Barcode size guide
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Short answer: a standard-size UPC-A barcode has bars 0.330 mm (13 mils) wide at their narrowest and 22.85 mm (0.90 in) tall. With the white space on both sides it is about 37.3 mm (1.47 in) wide.
GS1's minimum is 0.264 mm (about 10.4 mils), about 80% of standard; 0.249 mm is allowed only for thermal and laser printing. ClearBarcode never goes below 0.264 mm. Don't cut the bar height to fit a package: GS1 says the height must not be truncated below its minimum.
Barcode size is not a single number. GS1 sets a minimum, a target and a maximum for each barcode type, depending on where it will be scanned. This guide gives those sizes in inches and millimeters, and explains what your printer does to them.
Sizes from the GS1 General Specifications, Release 26.0 (January 2026), read on October 28, 2026. GS1 gives sizes in millimeters; the inch and mil values here are our conversions.
What the X-dimension is
Every bar and space in a barcode is a whole number of modules wide. The X-dimension is the width of one module: the narrowest bar. In UPC-A and EAN-13, each bar or space is 1, 2, 3 or 4 modules wide, and X stays the same across the whole barcode.
GS1 has used the X-dimension to set barcode sizes since January 2000. Before that, sizes were given as a magnification, where 100% meant the standard size. For EAN/UPC barcodes, 100% is an X of 0.330 mm, so 80% is 0.264 mm and 200% is 0.660 mm.
UPC and EAN sizes
These are GS1's sizes for products scanned at a store checkout (GS1 symbol specification table 1). Widths include the white space on both sides. Heights are the bars only, without the digits underneath.
| Barcode | X-dimension | Width with white space | Smallest bar height |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPC-A, EAN-13 | 0.264 mm (10.4 mils), minimum | 29.8 mm (1.17 in) | 18.28 mm (0.72 in) |
| 0.330 mm (13 mils), standard | 37.3 mm (1.47 in) | 22.85 mm (0.90 in) | |
| 0.660 mm (26 mils), largest | 74.6 mm (2.94 in) | 45.70 mm (1.80 in) | |
| UPC-E | 0.264 mm (10.4 mils), minimum | 17.7 mm (0.70 in) | 18.28 mm (0.72 in) |
| 0.330 mm (13 mils), standard | 22.1 mm (0.87 in) | 22.85 mm (0.90 in) | |
| 0.660 mm (26 mils), largest | 44.2 mm (1.74 in) | 45.70 mm (1.80 in) | |
| EAN-8 | 0.264 mm (10.4 mils), minimum | 21.4 mm (0.84 in) | 14.58 mm (0.57 in) |
| 0.330 mm (13 mils), standard | 26.7 mm (1.05 in) | 18.23 mm (0.72 in) | |
| 0.660 mm (26 mils), largest | 53.5 mm (2.10 in) | 36.46 mm (1.44 in) |
Source: GS1 General Specifications Release 26.0, Table 5-44 (symbol specification table 1) and Table 5-12. Widths are the number of modules times X, worked out by us. GS1 also allows X down to 0.249 mm for thermal and laser printing only; ClearBarcode never goes below 0.264 mm.
The minimum height grows with X, and there is no maximum height. The guard bars at the sides and middle of EAN/UPC barcodes reach 5 modules lower than the other bars (1.65 mm at standard size); that extra length is not counted in the heights above.
Products that are also scanned in warehouses, not only at the checkout, need bigger barcodes: GS1 symbol specification table 3 sets X from 0.495 mm to 0.660 mm (target 0.660 mm), with a bar height of at least 34.28 mm at the smallest X.
Case and carton barcodes: ITF-14 and GS1-128
Cases and cartons in general distribution use ITF-14 or GS1-128 (GS1 symbol specification table 2):
| Rule | ITF-14 | GS1-128 |
|---|---|---|
| X-dimension | 0.495 mm (19.5 mils) smallest and target, up to 1.016 mm (40 mils) | |
| Bar height | At least 31.75 mm (1.25 in) at any X | |
| White space each side | 10 modules | |
| Other rules | Wide bars 2.25 to 3 times the narrow bars (target 2.5). A bearer bar is mandatory unless not feasible: 4.83 mm all round with plate printing, at least twice the narrow bar along the top and bottom otherwise. Below X 0.635 mm, don't print it directly on corrugated board with plate printing | At most 165.10 mm (6.5 in) long with its white space, and at most 48 data characters |
Source: GS1 General Specifications Release 26.0, Table 5-47 (symbol specification table 2), sections 5.3.2.2, 5.3.2.4 and 5.4.4.3.
GS1's own example: an ITF-14 at X 1.016 mm, with a 2.5 ratio and 10.16 mm of white space on each side, is 142.75 mm (5.62 in) wide. Only when an item is physically too small for these sizes may X go down to 0.250 mm and the height to 12.70 mm, and the height never below 5.08 mm.
Pallet labels that carry an SSCC in a GS1-128 barcode use X from 0.495 mm to 0.940 mm and the same 31.75 mm height (symbol specification table 5).
Quiet zones
A quiet zone is the blank space a scanner needs on each side of the bars. Text, edges and other artwork must stay out of it. GS1 sets it in modules, so it grows with X:
| Barcode | Left | Right | At standard X (0.330 mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPC-A | 9 modules | 9 modules | 2.97 mm each side |
| UPC-E | 9 modules | 7 modules | 2.97 mm / 2.31 mm |
| EAN-13 | 11 modules | 7 modules | 3.63 mm / 2.31 mm |
| EAN-8 | 7 modules | 7 modules | 2.31 mm each side |
| ITF-14, GS1-128 | 10 modules | 10 modules | 4.95 mm each side at 0.495 mm |
| GS1 DataMatrix | 1 module on all four sides | ||
Source: GS1 General Specifications Release 26.0, Table 5-11, sections 5.3.2.2 and 5.4.4.2, Tables 5-45 to 5-47.
Smallest size your printer can make
A printer can only make bars that are a whole number of its dots wide. One dot is 0.125 mm at 203 dpi, 0.085 mm at 300 dpi and 0.042 mm at 600 dpi. So the smallest EAN/UPC barcode a printer can make without going below GS1's 0.264 mm minimum depends on its resolution:
| Printer | Dots per bar | Smallest X |
|---|---|---|
| 203 dpi | 3 | 0.375 mm (14.8 mils) |
| 300 dpi | 4 | 0.339 mm (13.3 mils) |
| 600 dpi | 7 | 0.296 mm (11.7 mils) |
Worked out by us from GS1's 0.264 mm minimum: one dot is 25.4 mm divided by the dpi.
GS1 also allows X between 0.249 mm and 0.264 mm, but only for barcodes printed on demand, such as on thermal or laser printers. ClearBarcode never goes below 0.264 mm, for any printer, so the sizes above are the smallest it will make. Our generators round the bars to whole printer dots for you and show the size they used.
Why you shouldn't resize a barcode in a design app
Stretching or shrinking a barcode image changes its X-dimension, and squashing it can cut the bar height below GS1's minimum. Scaling by an uneven amount also means the bars no longer land on whole printer dots. When we rasterized our own test files at printer resolution, bars that didn't start on the printer's dot grid came out one dot wider.
Make the barcode again at the size you need instead of scaling it. Then print at 100% (Actual size), not "Fit to page": in our first test print, "Scale to Fit" printed our test sheet at 189% of its size.
Amazon label sizes
Amazon's FNSKU labels must be between 1″ × 2″ and 2″ × 3″. Its full label rules are on our FNSKU label generator page.
Questions
What is the minimum size of a UPC barcode?
GS1's minimum X is 0.264 mm (0.249 mm only for thermal and laser printing); ClearBarcode never goes below 0.264 mm. At 0.264 mm a UPC-A is about 29.8 mm (1.17 in) wide with its white space and at least 18.28 mm (0.72 in) tall.
Can I make a UPC barcode shorter to fit my package?
Not below the minimum height for its X-dimension: GS1 says the height must not be truncated. If the package is small, a smaller X lowers the minimum height. UPC-E, if your number allows it, saves width but not height.
What do 80% and 200% mean for a barcode?
They are the old magnification sizes. 100% is an X of 0.330 mm, so 80% is 0.264 mm (GS1's minimum, apart from the 0.249 mm allowance for thermal and laser printing) and 200% is 0.660 mm (the largest) for EAN/UPC barcodes.
What size barcode goes on a shipping carton?
For cases and cartons, GS1 uses ITF-14 or GS1-128 with an X of at least 0.495 mm and bars at least 31.75 mm tall. See the table above.
Does my printer's resolution matter?
Yes. It sets the smallest bar your printer can make, as in the printer table above. For FNSKU labels, Amazon also asks for a printer of 300 dpi or more.
Make a barcode at the right size →
Or go straight to the UPC generator or the FNSKU label generator.
Sources
- GS1 General Specifications Standard, Release 26.0, January 2026: sections 5.2.3, 5.3.2, 5.4.4 and 5.12.3; Tables 5-11, 5-12, 5-44, 5-47, 5-48 and 5-51.
- Amazon Seller Central help pages "Use Amazon barcodes for FBA", "FBA barcode requirements", "FBA Label Service" and "FBA Barcode Choice and Labeling FAQ" (read October 28, 2026; Seller Central may ask you to sign in).
- Our own print tests on a 600 dpi laser printer, October 2026.