Selenic Systems

ISBN barcode generator

Turn your ISBN into the barcode for your book’s back cover, with an optional price add-on for US and Canadian booksellers. Download a print-ready file in seconds.

  • Free, no sign-up
  • No watermark
  • Print-ready SVG
  • Made in your browser

Making barcodes for several books? Use the bulk generator

Type it with the hyphens, exactly as your ISBN agency issued it. Older 10-digit ISBNs work too.

Price add-on

Booksellers in the US and Canada expect one: a 5 followed by the price, such as 51995 for $19.95, or 90000 for no set price. Elsewhere, books usually don’t need one.

Enter your ISBN and its barcode appears here.

Download

PNG suits documents, slides and websites.

Print a sheet

Each label is about 9.3 × 3.6 cm. Print at 100% scale (turn off “fit to page”). To save a PDF instead, choose “Save as PDF” as the printer.

How to make a barcode for your book

  1. Type your 13-digit ISBN with its hyphens, exactly as it appears on your ISBN record. A 10-digit ISBN is converted for you.
  2. If your book is sold in the US or Canada, add the price add-on, or 90000 for no set price.
  3. Download the SVG and place it on your back cover, or send it to your cover designer.

Publishing a series, or a whole catalogue? The bulk generator makes them all at once: paste one ISBN per line, with its hyphens, then print or save them. Need a different barcode, like Code 128 or UPC-A? Use the barcode generator.

Placing the barcode on your cover

  • The usual spot is the lower right of the back cover, on a white box if your cover is dark or busy.
  • Keep it black on white. Coloured or reversed barcodes often fail at the till.
  • Don’t squash or stretch it. Resize it evenly, and check your printer’s minimum size before shrinking it.
  • Leave a clear margin around it, especially at the sides. Scanners need the blank space to find the bars.
  • Some self-publishing platforms, including Amazon KDP, add the barcode for you. Check their cover guidelines before adding your own.

What’s in a book barcode

A book barcode is an EAN-13, the same barcode used on groceries, with the ISBN printed above it. Every ISBN-13 starts with 978 or 979, and its last digit is a check digit that catches typos. If you want to check one by hand, the check digit calculator shows the working.

Need barcodes for products instead? Use the barcode generator, or the bulk generator for a whole list.

Frequently asked questions

Is this barcode free to use on my book?

Yes. There’s no sign-up, no watermark and no charge, including for books you sell. You do need your own ISBN, which this tool can’t issue.

Where do I get an ISBN?

From the ISBN agency for the country where you publish: Nielsen in the UK and Ireland, Bowker in the US, and a national agency elsewhere. Some self-publishing platforms offer a free ISBN that can only be used on their platform.

Why do I need to type the hyphens?

The hyphens split the ISBN into its parts: the prefix, the registration group, the publisher and the title. Where they go depends on the agency’s number ranges, so they can’t be worked out from the digits. They’re printed above the barcode, so copy them exactly from your ISBN record.

Do I need the price add-on?

For books sold in the US and Canada, booksellers expect it: a 5 and then the price, such as 51995 for $19.95, or 90000 if there’s no set price. Books sold elsewhere usually don’t have one.

What file should I give my printer or cover designer?

Download the SVG. It stays sharp at any size and opens in design software such as Affinity, Illustrator and Inkscape, which can export it as a PDF or EPS if your printer asks for one.

Is my ISBN sent anywhere?

No. The barcode is drawn in your browser and nothing you type is sent to us or anyone else.