Comparison
5 Retail Barcode Labels alternatives for Shopify (2026)
Shopify's free Retail Barcode Labels app sits at 2.2★ across 550+ reviews. Here are five alternatives compared on the things that actually break: alignment, previews, unique codes and pricing.
By Bastien HugonFounder & Engineer9 min readPublished July 9, 2026
TL;DR
Retail Barcode Labels is free and made by Shopify, but its 2.2★ average across 550+ reviews reflects two recurring failures: sheets that print misaligned and no exact preview before printing. If you print labels regularly, a dedicated app pays for itself the first time a 30-label sheet comes out right. Solvi Barcode Labels is our answer-first pick for true-size sheets; the four others below each win a specific niche.
Retail Barcode Labels is the default choice for a reason: it is free, first-party, and already suggested inside the admin. Plenty of stores install it, print one test sheet, and immediately start searching for an alternative — which is probably how you landed here. This page compares the five apps merchants actually move to, using facts you can verify on each App Store listing.
Why merchants look for an alternative
The app's review page tells the story better than we can: a 2.2★ average across 550+ reviews (as of July 2026) for a first-party app is remarkable. Reading through the one-star reviews, the same three complaints repeat:
- Misaligned sheets — barcodes drifting across Avery die-cuts, with no way to verify alignment before burning a full sheet of labels.
- No exact preview — what you see in the app is a mock-up, not the PDF that comes out of the printer, so every layout change is a print-and-pray cycle.
- Limited layout control — fixed templates, no custom dimensions, and little control over which fields appear on the label.
None of this makes it a bad app for the occasional single label. It makes it a frustrating app for the workflow barcode labels actually live in: printing a full sheet, on real media, that has to scan the first time.
How we compare (and who is writing this)
We build Solvi Barcode Labels, so read our verdict with that in mind — the disclosure box above is there for a reason. The criteria, however, are the ones the one-star reviews of every label app converge on, and each competitor fact below links back to a public App Store listing you can check: does the preview match the print (exact PDF vs mock-up), media presets (Avery, Dymo, Zebra, Brother — with true dimensions), unique code generation (checked against your whole catalog, saved back to variants), free plan (can you verify print quality before paying), and pricing model (flat quota vs credits).
| App | Pricing | Exact PDF preview | Media presets | Unique code generation | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Barcode Labels (Shopify) | Free | No | Avery, Dymo, Zebra templates | Code 128 auto-assign | Free (entirely) |
| Solvi Barcode Labels | Free plan · from $5.99/mo | Yes — preview is the PDF | Avery, Dymo, Zebra, Brother + custom sizes | Yes — catalog-wide uniqueness check, saved to variants | 30 labels/mo |
| Yanet: Barcode Labels | Free plan · from $7.99/mo | Template editor preview | Template library | Basic generation | 200 labels/mo |
| MS Barcode Labels & Generator | Free plan · paid tiers | Generation-first, layout second | Limited | Yes — GTIN/EAN/UPC focus | Yes |
| SKU Print | $9.99/mo (trial only) | Layout designer | Free-form (you align it) | No — prints existing values | No |
The alternatives in detail
Solvi Barcode Labelsby Useful Tools
Our appPrint barcode labels right the first time: unique codes, true-size sheets, ready in minutes.
Free plan · from $5.99/month · 7-day free trial
Best for: Stores that print sheets or rolls regularly and want the preview to be the exact PDF — alignment verified before paper is wasted.
- Quantities start at zero
- Unique barcodes saved to your variants
- Presets for Avery, Dymo, Zebra and Brother media
Yanet: Barcode Labelsby Yanet
Well-reviewed label printer with template customization and a free monthly allowance.
Free plan (200 labels/mo) · from $7.99/month
Best for: Stores that want a polished template editor with a generous free tier
- 4.9★ App Store rating at the time of review
- Free plan covers 200 labels per month
- Flexible label template editor
- Editor-first workflow adds steps when you just need a standard sheet
- Annual discount pushes the effective price comparison in its favor only on yearly billing
MS Barcode Labels & Generatorby MS Web Studio
Barcode generator focused on GTIN/EAN/UPC generation and Stocky integration.
Free plan · paid tiers (see App Store listing)
Best for: Stores standardizing on retail GTINs (EAN/UPC) across their catalog
- Generates multiple symbologies (EAN, UPC, Code 128)
- Integrates with Stocky for purchase-order workflows
- Bulk generation across variants
- Label layout options are more limited than dedicated printing apps
- Setup is generation-first; printing polish comes second
SKU Printby SKU Print
Custom label layouts with product fields, images and logos.
$9.99/month · free trial
Best for: Stores that want fully custom label layouts including logos and images
- Free-form layout designer (title, vendor, variant, price, SKU, barcode, images)
- One flat monthly price
- No free plan — trial only
- Free-form design means you align the sheet yourself; no exact-media presets guarantee
Retail Barcode Labelsby Shopify
Shopify's own free label app: auto-generates Code 128 barcodes and prints on Avery, Dymo and Zebra media.
Free
Best for: Stores that need occasional, basic labels and want a free first-party option
- Completely free, made by Shopify
- Generates Code 128 barcodes for products automatically
- Templates for common Avery, Dymo and Zebra media
- 2.2★ average across 550+ App Store reviews at the time of review
- Recurring review complaints about misaligned sheets and limited layout control
- No exact-size PDF preview before printing; limited label customization
Migrating off Retail Barcode Labels
The good news: there is almost nothing to migrate. Barcode values live in Shopify's variant barcode field, not in the app — any label app reads the same field. If Retail Barcode Labels already assigned Code 128 values to your products, keep them; a decent alternative will detect existing values and only generate codes for variants that lack one. The switch is: install the new app, run one test sheet on your own printer, confirm the alignment and the scan, then uninstall the old app.
Our verdict
If labels are a regular part of your workflow, the free first-party app is the most expensive option on this page — you pay in misprinted sheets and re-runs. Solvi Barcode Labels exists specifically to close the two gaps the reviews complain about: the preview is the exact PDF you download, and every generated code is checked for uniqueness against your whole catalog before it is saved. The free plan prints a full Avery 5160 sheet every month, which is deliberately enough to verify alignment on your own printer before paying anything.
Frequently asked questions
Is Retail Barcode Labels by Shopify really free?
Yes — completely free, with no paid tier. That is genuinely its strongest feature, and if you print a handful of labels a year it may be all you need. The costs show up as time: reviews consistently report misaligned sheets and reprint cycles, which is what pushes regular printers to a paid alternative.
Will my existing barcodes survive switching apps?
Yes. Barcode values are stored on the Shopify variant itself (the barcode field), not inside any app. Every label app on this page reads that same field, so codes assigned by Retail Barcode Labels keep working after you switch. Check that your new app detects existing values instead of overwriting them — Solvi, for example, only generates codes for variants that have none.
What is the cheapest alternative to Retail Barcode Labels?
On list price, Yanet's free plan (200 labels/month) is the most generous free allowance, and Solvi's Starter at $5.99/month is the lowest paid entry among dedicated printing apps in this comparison. SKU Print has no free plan. The real cost question is misprints: one wasted 30-label Avery sheet per week costs more than any of these subscriptions.
Why does Shopify's own barcode app have such low ratings?
The 2.2★ average (550+ reviews, July 2026) concentrates on printing accuracy: labels drifting off the die-cut grid, no exact print preview, and fixed templates. The app was built for quick, basic labeling — the reviews come from merchants trying to run a regular label workflow on it.
Do these alternatives work with Shopify POS?
All the apps in this comparison print labels whose barcodes scan into Shopify POS, because POS looks up the variant barcode field — the same field every app writes to or reads from. Scanning a label into POS pulls up the right variant regardless of which app printed it.
Related guides
Comparison
Solvi Barcode Labels vs Retail Barcode Labels: an honest comparison
Shopify's free label app against ours, feature by feature: previews, media presets, unique codes, pricing — including the cases where the free app is genuinely the right choice.
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Comparison
The 5 best Shopify barcode label apps in 2026, tested
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How-to
How to print Avery 5160 barcode labels from Shopify
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Troubleshooting
Barcode labels won't scan: 6 fixes
Dead barcodes are a physical problem: work through size, quiet zone, contrast, print scaling, density and truncation — in the order most likely to fix yours.
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Do this in minutes with Solvi Barcode Labels
Print barcode labels right the first time: unique codes, true-size sheets, ready in minutes.