UPC vs EAN, and when you need GS1 barcodes
Anyone can draw a UPC or EAN barcode. The question that matters is whose number is inside it. This guide explains the two formats, what GS1 is, and when you actually need to buy numbers.
UPC-A and EAN-13 are the same system
- UPC-A has 12 digits and is used mainly in the US and Canada.
- EAN-13 has 13 digits and is used almost everywhere else.
- A UPC-A is an EAN-13 that starts with 0: 012345678905 and 0012345678905 identify the same product. Checkouts around the world read both formats.
The number inside is a GTIN (Global Trade Item Number). It is made of a company prefix, a product reference and a check digit calculated from the other digits. The last digit is what lets a scanner catch a misread.
What GS1 does
GS1 is the non-profit standards body that issues company prefixes, through a member organisation in each country (GS1 US, GS1 UK and so on). When you license a prefix, every GTIN made from it is registered to your company, so retailers and marketplaces can look up who owns a product's barcode. Smaller sellers can usually license individual GTINs instead of a whole prefix; prices and fee structures vary by country, so check your local GS1 office.
When you need GS1 numbers
- Selling through retailers such as supermarket and department-store chains. They usually require GS1-registered GTINs.
- Listing new products on Amazon and other large marketplaces. Amazon checks UPCs against the GS1 database, and listings with numbers that are not registered to the brand can be rejected or removed. Brand-registered sellers can sometimes apply for a GTIN exemption instead.
- Selling wholesale to stores that scan products into their own systems.
When you don't
- Your own shop or warehouse. For stock that never leaves your system, use your own SKUs in Code 128, or EAN-13 numbers starting with 200–299, a range GS1 reserves for in-store use.
- Amazon FBA unit labels. The FNSKU sticker Amazon gives you is a Code 128 barcode of Amazon's own number, not a GTIN. See the FNSKU label generator.
- Craft fairs, your own website and markets where you are the one scanning.
What about cheap barcodes from resellers?
Some websites sell UPCs for a few dollars. These are usually numbers from old prefixes licensed to someone else, so the GS1 database shows another company as the owner. Small shops may accept them, but large retailers and Amazon often don't. If you plan to grow into retail, buying from GS1 avoids relabelling later.
Printing UPC and EAN codes once you have them
- List your GTINs in a spreadsheet. You can leave off the check digit (use 11 digits for UPC-A, 12 for EAN-13) and it is calculated for you. If you include it and it is wrong, the row is flagged.
- Paste or upload the list into the UPC or EAN-13 generator, with the product name as the second column.
- Pick your label sheet and download the PDF. Print at 100% scale.
Size: the standard EAN-13 and UPC-A symbols are both about 37 × 26 mm, and GS1 allows it to be scaled from 80% to 200%. Going smaller than 80% or cutting the bars shorter makes checkout scans unreliable, so choose a label at least as big as the barcode plus its clear margins. For cartons, use ITF-14 with the case's own GTIN.