Barcode Generator Guide

What is a Barcode?

A barcode is a machine-readable representation of data using parallel lines of varying widths and spacings. Barcodes are used in retail, logistics, healthcare, and manufacturing to encode product IDs, tracking numbers, and other data. Our free barcode generator lets you create barcodes in 8 popular formats directly in your browser.

Supported Barcode Formats

Code 128 — The most widely used barcode format. Supports all 128 ASCII characters, making it ideal for shipping labels, product packaging, and inventory management. Code 128 uses variable-length encoding and is very compact.
Code 39 — An older alphanumeric barcode supporting uppercase letters (A-Z), digits (0-9), and special characters (-. $/+%). Commonly used in automotive, defense, and healthcare industries.
EAN-13 — The standard barcode for retail products worldwide (outside North America). Contains 13 digits including a country code, manufacturer code, product code, and check digit.
EAN-8 — A compact 8-digit variant of EAN-13, used for small products where space is limited, such as candy bars and cigarette packs.
UPC-A — The 12-digit barcode standard used in North American retail. Found on virtually every product sold in the US and Canada.
ITF-14 — Interleaved 2 of 5 format with 14 digits, used for shipping cartons and outer packaging. Designed for printing on corrugated cardboard.
MSI — Modified Plessey barcode used primarily for inventory control, marking shelves, and storage containers in warehouses.
Pharmacode — A binary barcode used exclusively in pharmaceutical packaging. Encodes numbers from 1 to 131070 and is designed to be read even if poorly printed.

How to Use This Barcode Generator

Select a format — Choose from Code 128, Code 39, EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, ITF-14, MSI, or Pharmacode based on your use case.
Enter your value — Type the data you want to encode. The barcode generates in real-time as you type.
Adjust size — Use the width and height sliders to customize the barcode dimensions.
Download or copy — Click "Download PNG" to save the barcode image, or "Copy Image" to paste it directly into documents.

Which Barcode Format Should I Use?

For general-purpose use, Code 128 is the best choice — it supports the full ASCII character set and produces compact barcodes. For retail products, use EAN-13 (international) or UPC-A (North America). For shipping and logistics, ITF-14 is the industry standard. For warehouse inventory, MSI works well. Pharmacode is specifically designed for pharmaceutical packaging.