Free tool for authors
Free ISBN Barcode Generator
Type your ISBN and get a print-ready barcode for your back cover, with or without a price. Vector PDF, SVG and EPS, or a 600 DPI PNG. No sign-up, no email, and nothing to buy.
The 13 digits from your ISBN agency, with or without hyphens. Type the hyphens and they print on the barcode too. A 10-digit ISBN is converted for you.
Leave it off for print-on-demand, so you can change your price any time. Bookstores like a price, or 90000 for “no suggested price.”
Printer settings
Only change bar width reduction if an offset printer gives you a number. It makes up for ink spreading on paper.
Why this one
A barcode your printer won’t send back.
Most free barcode generators hand you a low-resolution image, or make you give an email address to get the file. This one gives you the files a print designer would make.
Real vector files
PDF, SVG and EPS stay sharp at any size. The digits are outlines, so there’s no font to go missing at the printer.
Black ink only
The PDF and EPS use 100% black (K) and no other ink, so the bars print crisp instead of as a fuzzy four-color black.
The right size
Drawn to the EAN-13 standard at true size. PNGs carry their DPI, so they place at the right size in Canva and Word.
Catches typos
Every ISBN ends in a check digit. Mistype one number and you’ll know before the barcode goes on a thousand copies.
Price add-on
The five-digit price barcode bookstores look for, in US dollars, Canadian dollars or pounds, or 90000 for no price.
Free, and private
No account, no email, no watermark, no limit. It runs in your browser, so your ISBN stays on your computer.
How to
How to make an ISBN barcode
Type your ISBN
Enter the 13-digit ISBN your ISBN agency gave you, with or without hyphens. An older 10-digit ISBN works too; it’s converted for you. The check digit is verified as you type.
Choose a price, or none
Leave the price off for print-on-demand books. Add one in US dollars, Canadian dollars or pounds if bookstores will sell the book, or use 90000 for “no suggested price.”
Pick the size
100% is the standard size and fits the 2 × 1.2 inch space printers reserve. With a price add-on, 90% fits. Don’t go below 80%.
Download and place it
Download a vector PDF, SVG or EPS for print design, or a PNG or JPG for Canva and Word. Put it in the lower right of the back cover, on a white area.
That’s all. An ISBN barcode isn’t something you need to buy. ISBN agencies sell barcodes as an add-on, but a barcode is just your ISBN drawn to a public standard, and any correct drawing scans the same.
File formats
Which file should you download?
For a print cover, pick a vector file whenever your software takes one. A vector barcode is drawn from shapes, so it’s exactly as sharp at the printer as on your screen.
| File | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe InDesign, Affinity Publisher, Scribus, sending to a printer | Vector, 100% black ink, page cut to the barcode’s exact size. | |
| SVG | Canva, Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape, Figma | Vector. In Canva, upload it like a photo and it stays sharp. |
| EPS | Older layout software, offset printers that ask for EPS | Vector, 100% black ink. |
| PNG | Microsoft Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, anything that only takes images | 600 DPI by default, white or clear background, with the DPI written into the file. |
| JPG | Tools that won’t take PNG | Always a white background. Choose PNG if you can. |
Placing a PNG? Don’t resize it by eye. Check it measures the size shown under the preview. A barcode squeezed smaller than 80% may not scan.
Pricing options
Barcode with a price, or without?
The small barcode to the right of the main one is the price add-on, technically an EAN-5. Its first digit is the currency and the other four are the price. It’s optional, and for most self-published books, leaving it off is the right call.
No price
Best for print-on-demand through Amazon KDP, IngramSpark or Lulu. Your price lives in a dashboard and can change any day, so a printed price would soon be wrong. A barcode without an add-on is also smaller and fits more easily.
90000: no suggested price
Some bookstores and distributors expect the five-digit add-on to be present. 90000 fills that space and tells the till there’s no printed price, so the store sets its own.
An actual price
Use this when you’re selling into physical bookstores, at fairs or at signings, and the price is settled. The catch: change your price and every cover printed after that needs a new barcode.
| Currency | First digit | Example |
|---|---|---|
| US dollar | 5 | $14.99 → 51499 |
| Canadian dollar | 6 | C$19.99 → 61999 |
| Pound sterling | 0 | £9.99 → 00999 |
| No price | 9 | 90000 |
| Euro | none | No standard code; ask your distributor |
The euro is the trap. It never got a standard first digit, and some scanners read a euro price as pounds. If you need one, get the exact encoding from your distributor. More on barcode prices and the currency trap →
Size and placement
ISBN barcode size, and where it goes
A book barcode is an EAN-13, the same symbol on every retail product. At 100% (standard) size its narrowest bar is 0.33 mm and the whole symbol is 37.29 mm wide including its clear margins. The standard allows 80% to 200%; books almost always use 80% to 100%.
| Size | ISBN only | With price add-on |
|---|---|---|
| 100% | 37.3 × 30.0 mm (1.47 × 1.18 in) | 55.4 × 30.0 mm (2.18 × 1.18 in) |
| 90% | 33.6 × 27.0 mm (1.32 × 1.06 in) | 49.9 × 27.0 mm (1.96 × 1.06 in) |
| 80% | 29.8 × 24.0 mm (1.17 × 0.94 in) | 44.4 × 24.0 mm (1.75 × 0.94 in) |
Sizes include the “ISBN” line above the bars and the side margins scanners need.
- Lower right of the back cover is the convention. Lower left is fine. Never across the spine fold.
- Leave a 2 × 1.2 inch space (about 51 × 30 mm). It’s the area KDP and most print services reserve for the barcode.
- Black bars on white. No photo, texture or gradient behind it. Dark or red backgrounds won’t scan.
- Keep the clear space on each side of the bars. Text pressed against the barcode breaks it.
- Keep it inside the safe area, at least 0.25 inch from the trim edge and the spine, so the cutter can’t clip it.
- Never stretch it. Resize only from a corner, keeping the proportions, and not below 80%.
Do you need one?
When you need your own ISBN barcode
Every print book sold in a store needs a barcode on the back. Ebooks never do. Whether you make it yourself depends on where you print.
- Amazon KDP: leave the barcode area of your back cover empty and KDP adds a barcode for free. If your cover already has one, tell KDP when you upload.
- IngramSpark: their cover template comes with a barcode already placed. You only need your own if you design the cover from scratch.
- Local and offset printers usually expect the barcode on the cover file you send. Make one here.
- Bookstores and consignment often want a price on the barcode, which free print-on-demand barcodes don’t include.
- Designing in Canva, or anywhere you want to see the real back cover before you upload: place your own so nothing important ends up under it.
Not sure you need your own ISBN in the first place? Do you need an ISBN? → · Buying your own ISBNs →
Avoid these
Barcode mistakes that get covers rejected
- A typo in the ISBN. The barcode scans, and brings up somebody else’s book. The check digit catches most of these, which is why this tool checks it.
- The same barcode on two formats. Paperback and hardcover need different ISBNs, so different barcodes.
- A low-resolution screenshot. Blurry bar edges fail. Use a vector file, or a PNG at 600 DPI.
- Colored or reversed bars. White bars on black, or brown on cream, look good and don’t scan.
- Art behind the barcode. Put a solid white box under it, or use the white background option.
- A barcode where KDP prints its own. If KDP is adding one, leave the space empty. If you place your own, tell KDP your cover already has a barcode when you upload.
FAQ
ISBN barcode questions
Is this ISBN barcode generator really free?
Yes. Every format, every size, as many barcodes as you need. There is no sign-up, no email address, and no watermark. The barcode is made in your browser, so your ISBN is never sent to us.
Does this give me an ISBN?
No. A barcode is your ISBN drawn as bars, so you need the ISBN first. In the US you buy ISBNs from Bowker, in the UK from Nielsen, and in Canada they are free from Library and Archives Canada. Amazon KDP and IngramSpark can also give you a free ISBN that works only on their platform.
What is the difference between an ISBN and an ISBN barcode?
The ISBN is the number that identifies one edition of your book. The barcode is that same number in a form a store scanner can read, an EAN-13 symbol, sometimes with a small price barcode beside it. You don’t buy a barcode separately; anyone can draw one from a valid ISBN.
Can I use an ISBN-10?
Yes. Type it and the tool converts it to the ISBN-13 version, which is what every book barcode encodes. ISBN-10s were retired in 2007, so the converted ISBN-13 is also the one to use in your listings.
Do I need a barcode if I publish with Amazon KDP?
Not necessarily. If you leave the barcode area of your back cover empty, KDP prints a barcode there for you at no charge. Make your own if you want to see the finished back cover before you upload, if you want a price on it, or if you are printing anywhere else as well.
Do ebooks need a barcode?
No. Barcodes are for scanning physical books at a till. Ebooks are sold online and don’t need one, even when they have their own ISBN.
What does 90000 mean on a barcode?
90000 in the small add-on means “no suggested retail price.” Some bookstores and distributors expect a five-digit add-on to be there; 90000 fills the space without committing you to a price.
Which currencies can the price add-on show?
US dollars (code 5) and pounds sterling (code 0) are the long-standing standards, and Canadian booksellers use code 6 for Canadian dollars. The euro has no standard code, so for a euro price, check the encoding with your distributor before you print. Each price add-on holds one currency, up to 99.99.
What file format should I use?
For a print cover, use a vector format: PDF for InDesign, Affinity and most printers, SVG for Canva and Illustrator, EPS for older layout software. Vector barcodes stay sharp at any size. Use PNG (600 DPI) if your design tool only takes images.
Will the barcode scan?
It is drawn to the GS1 EAN-13 specification: 0.33 mm modules at 100%, full-height guard bars and the right quiet zones on both sides. It uses the same encoder as the BookPublish.app Cover Maker. Keep it black on white, keep the clear space around it, and don’t stretch or squash it.
Can I make the barcode a color, or put it on my cover art?
Keep the bars black and the background white or very light. Scanners read the contrast between bars and background, and red, light or textured backgrounds fail. The PDF and EPS use 100% black ink only, which prints crisper than a four-color black.
Does each format of my book need its own barcode?
Yes. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions each need their own ISBN, so each gets its own barcode. Make one for each and keep the file names straight.
What is bar width reduction?
Ink spreads a little on paper, which makes printed bars fatter than drawn ones. Some offset printers ask you to make the bars slightly thinner to make up for it. Leave it at 0 unless your printer gives you a number. Print-on-demand printers don’t need it.
Updated October 25, 2026.
Need the whole cover, not just the barcode?
The Cover Maker builds your full wrap (front, spine and back) to your printer’s exact size. Type your ISBN once and the barcode goes in the right place, with the back cover laid out around it.