Barcode scanner online

Format	Where you see it
UPC-A, UPC-E	Retail products in the US and Canada
EAN-13, EAN-8	Retail products worldwide, books (ISBN)
Code 128	Shipping labels, inventory, many logistics labels
Code 39, Code 93	Industrial labels, ID badges, government use
ITF (Interleaved 2 of 5)	Cartons and shipping cases
Codabar	Libraries, blood banks, older systems
GS1 DataBar	Fresh produce, coupons
QR code, Data Matrix, PDF417, Aztec	2D codes: links, small parts, IDs and boarding passes

Where the browser has a built-in barcode detector (Chrome on Android, recent Safari), the scanner uses it for speed. Otherwise it loads the open-source ZXing library the first time you scan.

Choose With camera and allow camera access. On phones, the rear camera is used.

• Hold the barcode horizontally inside the frame, about 4–8 inches (10–20 cm) from the camera.
• Make sure the bars are sharp: tap to focus, and avoid glare on shiny packaging.
• Once a code is read, the phone vibrates (where supported) and the result appears.

The video stays in your browser: nothing is recorded, uploaded or stored.

Tick Continuous scanning to keep the camera running and scan item after item. Each new code is added to a list (up to the 20 most recent), skipping immediate repeats of the same code. When you are done, click Copy list and paste the codes into a spreadsheet, an inventory app or an email.

This is handy for quick stock counts, checking deliveries against an order, cataloging books, or collecting serial numbers, without installing an app.

For UPC and EAN codes, the scanner checks the check digit. If it does not match, the code was probably misread; scan again.

It also shows the GS1 prefix of 13-digit codes, which tells you which national GS1 organization issued the company number: for example 000–019 for the USA and Canada, 400–440 for Germany, 690–699 for China. This is not the country where the product was made; a US company can manufacture anywhere and still use a US prefix. Special prefixes are recognized too: 978/979 for books (ISBN), 977 for periodicals (ISSN), and codes starting with 2 for in-store labels such as deli and produce scales.

For product numbers, a Search the web button looks the number up, which often finds the product name.

Switch to From photo / screenshot and drop an image, or paste a screenshot with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on Mac). The scanner tries several sizes and also rotates the image 90°, so vertical barcodes in photos are found too. For best results, photograph the barcode straight on, fill most of the frame with it, and crop out other barcodes.

To create barcodes rather than read them, use the barcode generator. For QR codes with link safety checks, use the QR code scanner.