A barcode scanner that runs in your browser
This barcode scanner is a web page, not a store app. Open it on a phone, tablet, laptop or desktop and it works straight away. Point your camera at a barcode, or give it an image, and the number or text inside appears on screen for you to copy.
It reads the barcodes you find on products, parcels, shelves, tickets and documents, plus QR codes. If an image holds several codes, they are all found in one go. The picture and the camera feed are read on your device and never sent to our servers.
How to scan a barcode online
- Open this page on the device you want to use.
- Choose the camera and allow access, or drop in a photo, choose a file, or paste a screenshot.
- Hold the barcode flat and well lit, filling about a third of the frame. Tilt slightly if there is glare.
- Read the result. Tap copy to put the number or text on your clipboard, or check a link before you open it.
- Scan the next code. Copy each result into your notes or spreadsheet as you go.
Barcode types it reads
QR and barcode scanning in one place, with no need to pick the type first. As a rough guide, a short row of 8, 12 or 13 digits under the bars is a retail code, and a wide stacked block on a driving licence or boarding pass is usually PDF417.
- Retail: EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A and UPC-E, the numbers on groceries, books and most shop products.
- Logistics and labels: Code 128, Code 39, Code 93, ITF, Codabar and DataBar.
- 2D codes: QR (including Micro QR), Data Matrix, PDF417 and Aztec, used on boarding passes, ID cards, parcels and medicine packs.
Online scanner or handheld barcode scanner
A handheld barcode scanner from a brand such as Zebra, Honeywell or Square is built for checkouts and warehouses. USB, wireless and Bluetooth barcode scanners act like a keyboard: they type the number into whatever field is selected, very fast, all day. If you scan hundreds of items a shift, buy one.
For everything else, a camera is enough. Checking what a barcode says, reading the number off a damaged label, looking up a product, or decoding a code in an email or PDF all work here for free. There is no hardware to pair and nothing to install, and it runs on Android phones, iPhones and computers alike.
One thing to know: a scanner only reads the number. It does not look up prices or product names, because those live in each shop's own database.
Safe with QR codes too
When a code holds a link, NeoReader checks it before you open it. It warns you about look-alike brand domains, hidden destinations, link shorteners, bare IP addresses and app downloads, in plain words. You see the full address first and decide.
