Free tool
ISBN Barcode Generator.
Every printed book needs its ISBN as a scannable EAN-13 barcode on the back cover. Paste your ISBN-13 and download a print-ready symbol for your cover designer.
No signup. No watermark. Free for commercial use.
Where it's used
What ISBN is for.
- Book back covers
- Self-publishing (KDP, IngramSpark)
- Library systems
FAQ
ISBN questions.
Where do I get an ISBN in the first place?
From your country's ISBN agency — Bowker in the US, Nielsen in the UK — or your publisher. Self-publishing platforms sometimes assign one for you. This tool turns the number you already have into the barcode image.
Does this include the price add-on barcode?
Not yet — this generates the main EAN-13 symbol. US bookstores sometimes want a 5-digit price add-on (EAN-5) beside it; many self-published books use 90000 (no set price) or skip it.
What size should the barcode be on my cover?
The standard is about 2 × 1.2 inches at 100% magnification. Download the SVG and your designer can scale it without quality loss — don't go below 80% size.
ISBN-10 or ISBN-13?
ISBN-13. All ISBNs issued since 2007 are 13-digit, and the barcode format is EAN-13 either way. If you only have an ISBN-10, convert it (prefix 978 and recompute the check digit).
Is this free for commercial use?
Yes — use it on any book cover, no watermark or attribution.
Other formats
Need a different barcode?
Barcodes that actually track something.
Generating codes is the easy half. Inventory Scan turns them into live inventory. Scan any of these from a phone to look up, count, and update items. Free for 100 items.