reads and hands to a system that looks the rest up. A 2D QR code carries the payload itself: a full URL, Wi-Fi credentials, contact details, thousands of characters if needed. A QR code also has error correction, so it still reads with part of the symbol scuffed or covered by a logo, where a barcode has none and a single damaged bar can kill it. That is why they are printed differently too — a barcode has to stay dark on light and wide enough for the scanner beam, while a QR code tolerates colour, a logo and a square footprint. QRKIT generates both: barcodes on this page, and QR codes with the free QR code generator. There is also a side-by-side comparison if you want the full breakdown.

How much does a barcode generator cost?

Nothing here — and it is worth knowing what “free” usually means elsewhere, because that is where the cost normally hides. Desktop barcode software is generally a per-seat licence. Free web generators tend to cap how many codes you can make, stamp the output, or put the vector files behind a paid tier — SVG and PDF, which are exactly the formats you want for printing. QRKIT has no cap on single codes, no watermark on any plan, no signup for the barcode tool, and no paid barcode tier at all; vector output is included. Paid plans here are for the QR side of the product rather than this one — a free account already includes one dynamic QR code, and paying adds more of them along with things like 4K PNG exports, two years of scan history and API access. None of it changes what the barcode tool gives you.

Can I generate barcodes in bulk?

Yes. Open “Generate many at once” under the generator, paste a column of SKUs or numbers, or upload a CSV. Every row is checked against the format you picked and any row that cannot be encoded is listed with the reason, so nothing fails silently. Download the batch as a ZIP of PNG or SVG files, or as one PDF with a barcode per page. It runs entirely in your browser — no upload, no account, no watermark — and it handles up to 500 rows in one run. That limit is about browser memory, not your plan: it is the same for everyone, and if your list is longer the tool says how many rows were left out so you can run the rest. Bulk QR codes are a separate, paid feature (Plus and up) because dynamic QR codes need hosting; barcodes are static, so nothing has to be stored and bulk barcodes stay free.

What barcode should I use for my product?

Three questions, in order. First: has someone else already decided? A retailer, a carrier or a regulator normally specifies the symbology, and their answer overrides everything below — selling through retail checkouts means UPC-A in the US and Canada or EAN-13 elsewhere, on a number licensed from GS1. Second: what has to fit inside it? Digits only points you at the UPC, EAN or ITF family; letters, punctuation or a mixed internal reference points at Code 128, or Code 39 when an older fixed scanner is in the loop. Third: how much room is on the item? A linear symbol wants roughly 2.5 cm of width; below that a square Data Matrix holds the same data in a fraction of the area, which is why it ends up on circuit boards and instruments, with GS1 DataMatrix as the regulated-healthcare variant. If nothing constrains you, Code 128 reads on essentially every scanner. And if the specification names a 2D symbology, all four are here — Data Matrix, GS1 DataMatrix, Aztec and PDF417. The one common symbology this generator does not produce is GS1-128.

Can I customize barcode appearance?

Yes, within what stays scannable. You can set the size, the bar or cell color, the background color and the download format, and on the 1D formats you can switch the human-readable text line under the bars on or off. The 2D formats (Data Matrix, GS1 DataMatrix, Aztec, PDF417) size themselves from the data in both directions, so they get one module-size control instead of separate width and height, and they draw the symbol only — any human-readable text goes beside them in your label layout. Print width in the download panel still sets the finished physical size exactly. All of it is free. The generator watches the two colors you pick and warns you when they are too close in contrast, because contrast, not color as such, is what a scanner actually depends on. The change most likely to fail outright is reversing it: light bars on a dark background.

What is the difference between UPC and EAN?

Both are retail barcodes built on the same GTIN numbering system. UPC-A is the 12-digit standard in the US and Canada, while EAN-13 is the 13-digit version used across the rest of the world — an EAN-13 is essentially a UPC-A with a leading country prefix. The last digit of either is a check digit, and the generator will work it out for you if you leave it off, so UPC-A accepts 11 or 12 digits and EAN-13 accepts 12 or 13. One thing to watch: a 12-digit UPC-A pasted into the EAN-13 field is read as an EAN-13 still missing its check digit, not converted — to turn a UPC-A into an EAN-13, add the leading zero yourself. Most modern scanners read both. Choose UPC-A for North American retail and EAN-13 for international products.

Why won’t my barcode scan?

Work backwards from the print, because that narrows it in one step. Scan the downloaded file on screen first. If it reads there, the encoding is fine and the fault is in the printing: too small, too low a resolution, ink spreading on absorbent stock, or the label trimmed so tight that the clear space either side of the bars — part of the symbol, not a margin — has been cut off. If it does not read on screen either, suspect the format rather than the image: a checkout scanner configured for UPC and EAN will ignore a Code 128 symbol completely, however perfect it looks. Export SVG or PDF for print instead of enlarging a PNG, keep it dark on light, and test-scan the printed label rather than the screen before committing to a run.

Can I make an ISBN barcode?

Yes. A book’s ISBN-13 is printed as an EAN-13 barcode, so choose EAN-13 and enter the 13-digit ISBN (it starts with 978 or 979). QRKIT renders the scannable EAN-13. The small “ISBN” text line that some publishers set above the bars is a separate typographic element, not part of the barcode itself.

Do I need to register my barcode number?

QRKIT generates the barcode image from whatever number you enter — it does not assign or register official numbers. If you sell through major retailers, your UPC/EAN (GTIN) numbers must be licensed from GS1, the organization that governs retail barcode numbering. For internal use — inventory, asset tags, or warehouse labels — you can use any numbering scheme you like.