2026-07-12 · 5 min read
UPC vs EAN: retail barcode differences that matter
Understand when to encode UPC-A vs EAN-13, how check digits work, and what POS systems expect in North America versus global retail.
Geography and digit length
UPC-A is common in the US and Canada (12 digits). EAN-13 is the global retail standard (13 digits). Many modern scanners read both.
Commercial POS use typically requires GS1-allocated GTINs. A generator encodes the digits you provide — it does not replace GS1 membership.
Checksum discipline
Both formats use a check digit. Inkode validates and can auto-complete missing check digits so packaging teams catch errors before print.