UPC-A barcodes are effectively a subset of EAN-13 barcodes:

Both barcodes are easily scanned by most scanners. 

 

Differences in appearance:

If the first digit on the EAN-13 number is a ‘0’ (identified with the blue arrow in the image below), then

• The bars of both the EAN-13 (with the leading ‘0’) and the UPC-A (without the leading ‘0’) will be identical
• The difference is then in how the human-readable numbers are positioned below the bars, as you can see in the image:

 

When should you use an EAN-13 vs a UPC-A?

UPC-A Format barcodes have traditionally been used in the USA, whereas EAN-13 format barcodes have been used throughout the rest of the world.

Nowadays, the majority of stores throughout the world accept barcodes in either format.

However, some older systems may only accept one or the other, so to be safe…

• if your product is being sold in the USA, the UPC-A format barcodes are best,
• if your product is international, or sold in a country other than the USA, the EAN-13 format is best.

 

Troubleshooting:

If a store has difficulty reading your EAN-13 or UPC-A barcode, they can either ignore the leading ‘0’ or add a leading ‘0’ depending on how many digits their system prefers.

This enables the barcode to be read exactly the same as the opposite format (as the bars are identical regardless), and the barcode will still be globally unique.

 

Purchasing:

If you require a UPC-A format barcode, please specify this in the Additional Information section when you are checking out.

You can purchase both UPC-A and EAN-13 numbers from our International Barcode Network members