GS1 DataBar: Complete Guide to the Compact Retail Barcode

GS1 DataBar packs a full GTIN and extra data like weight or expiry into a small label. Learn how it works, its variants, and where retailers use it today.

Look closely at a banana sticker or a coupon and you will likely see a barcode that looks different from the boxy UPC on a can of soup: thinner bars, sometimes stacked in two rows. That is usually a GS1 DataBar, a format built specifically for items where a standard barcode does not fit or does not carry enough information.

Here is what GS1 DataBar actually is, the variants within the family, how it compares to a UPC, and what it takes to scan one.

What Is a GS1 DataBar Barcode?

GS1 DataBar is a family of linear barcode symbologies from GS1 that can encode a full 14-digit GTIN, and in several variants, additional data such as weight, price, lot number, or expiration date, all in roughly half the physical space a UPC or EAN symbol needs. It was designed for products where a standard retail barcode either does not fit or cannot carry enough information.

A regular UPC-A only holds a 12-digit number and nothing else. GS1 DataBar solves two problems a UPC cannot: fitting on very small packaging, and, in its Expanded variants, carrying GS1 Application Identifiers alongside the product number so a single scan can capture weight, a sell-by date, or a batch code at the same time. For background on the numbering system underneath all of this, see our GTIN vs UPC vs SKU guide.

What Are the Different Types of GS1 DataBar Barcodes?

The GS1 DataBar family has seven symbols, split between four that scan omnidirectionally at checkout and three that are meant for handheld or imaging scanners only. Which one a business uses depends on whether the barcode needs to survive a point-of-sale scanner at any angle or is only ever scanned in a fixed, deliberate way.

Point-of-sale variants (omnidirectional):

  • GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional and GS1 DataBar Stacked Omnidirectional: encode only a GTIN, sized for small items like produce
  • GS1 DataBar Expanded and GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked: encode a GTIN plus attribute data (weight, dates, batch numbers) via Application Identifiers, and are the only linear symbologies GS1 approves for encoding this combined data at retail checkout

Non-POS variants (handheld or imaging scanners only):

  • GS1 DataBar Truncated: a shorter version of Omnidirectional for tight spaces
  • GS1 DataBar Stacked: two-row layout for narrow, tall labels
  • GS1 DataBar Limited: for very small items, encodes a restricted GTIN range

In practice, most shoppers encounter Omnidirectional or Stacked Omnidirectional on produce, and Expanded on coupons or variable-weight meat and deli packaging.

How Is GS1 DataBar Different From a Regular UPC?

GS1 DataBar is smaller, carries more digits, and in its Expanded forms can bundle extra data into one symbol, while a UPC-A only ever encodes a bare 12-digit number in a fixed, larger footprint. The two formats serve overlapping but distinct jobs in a retail barcode system.

GS1 DataBarUPC-A
Physical sizeRoughly 50% smallerStandard size
Digits encodedUp to 14 (full GTIN)12
Extra data (weight, dates, lot)Yes, in Expanded variantsNo
Scanning directionOmnidirectional variants scan at any angleOmnidirectional
Typical useSmall or variable items, couponsGeneral retail products

For variable-weight goods like a package of ground beef, older systems used a UPC that encoded only a price, without identifying the actual product or manufacturer. GS1 DataBar Expanded replaces that with a symbol carrying the GTIN, the weight, the price, and a sell-by date together, which is why GS1 pushed retailers toward it as part of its 2010 "sunrise" for the format. For more on how the numbering underneath both formats works, see our UPC-A complete guide.

Where Is GS1 DataBar Used?

GS1 DataBar shows up wherever a product is too small for a standard barcode or a label needs to carry more than a bare product number, which in practice means fresh produce, variable-weight meat and deli items, coupons, and parts of healthcare packaging. Each use case leans on a different variant in the family.

  • Fresh produce: A DataBar sticker on an apple or avocado replaces the four- or five-digit PLU code a cashier used to key in by hand, cutting a roughly four-second manual entry down to about a one-second scan.
  • Variable-weight meat, deli, and seafood: GS1 DataBar Expanded encodes the GTIN, weight, price, and sell-by date in one symbol on the scale label.
  • Coupons: GS1 DataBar Expanded is the linear symbology GS1 approves for retail checkout coupons, since it can carry the offer's GTIN-14 along with value and eligibility data in the checkout system.
  • Healthcare: Small pharmacy items and medical devices use the more compact variants where a full UPC or EAN would not fit the packaging. Our guide to barcodes in healthcare covers how these identification requirements work more broadly.

Can Standard Scanners Read GS1 DataBar?

Most barcode scanners sold in the last ten years can decode GS1 DataBar, but the capability is commonly shipped disabled and needs to be turned on in the scanner's configuration menu before it will recognize the symbol. Even with support enabled, older laser scanners handle the format less reliably than imaging scanners.

Laser scanners generally read the Omnidirectional and Truncated variants without trouble but can struggle with the taller Stacked and Expanded Stacked symbols, which pack two rows into one code. Imaging scanners, which capture the whole symbol as a picture rather than sweeping a single laser line across it, handle every variant in the family more consistently. If you are buying new scanning hardware for a store or warehouse that handles produce or coupons, confirm GS1 DataBar support is both present and enabled before rollout, and see our GS1-128 complete guide for how DataBar fits alongside other GS1 symbologies used in the same supply chain. You can also test how a symbol scans using our free online barcode scanner.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a GS1 DataBar barcode?
GS1 DataBar is a family of compact linear barcodes that can encode a full 14-digit GTIN, and in some variants extra data like weight, price, or expiration date, in roughly half the space a UPC or EAN needs. It was developed by GS1 for items too small for a standard barcode.
Where is GS1 DataBar used?
GS1 DataBar is most common on fresh produce stickers, meat and deli scale labels, and paper or digital coupons, where either the item is too small for a UPC or the label needs to carry weight, price, or lot data. It also appears in healthcare for small pharmacy and medical device packaging.
How is GS1 DataBar different from a regular UPC?
GS1 DataBar is smaller than a UPC-A, can carry a full 14-digit GTIN instead of 12, and some variants add GS1 Application Identifiers for weight, price, batch, or expiration data in the same symbol. A standard UPC only encodes the product number itself.
Can standard scanners read GS1 DataBar?
Most barcode scanners made in the last decade can decode GS1 DataBar, but the feature is frequently disabled by default and must be turned on in the scanner's configuration. Older laser scanners can typically read the simpler variants but struggle with stacked or expanded versions, which need an imaging scanner.