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EAN-13 vs UPC-A — Comparison, Conversion & When to Use Each
Last updated: April 2026
EAN-13 and UPC-A represent the same product identity in different digit counts. The choice between them is almost entirely determined by where you sell: if you sell only in the US and Canada, UPC-A is sufficient; if you sell internationally or on any Amazon marketplace outside the US, you need EAN-13. Critically, a 12-digit UPC-A can always be expressed as a 13-digit EAN-13 by prepending a zero — so if you already have GS1-registered UPC-A numbers, you can generate EAN-13 barcodes for your international packaging from the same numbers without any new registration.
At a Glance — Comparison Table
| Property | UPC-A | EAN-13 |
|---|---|---|
| Digit count | 12 | 13 |
| GS1 GTIN name | GTIN-12 | GTIN-13 |
| Geographic scope | US and Canada (primary) | Worldwide |
| Physical width at nominal size | 37.29mm | 37.29mm |
| US grocery checkout | Yes — native format | Yes — read as UPC-A with leading zero removed |
| European / Australian retail checkout | Not accepted | Required |
| Amazon US listings | Yes | Yes |
| Amazon UK / DE / FR / JP / CA / AU | No | Required |
| Walmart Marketplace (US) | Yes | Yes |
| Google Merchant Center (US feeds) | Yes | Yes |
| Google Shopping (international feeds) | No | Required |
| Shopify Barcode field | Accepted | Accepted (preferred for international stores) |
| GS1 registration required for retail | Yes | Yes |
| Convert between formats | Add leading zero → becomes EAN-13 | Remove leading zero → becomes UPC-A (only if starts with 0) |
The Technical Relationship
UPC-A was developed in the US in 1974 as the first standardised retail barcode. EAN-13 was developed in Europe in 1976 as a compatible extension that added one digit to accommodate country-specific GS1 company prefixes outside North America. The designers of EAN-13 deliberately made it backward-compatible with UPC-A: any EAN-13 beginning with the digit 0 encodes a GTIN that is identical to a UPC-A when the leading zero is stripped, and all UPC-A scanners were updated to handle the 13-digit variant.
The practical result is that both formats are physically identical in size (37.29mm wide at GS1 nominal scale) and both are readable by every retail scanner manufactured after approximately 1992. There is no barcode scanner deployed in US retail today that cannot read an EAN-13. The differentiation is in the number range — UPC-A is constrained to 12-digit numbers from the GS1 0-prefix range, while EAN-13 covers 13-digit numbers from all GS1 country prefix ranges worldwide.
Converting Between UPC-A and EAN-13
The conversion formula is straightforward and requires no recalculation of the check digit:
UPC-A to EAN-13: prepend a zero to the front of the 12-digit UPC-A number. The check digit (last digit) does not change. Example: UPC-A 012345678905 becomes EAN-13 0012345678905. This conversion works for every UPC-A number without exception.
EAN-13 to UPC-A: remove the leading zero from a 13-digit EAN-13. This only works when the EAN-13 begins with a zero — meaning it belongs to the GS1 0-prefix range used in North America. If the EAN-13 begins with any digit from 1–9, it encodes a non-North American company prefix and has no valid 12-digit UPC-A equivalent.
When you generate an EAN-13 from BatchPrintGTIN using a number that starts with 0, the barcode produced is visually and functionally identical to a UPC-A barcode — it will scan at any US point-of-sale as a valid UPC-A, and it will be accepted in any international retail system as a valid EAN-13. You only need to print one barcode version for a product that sells in both North America and internationally, as long as your number starts with 0.
Platform-by-Platform: Which Format Each Marketplace Requires
Amazon
Amazon US accepts both GTIN-12 (UPC-A) and GTIN-13 (EAN-13) for product listings on amazon.com. However, Amazon's international marketplaces — amazon.co.uk, amazon.de, amazon.fr, amazon.co.jp, amazon.com.au, and amazon.ca — require EAN-13 format. If you expand from Amazon US to any international Amazon marketplace, you need to express your GTINs as 13-digit EAN-13 numbers. For GTINs in the 0-prefix range, this is simply the UPC-A with a leading zero added — no new GS1 registration required.
Walmart Marketplace
Walmart Marketplace (US) accepts both UPC-A (12 digits) and EAN-13 (13 digits) as the Product ID in seller item setup. Walmart validates both against the GS1 database. When submitting a 12-digit UPC, set the Product ID Type field to UPC; for 13-digit EAN, set it to EAN. Submitting a 12-digit UPC with the Product ID Type set to EAN will cause an item setup rejection.
Google Merchant Center
Google Merchant Center accepts both formats in the gtin product attribute. For US product feeds, both UPC-A and EAN-13 are accepted. For international product feeds (targeting the UK, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, etc.), EAN-13 is the standard format. If you run multi-country Shopping campaigns through a single Merchant Center account, using the 13-digit EAN-13 version of your GTIN across all feeds is the safest and most consistent approach.
Shopify
Shopify's Barcode field accepts both formats. If you sell internationally using Shopify Markets, storing the EAN-13 (13-digit) version in the Barcode field is recommended, as this format is passed to all Google Shopping feeds including those for non-US markets. For stores selling only in the US and Canada, either format works identically.
GS1 Registration: US vs Canada vs International
If you are based in the United States, register at gs1us.org. You will receive a Company Prefix in the 0-range, producing GTIN-12 numbers that encode as UPC-A and can be expressed as EAN-13 by prepending a zero.
If you are based in Canada, register at gs1ca.org. GS1 Canada also issues prefixes in the 0-range — so Canadian GTINs encode as standard UPC-A barcodes, not as EAN-13 with a country-specific prefix. Canadian products work identically to US products at retail scanners in both countries and internationally.
If you are based in the UK, Europe, Australia, or any other country, register with your local GS1 member organisation. You will receive a country-specific prefix (50x for UK, 30–37 for France, 40–44 for Germany, 93 for Australia, etc.). Your GTINs will be 13-digit GTIN-13 numbers that encode as EAN-13 barcodes. These numbers cannot be expressed as UPC-A because they do not start with zero.
Do You Need Both a UPC-A and an EAN-13 on Your Packaging?
In most cases, no. If your GS1 Company Prefix is from GS1 US or GS1 Canada (0-prefix range), a single EAN-13 barcode printed on your packaging will scan correctly at US grocery checkout (as UPC-A), at European retail checkout (as EAN-13), and be accepted by all major online marketplaces. You only need one barcode per product variant on physical packaging.
The exception: if you have existing UPC-A packaging artwork that cannot be changed, and you need to sell into European retail, you would need to create new artwork with an EAN-13 barcode. The number is the same — just add a leading zero and select EAN-13 as the barcode type when generating the image.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is EAN-13 the same as GTIN-13?
Yes. EAN-13 is the barcode format (the visual symbol printed on packaging), and GTIN-13 is the 13-digit number it encodes. They refer to the same thing. When Amazon's listing form says "GTIN-13," it means the 13-digit number that would be encoded in an EAN-13 barcode. Similarly, UPC-A is the barcode format for GTIN-12.
My product has a UPC-A barcode. Do I need to reprint packaging with an EAN-13 to sell in Europe?
If your UPC-A number starts with 0 (which it will if it was issued by GS1 US or GS1 Canada), you can generate an EAN-13 barcode image from the same number by prepending a zero. This EAN-13 encodes the same product identity and will scan correctly everywhere. You would need to update your packaging artwork to print the EAN-13 barcode image instead of the UPC-A image, but no new GS1 registration is needed.
Why does Amazon UK reject my UPC-A number?
Amazon's international marketplaces require GTIN-13 format in their listing systems. A 12-digit UPC-A submitted to Amazon UK will be rejected because the system expects 13 digits. Convert your UPC-A to EAN-13 by prepending a zero, then submit the 13-digit number. The product identity is identical — Amazon's system will recognise it as the same product as your US listing.
Can I use EAN-13 instead of UPC-A for selling in the US?
Yes. EAN-13 barcodes beginning with zero are fully accepted at US grocery checkout, US retailers, Amazon US, Walmart US, and Google Merchant Center US feeds. US POS systems normalise the 13-digit EAN-13 to 12 digits by stripping the leading zero when looking up the product. There is no disadvantage to using EAN-13 format for products sold in the US, and it is the better choice if you anticipate international expansion.
What is the difference between EAN-13 and EAN-8?
EAN-8 is a compact 8-digit barcode designed for small packaging where a full EAN-13 would not physically fit — think lipstick caps, small batteries, and single-serve sachets. EAN-8 numbers are not truncations of EAN-13 numbers; they are issued separately by GS1 as a distinct number range. If your packaging can accommodate a standard barcode (30mm or wider), use EAN-13. Only use EAN-8 when your packaging is genuinely too small for EAN-13.
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