Read any barcode online — UPC, EAN, GTIN, QR and GS1

How to Read a Barcode Online

To read a barcode online, open the camera scanner or the image reader in a current browser, point it at the code or drop in a picture, and the value appears with its format name. You can read a barcode online free here, with nothing to install and no account. It works as a free online barcode reader on phones and computers alike.

If you already have digits and want to know whether they are a UPC, EAN, GTIN or ISBN, paste them into the barcode type detector. Linear codes such as UPC, EAN and Code 128 hold a short string in one row of bars, while 2D codes such as QR and Data Matrix hold far more in a grid; the guide to 1D vs 2D barcodes explains the trade-offs. Code 128, the alphanumeric code on most shipping labels, has its own Code 128 guide, and the barcode formats guide compares the rest.

Read a Barcode With Your Phone Camera

Open the Camera Barcode Scanner on your phone, press Start camera and allow access when the browser asks. The scanner requests the rear camera at up to 1080p with continuous autofocus where the phone supports it, and it stops as soon as one code is read.

Read a Barcode From a Picture

To read a barcode from a picture you already have, open Read Barcode From Image and drop in a photo, screenshot or scanned label. It is the quickest way to read a barcode image online when the file arrives by email or chat, and it works on a computer with no camera. If the first attempt finds nothing, the reader adds a white border around the image and tries again, which rescues codes cropped too tightly.

Barcode Lookup: What a Barcode Number Can Tell You

A barcode number identifies a trade item, not its name, price or maker's address. A barcode lookup works by matching that number against databases where the brand owner registered the product details.

A retail barcode such as UPC-A or EAN-13 carries a GTIN, explained in full in what a GTIN is. Knowing its three parts is how to read barcode numbers:

• GS1 Company Prefix: licensed to the brand owner by a GS1 Member Organization. Its first digits, the GS1 Prefix, show which organization issued it, not the country where the product was made.
• Item reference: chosen by the brand owner for each product variant.
• Check digit: the last digit, calculated from the others to catch misreads and typos, as shown in how check digits work.

Some prefixes have a fixed meaning. A 13-digit number starting with 978 or 979 is usually a book's ISBN, and numbers starting with 2 are restricted circulation numbers that a store assigns itself, often to weighed items, so no public database knows them.

UPC and EAN are two forms of the same system: a 12-digit UPC-A becomes a valid EAN-13 by adding a leading zero, as the UPC vs EAN guide shows. Newer packs may also carry a QR code with a GS1 Digital Link URL, which puts the same GTIN in a web address; the GS1 Digital Link guide shows how to read one.

How to Read a Barcode Without a Scanner

You can read a barcode without a scanner by typing the digits printed under the bars, or by using the camera of a phone or laptop in the browser.

Type the printed digits into the GTIN Validator to check the check digit, or into the UPC lookup to look the number up. Reading the bars directly is possible for a UPC-A, where each digit takes seven modules drawn as two bars and two spaces, but it is slow and error-prone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about reading, validating and decoding barcodes online.