Is EAN-13 the same as GTIN-13?

Yes. GS1 rebranded EAN to GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) to unify all product identification standards. An EAN-13 and a GTIN-13 represent the same 13-digit number. Modern systems often refer to them as GTIN.

How do I get an EAN-13 number for my product?

Join GS1 in your country (e.g., GS1 US, GS1 UK) to obtain a company prefix. Your prefix plus your own product reference digits form valid EAN-13 numbers. GS1 membership fees vary by country and the number of products you plan to register.

Can I validate an existing EAN-13 barcode?

Yes. Use our EAN-13 validator tool on the /ean-13-validator page. Enter the full 13 digits and the tool confirms whether the check digit is correct.

What causes an EAN-13 barcode to fail at point of sale?

The most common causes are: incorrect check digit, insufficient quiet zone, printing below 80% of the nominal size, poor contrast (gray bars on light gray background), and bar width distortion from inkjet printing on absorbent surfaces. Always test-scan before committing to a print run.

Can I just make up an EAN-13 number?

You can type any 12 digits and the tool will calculate a valid check digit — but a correct check digit does not make the number yours. For products sold through retailers or marketplaces, use a number built on your own GS1 company prefix. For purely internal labels that never enter retail systems, use Code 128 with your own SKU scheme instead — that is what it is for.

Is a 13-digit barcode different from an EAN-13?

No. A 13-digit product barcode is an EAN-13 (GTIN-13). The first digits identify the issuing country/GS1 organisation, the middle digits are the company and product reference, and the 13th digit is a calculated check digit.

Free EAN-13 Barcode Generator

Generate EAN-13 barcodes for international retail products. Enter 12 digits — the check digit is calculated automatically.

Batch Label

Try FreeGet Pro — $29.99

Code Format

Barcode Value

Input: BATCH-001

Batch Label Studio creates a barcode image from the number you provide. It does not issue or register UPC, EAN, GTIN, or GS1 identifiers. You are responsible for obtaining any identifier required by your retailer, distributor, or standards organization.

Label Layout

Label Size / Template

Product Name (Optional)

Description (Optional)

Barcode Width80% · 53.3 mm

66.7 × 25.4 mm2.63 × 1.00 in

Export & Print

Need bulk generation?
Pro

Batch Label Studio Pro unlocks CSV import, multi-page PDF generation, and up to 10,000 labels per batch.

Unlock Professional

This generator makes a barcode label from a number you already have — it does not issue EAN numbers. Official EAN-13 numbers (GTIN-13s) come from GS1: you license a GS1 company prefix in your country, assign your own product references under it, and the 13th digit is a calculated check digit. A barcode made from an invented or borrowed number can collide with another company's product in retail systems. Get the number from GS1 first; then turn it into labels here, free.

What Is EAN-13?

EAN-13 (European Article Number, 13 digits) is the global standard for retail product identification, maintained by GS1. It is used on virtually every consumer product sold outside North America, and increasingly on products sold globally. The standard became ISO/IEC 15420 in 2000, cementing it as the international equivalent of the North American UPC system.

The 13 digits are structured as: a 2–3 digit GS1 country prefix (assigned to the company, not the product's country of origin), a company-assigned manufacturer code, a product reference number, and a single check digit. A UPC-A is an EAN-13 with the leading digit being zero — any EAN-13 scanner reads both formats.

EAN-13 Printing Requirements

GS1 specifies a nominal symbol height of 69 bar modules (about 22.85 mm at 100% magnification) and allows magnification between 80% and 200%. The minimum quiet zone is 3.63 mm on the left and 2.31 mm on the right. The human-readable numerals below the bars are a mandatory part of the symbol — do not omit them or position them inside the bars.

For flexible packaging (bags, pouches), use the EAN-13 Omni-directional symbol, which is 150% of nominal size to compensate for distortion during printing on stretch film. When the label is smaller than 21 mm in any direction, consider EAN-8 instead — a compressed 8-digit variant for small packaging.

A 13-digit barcode is an EAN-13

If you are searching for a '13-digit barcode', you are looking at EAN-13 — there is no separate 13-digit format. An EAN-13 (also called GTIN-13) is a GS1 prefix, a product reference, and a final check digit. If you have a 13-digit number and want to check that its last digit is right, use the check digit calculator.

Print your EAN-13 as a label

EAN-13 prints at the same nominal size as UPC-A — about 37.3 mm wide at 100% magnification, never below about 29.8 mm (80%), with quiet zones of about 3.63 mm on the left and 2.31 mm on the right. Print it at a supported label size rather than stretching the image to fit.

Barcode label sizes Lay the barcode out as a finished label

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Tools

Generate EAN-13 barcodes for your entire product catalog

Batch Label Studio Pro imports CSV and Excel files and generates thousands of labels locally — no uploads, no server, no subscription.

Get Pro — $29.99

One-time purchase. Works offline.