What Is an EAN-13 Barcode?

EAN-13 is a linear barcode that carries the 13-digit international article number (GTIN-13) used on retail products. It is the standard product barcode scanned at supermarket checkouts; its first digits encode the country and manufacturer.

Sample data: 869012345678

Create your own EAN-13 barcode →

Key facts

Where is it used?

• Scanning store products at the checkout
• Stock and inventory tracking
• A global product identity that includes country/manufacturer code
• E-commerce product matching

What do the 13 digits mean?

The 13-digit number in an EAN-13 barcode (the GTIN-13) has four parts: a GS1 country prefix (2–3 digits — it identifies the GS1 office that issued the number, not where the product was made), a company number, the product number the company assigns, and a single check digit.

The check digit is computed from the first 12 digits: multiply them alternately by 1 and 3 from right to left, add everything up, and the digit that rounds the sum up to the next multiple of ten is the check digit. Every scanner repeats this maths on each read, which is why a single mistyped digit is caught instantly. In Labelixa you only enter 12 digits — the ZPL ^BE command computes the check digit itself:

^XA
^FO60,60^BEN,120,Y,N
^FD869012345678^FS
^XZ

EAN-13 vs UPC-A: both belong to the same GTIN family. UPC-A is the 12-digit barcode used in North American retail; add a leading zero and it becomes a valid EAN-13, which is why modern scanners read both.

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