Prefix Length and Number Capacity

The table below illustrates how prefix length relates to the number of UPCs you can assign. A UPC is 12 digits long and is made up of the prefix, and item number, and a check digit. The longer the prefix the less UPCs you can assign. As expected, long prefixes are less expensive and short prefixes more expensive. UPC Pricing Table

As the table shows, price per UPC decreases significantly for each step up in capacity. Let’s say you needed UPCs for 400 products; it makes more sense to get the 1,000 capacity prefix ($3,500) than 4 – 100 capacity prefixes ($4,000). This is something to consider as you figure out how many UPCs you will need.