ISBN Barcode Generator
Enter a 13-digit ISBN and get a print-ready Bookland EAN-13 barcode, with an optional price add-on — free, unlimited, no sign-up.
What an ISBN barcode encodes
An ISBN barcode is a Bookland EAN-13 symbol — the same physical symbology as a retail EAN-13, but always starting with the reserved 978 or 979 prefix that marks it as a book rather than a general retail product. Underneath that prefix, the same GTIN structure applies: a registration group (roughly, a language or country), a registrant (the publisher), a publication element (the specific title/edition), and a check digit computed automatically, the same mod-10 algorithm every EAN-13 uses — see our EAN-13 generator at /ean-13 for the check digit math itself. Enter the 13-digit ISBN you already have and this tool renders the scannable barcode; it doesn't assign or validate ISBN registration, just the image.
Where ISBNs actually come from
This site doesn't sell or issue ISBNs — that's the job of your country's official ISBN agency, not a barcode generator. In the United States, that's Bowker (myidentifiers.com); the UK uses Nielsen; most other countries have their own national agency, usually a library or publishing-industry body. Amazon KDP will assign a free ISBN during setup, but it lists Amazon as the publisher of record and ties that edition to KDP specifically. Buying your own ISBN from your national agency instead makes you the publisher of record and lets the same number follow your book across every retailer, distributor, and print vendor, not just one platform.
The EAN-5 price add-on
Book covers conventionally carry a second, smaller barcode next to the ISBN: a 5-digit EAN-5 supplement historically used to encode the suggested retail price. This tool's price add-on field is optional — leave it blank for no add-on at all, or enter a value: 90000 is the industry-standard sentinel meaning "no price encoded," while a value starting with 5 followed by four digits encodes a US-dollar price (51999 reads as $19.99). Most self-publishing platforms print 90000 by default since retail prices change independently of the print run; only add a real price if you specifically want it locked into the barcode image.
Cover sizing for KDP and IngramSpark
Both major print-on-demand platforms expect the barcode in the bottom-right corner of the back cover, inside their template's designated safe area, and both will scale a properly-formed barcode image to fit their required dimensions automatically. KDP and IngramSpark can also generate the barcode for you directly during upload — this tool is most useful when you need a standalone image outside either platform's own flow: a proof for a different print vendor, a cover mockup before your final upload, or a price add-on that platform's own auto-generated barcode doesn't offer.
Printing guidance
Print the barcode at 300 dpi or higher, at 100% of its designed size where possible — cover barcodes have less tolerance for scaling than a typical retail label, since a shrunk or stretched ISBN barcode can fail a print-shop's automated pre-flight scan check before the book is even sent to press. Keep bars pure black on a plain white or light background; a textured, colored, or busy cover-art background directly behind the barcode is one of the most common reasons a self-published cover gets flagged and bounced back during printing review, costing a whole extra upload-and-wait cycle.
Frequently asked questions
Can I generate an ISBN barcode for free?
Where do I get an ISBN number?
What does the price add-on on an ISBN barcode mean?
Do KDP and IngramSpark barcodes need to match a specific size?
What's the difference between an ISBN and an ISBN barcode?
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