EAN lookup: find the product behind a 13-digit code

By mise · Updated September 30, 2026

Paste the 13 digits (or 8, on small packs). Free, no sign-up. If we don't know it, our AI finds it and emails you.

Free, no sign-up, no daily cap. The result is curated: name, brand, category, size and photo. Codes we don't recognize are researched by the AI within minutes.

Example of what the lookup returns:

Coca-Cola Original 330 ml5449000131805 · Coca-Cola · Soft drinks · 330 ml canEAN-13 · prefix 544 = registered with GS1 Belgium & Luxembourg (Coca-Cola Europe), sold in the UK · check digit 5 adds up

Quick answer: an EAN is the 13-digit number under the barcode on products sold in the UK, Europe, Australia, Latin America and most of Asia (EAN-8 on small packs). To look one up, type it into the box on this page: it returns the product name, brand, category, size and photo, and unknown codes are researched by the AI. The first three digits are the GS1 country prefix of the company that registered the number — 50 for the UK, 400–440 Germany, 690 China.

An EAN lookup answers one question: what product is this number? This page does that in the box above, then explains how the 13 digits are built, what the prefix does and doesn't tell you, and why some codes come back empty.

Anatomy of an EAN-13

Part	Digits	What it is
GS1 prefix	first 2–3	The national GS1 office that issued the company its numbers (50 = GS1 UK, 40–44 = Germany, 69 = China)
Company prefix	next 4–7	Assigned to the manufacturer or brand owner
Item reference	next 2–5	The product within that company's range; each size and flavour gets its own
Check digit	last	A calculation that proves the number was read correctly

EAN-8 is the short version for packs too small for a full code — eight digits with a 2- or 3-digit prefix, a short item number and a check digit. It is a separate number, not an abbreviation of the EAN-13 on the bigger pack.

EAN vs UPC

Same system, different length. A 12-digit UPC (US and Canada) is an EAN-13 with a leading zero: 038000138416 = 0038000138416. Scanners everywhere read both; databases should try both. If you hold a 12-digit code, the UPC lookup page explains the US-specific quirks. Full comparison, including GTIN-14 case codes and ISBNs: UPC vs EAN vs GTIN.

The country prefix: registered in, not made in

The first digits tell you which GS1 office issued the numbers, and nothing more. A British company manufacturing in Poland keeps its 50; a Vietnamese factory producing for a German brand ships with the brand's 40. Useful to know which catalog to search, useless as a certificate of origin. The complete table — every prefix, with a section for each leading digit — is on barcode country codes. In the UK, see also barcode lookup UK.

Why an EAN wasn't found

In-store code. Codes starting with 2 (02 on a 12-digit UPC) are printed by the store's scale or label printer for weighed items, deli, bakery and reduced-price stickers. They only exist inside that chain.
Case code. 14-digit codes (GTIN-14, ITF-14, "DUN-14") identify the shipping case, not the unit. The unit code is usually inside: drop the first digit, drop the last, recalculate the check digit.
Small or local brand. The code is valid but the product was never listed in a public catalog. This is the case our AI is built for — leave the code in the box and it goes looking.
Misread number. One wrong digit produces a code that doesn't exist. The check digit catches it (see below).
Leading zero. A 12-digit UPC may be stored with a 0 in front as 13 digits, or the other way round. Our lookup tries both; some databases don't.

How the EAN-13 check digit is calculated

Number the first twelve digits from the left. Add the digits in the odd positions; add the digits in the even positions and multiply that sum by 3; add the two results; the check digit is the amount needed to reach the next multiple of 10.

Example: 5449000131805. Odd positions 5+4+0+0+3+8 = 20. Even positions 4+9+0+1+1+0 = 15, × 3 = 45. 20 + 45 = 65; the next multiple of 10 is 70, so the check digit is 5. It matches. One mis-typed digit and the sum lands somewhere else — which is why a lookup should validate before it searches.

How to look up an EAN for free with mise

The box at the top of this page — the mise AI looks the code up and, if it doesn't know the product yet, researches it and emails you the answer. No sign-up, no daily cap.
Type all 13 digits — or 8 on a small pack. The box checks the last digit first, so a typo is flagged before it turns into a "not found".
12 digits instead? That's a UPC from North America. Paste it as it is: mise treats it and its 13-digit form as the same product.
Leave your email if you like — when the AI is still researching a code, the answer goes to your inbox as soon as the product is identified, so you can close the tab.
Scan instead of typing — in the mise app the camera reads the EAN and the same database answers, with no limit on how many you look up.

Point the camera instead

Typing is how most "not found" results happen. mise reads the code with the phone camera, returns the product complete — name, brand, category, size, photo and a reference price — and drops it straight into your inventory count with the quantity you type. No spreadsheet, no product setup. 7 days free, no card, then US$33 a month.

Count your stock by scanning barcodes

Point the camera and the product comes up complete: name, brand, category, size and photo — the mise AI finds it from the barcode or a photo. 7 days free, no card, then US$33 a month.

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Keep reading UPC vs EAN vs GTIN: what the difference really is Barcode lookup: type the number, see the product Barcode lookup UK: type the 13 digits, see the product Barcode country codes: the complete GS1 prefix list All guides

Frequently asked questions

What is an EAN number?

The European Article Number — now officially GTIN-13 — is the 13-digit product number encoded in the barcode on retail products outside North America. The first digits identify the GS1 office that issued it, the middle identifies the company and the item, and the last digit is a check digit.

EAN vs UPC vs GTIN — what's the difference?

GTIN is the family name for all GS1 product numbers. A UPC is the 12-digit GTIN used in the US and Canada; an EAN-13 is the 13-digit GTIN used almost everywhere else; EAN-8 and UPC-E are short versions; GTIN-14 identifies cases. A UPC is an EAN-13 with a leading zero.

Is EAN lookup free?

Here, yes — no account, no daily cap, and codes mise doesn't know yet go to its AI, which researches them at no charge.

How is the EAN-13 check digit calculated?

Add the digits in the odd positions of the first twelve, add the digits in the even positions and multiply by 3, add both, and take the amount needed to reach the next multiple of 10. If that doesn't equal the 13th digit, the number was misread.

Where do I find the EAN on a product?

Under the barcode, usually on the back or the bottom of the pack: 13 digits, sometimes printed as 1 + 6 + 6 with small gaps. On multipacks the outer wrap has its own EAN, different from the single unit inside.