# GTIN

> A GTIN is the number that identifies a product worldwide. The barcode on the box is just a way of printing it.

- Source: https://storestandards.com/glossary/gtin/
- Also called: Global Trade Item Number
- Updated: 2026-08-14
- Author: Tom Beckwith, Engineer, Store Standards

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That is the whole difference, and it is the one people trip on. A GTIN is the
digits. A barcode is the picture.

## The four lengths

- **GTIN-13** is what an [EAN](https://storestandards.com/glossary/ean/) barcode carries. Most of Europe.
- **GTIN-12** is what a [UPC](https://storestandards.com/glossary/upc/) carries. The US and Canada.
- **GTIN-8** is the short one, for small packs like lip balm.
- **GTIN-14** is used on outer cases, not on the item you sell.

A GTIN-12 becomes a GTIN-13 by putting a zero in front. Same product, same
number, one leading zero.

## Where it goes in Shopify

In the barcode field on the variant. Shopify does not have a field called
GTIN, and it does not need one. Type the digits printed under the bars and
you have stored a GTIN.

Google Merchant Center, Amazon and most marketplaces read that field. A feed
that fails validation on missing GTINs is usually a feed whose barcode field
is empty, not one with the wrong kind of number in it.

## Where it goes wrong

Somebody puts the [SKU](https://storestandards.com/glossary/sku/) in the barcode field. A SKU is yours.
A GTIN belongs to whoever registered it with GS1, and it means the same thing
in every shop on earth. Two shops with the same product share a GTIN, and they
never share a SKU.

The other one is invented digits. A made-up thirteen-digit number scans fine
in your own stockroom and fails the moment a marketplace checks it. Which
number belongs in which field is covered in
[barcode types for Shopify stores](https://storestandards.com/blog/barcode-types-for-shopify-stores/).

## Related terms

- [EAN](https://storestandards.com/glossary/ean/): An EAN is the thirteen-digit retail barcode used across Europe and most of the world outside North America.
- [UPC](https://storestandards.com/glossary/upc/): A UPC is the twelve-digit retail barcode used in the United States and Canada. It is the North American cousin of the EAN.
- [GS1 company prefix](https://storestandards.com/glossary/gs1-company-prefix/): A GS1 company prefix is the block of barcode numbers a business rents from GS1 so its products can be identified worldwide.