# ISBN vs barcode: what you buy, what you make > The ISBN is your book's number; the barcode is that number drawn as bars. What you have to buy, what you can make for free, and what each one is for. - Author: Marko Markovic, prepress specialist (https://barcoderocket.com/about) - Publisher: Barcode Rocket (https://barcoderocket.com/) - URL: https://barcoderocket.com/articles/isbn-vs-barcode - Published: 2026-10-10 - Updated: 2026-10-10 - Topic: ISBN barcodes for books - Sources: 7, listed at the end ## Short answer An ISBN is the identifier of your book, assigned by your national ISBN agency and registered to you as the publisher. A barcode is that same ISBN drawn as an EAN-13 symbol so a scanner can read it. You need to obtain the ISBN; the barcode you can make yourself from it, at no cost, as long as it is drawn correctly. ## Two different things with one number Authors often meet both words on the same checkout page, which makes it look as if they were two products. They are not on the same level. | | ISBN | Barcode | |---|---|---| | What it is | An identifier for one edition and format of a book | A machine-readable picture of the ISBN | | Who issues it | The ISBN agency for the country where the publisher is based | Nobody. Anyone can draw it correctly | | Is it registered? | Yes, with the agency, linked to you as publisher | No. It carries no data beyond the digits | | Where it is used | Catalogs, distributor feeds, library records, the copyright page, the cover | The back cover, for scanning at the till and in warehouses | | eBooks | Depends on the store; optional for Kindle eBooks on KDP | No. There is nothing to scan | | Can it go out of date? | No | Only if it includes a price that changes | ## What the ISBN does The ISBN standard (ISO 2108) and the ISBN Users' Manual describe the ISBN as an identifier for each separately available edition or product form of a book from a publisher. In practice that means: - your paperback and your hardcover each get their own ISBN, and so does an eBook if it has one; - a new edition with substantial changes gets a new ISBN; - an unchanged reprint, or one with only corrected misprints, keeps the same one. When you register the ISBN you also register its metadata: title, contributor, format, publisher name. That record is what booksellers and libraries see. If you use the free ISBN some platforms offer, the platform's name or a generic label may appear as publisher. For example, KDP says its free ISBN shows "Independently published" as the imprint and can be used only on KDP. ## What the barcode does The barcode lets a scanner read the ISBN in a fraction of a second. Since the 13-digit ISBN is also a valid EAN-13 number with the 978 or 979 prefix, the barcode is a standard EAN-13 symbol. It carries: - the 13 digits of the ISBN; - optionally a five-digit price add-on (EAN-5), such as 51999 for US$19.99, or 90000 for no encoded price. It does not carry your title, author, publisher, or any link to a database. A shop's system looks up the scanned number in its own catalog, which is fed by your distributor. ## So what do you actually need to buy? - **The ISBN:** yes, unless your country's agency gives them free (Canada does, for eligible Canadian publishers) or you accept a platform's free ISBN with its limits. See [where to get an ISBN](https://barcoderocket.com/articles/where-to-get-an-isbn). - **The barcode:** no. Agencies and resellers sometimes sell barcodes as an add-on. There is nothing wrong with buying one, but a correct barcode made from your ISBN is the same thing. What matters is that it is correct and print-ready: vector, 100% black, the right size, with the right price code. > Barcode Rocket does not sell ISBNs and never makes one up. You type the ISBN you own, the tool checks it and draws it. ## Do I even need a barcode? For a printed book sold through shops or online retailers, yes, the back cover needs one. Both large print-on-demand platforms will add one for you if you leave the space empty: KDP places a barcode in a 2.0 x 1.2 in white box in the lower right of the back cover, and IngramSpark's cover template comes with a barcode. Reasons to place your own anyway: - you want the price add-on, or 90000, exactly as you choose; - you print the same cover file with an offset printer too, and need the barcode in the file; - you want to see it and check it before the platform covers part of your design. An eBook never needs a barcode. Whether it needs an ISBN depends on the store: KDP says an ISBN is optional for eBooks. [Turn your ISBN into a barcode: open the free ISBN generator](https://barcoderocket.com/?type=isbn#try) ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the barcode registered somewhere? No. Only the ISBN is registered. The barcode is a drawing of the ISBN, and any correct drawing of the same number scans the same way. ### Can I use one barcode for my paperback and hardcover? No. Each format has its own ISBN, so each gets its own barcode. Using the paperback barcode on the hardcover would make shops sell the wrong product. ### My ISBN agency offered me a barcode. Is it different? It encodes the same number. Check the file you receive: it should be vector, in 100% black, and include the price add-on you want. If you already have a correct barcode, you do not need a second one. ### Does the ISBN have to be printed somewhere other than the barcode? The ISBN normally also appears on the copyright page. On the cover it is printed in human-readable form directly above the barcode, which the US guidelines ask for. ## Sources - ISO 2108:2017, International Standard Book Number: [iso.org/standard/65483](https://www.iso.org/standard/65483.html) - International ISBN Agency, ISBN Users' Manual (editions, reprints, product forms): [isbn-international.org](https://isbn-international.org/node/29) - Amazon KDP Help, What is an ISBN and Imprint? (ISBN optional for eBooks): [kdp.amazon.com](https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834170) - Amazon KDP Help, Low-Content Books (automatic barcode, 2 x 1.2 in white box, lower right): [kdp.amazon.com](https://kdp.amazon.com/help/topic/GGE5T76TWKA85DJM) - IngramSpark, Understanding IngramSpark Title Processing: [ingramspark.com](https://www.ingramspark.com/blog/understanding-ingramspark-title-processing) - Library and Archives Canada, About ISBNs: [canada.ca](https://www.canada.ca/en/library-archives/services/publishers/isbn/about.html) - Book Industry Study Group, Barcoding Guidelines for the US Book Industry: [bisg.org](https://www.bisg.org/barcoding-guidelines-for-the-us-book-industry)