Business GUIDE • 8 min read

How to Create Barcodes in Excel & Google Sheets (Step-by-Step)

Step-by-step tutorial on generating barcodes in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets using barcode fonts, formulas, and bulk CSV batch export tools.

Barcode Symbology Comparison Matrix

Compare density, character capacity, checksums, and ISO standards across all major 1D and 2D formats.

17 Standards Indexed

Symbology	Category	Character Set	Standard / Checksum	Primary Application	Action
Code 128➔	Logistics & Shipping	Full 128 ASCII character set (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and symbols)	ISO/IEC 15417 Modulo 103 check digit (automatically calculated)	Logistics, carton tracking, and container labeling	Create Code 128
UPC-A➔	Retail & Products	12 Numeric digits (0-9)	GS1 General Specifications / ISO/IEC 15420 Modulo 10 check digit (3x odd positions + 1x even positions)	Retail point-of-sale checkout in the US and Canada	Create UPC-A
EAN-13➔	Retail & Products	13 Numeric digits (0-9)	GS1 General Specifications / ISO/IEC 15420 Modulo 10 check digit (1x odd positions + 3x even positions)	Global retail point-of-sale in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa	Create EAN-13
Code 39➔	Logistics & Shipping	43 characters: 0-9, A-Z (uppercase only), and symbols (-, ., $, /, +, %, space)	ISO/IEC 16388 Optional Modulo 43 check character	US Department of Defense military supply chain (MIL-STD-129 / LOGMARS)	Create Code 39
Code 93➔	Logistics & Shipping	47 characters (0-9, A-Z, 7 special characters), and full ASCII using 2-character sequences	ANSI/AIM BC5 Dual check characters ("C" and "K" modulo 47)	Canada Post delivery tracking and parcel routing	Create Code 93
EAN-8➔	Retail & Products	8 Numeric digits (0-9)	GS1 General Specifications / ISO/IEC 15420 Modulo 10 check digit (3x odd positions + 1x even positions)	Small cosmetic products, lipsticks, pencils	Create EAN-8
UPC-E➔	Retail & Products	8 Numeric digits (0-9)	GS1 General Specifications / ISO/IEC 15420 Modulo 10 derived from the decompressed 12-digit UPC-A	Small retail packages in the United States and Canada	Create UPC-E
ITF-14➔	Logistics & Shipping	14 Numeric digits (0-9)	GS1 General Specifications / ISO/IEC 16390 Modulo 10 check digit (3x odd positions + 1x even positions)	Master cartons and outer packaging containers	Create ITF-14
ISBN➔	Books	13 Numeric digits (0-9, begins with 978 or 979)	ISO 2108 / Bookland EAN Modulo 10 check digit	Paperback and hardcover book back covers	Create ISBN
GS1-128➔	Logistics & Shipping	GS1 Application Identifiers and alphanumeric data	GS1 General Specifications / ISO/IEC 15417 Modulo 103 check digit plus GS1 FNC1 start character	SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code) pallet labels	Create GS1-128
Codabar➔	Other	Numeric digits (0-9), 6 symbols (-:.$/+), and start/stop characters (A, B, C, D)	ANSI/AIM BC3 Self-checking (optional Modulo 16)	Blood bank tube labeling (ISBT 128 legacy systems)	Create Codabar
MSI➔	Other	Numeric digits (0-9)	MSI Symbology Standard Modulo 10, Modulo 11, or Modulo 1010 check digits	Supermarket retail shelf price tags and restocking labels	Create MSI
Pharmacode➔	Other	Single integer value from 3 to 131070 (standard) or 3 to 64570080 (two-track)	Laetus Pharmacode Standard Binary positional value (no parity check digit)	Pharmaceutical packaging lines to verify medicine boxes, bottle labels, and instruction leaflets	Create Pharmacode
Data Matrix➔	2D Codes	Full ASCII, ISO 8859-1 (extended ASCII), and binary data	ISO/IEC 16022 Reed-Solomon error correction (ECC 200)	Direct Part Marking (DPM) on aerospace and automotive steel parts	Create Data Matrix
PDF417➔	2D Codes	Full ASCII, binary data, numbers, and text (up to 1.1 kilobytes per symbol)	ISO/IEC 15438 Configurable Reed-Solomon error correction levels (Level 0 to Level 8)	US & Canadian driver licenses and government ID cards (AAMVA standard)	Create PDF417
Aztec Code➔	2D Codes	Full ASCII, byte/binary, and UTF-8 characters	ISO/IEC 24778 Reed-Solomon error correction (adjustable percentage)	Airline electronic boarding passes (IATA specification)	Create Aztec Code
QR Code➔	2D Codes	Numeric (7,089 chars), Alphanumeric (4,296 chars), Binary (2,953 bytes), Kanji (1,817 chars)	ISO/IEC 18004 Reed-Solomon error correction (L: 7%, M: 15%, Q: 25%, H: 30%)	Website URLs and landing page promotion	Create QR Code