You don't need to pay for an ISBN barcode
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R. S. Breed Founder
Once you've got an ISBN, the barcode on the back of your book is just that number drawn so a shop's scanner can read it. That's all it is. You don't need to buy one, and you definitely don't need to pay someone $5 or $25 to make it for you.
A few things worth knowing before you make one:
You might not need your own. If your paperback is on KDP and you leave the barcode area on the back cover clear, KDP adds one for free. IngramSpark's cover template comes with one already on it. You need your own when you design the whole back cover yourself, print with a local or offset printer, or want the little price code beside it (US bookshops like that; Amazon doesn't care).
Only use an ISBN that's yours, for that exact edition. Your paperback and hardcover each have their own number. A free ISBN from KDP only works on KDP, so don't put its barcode on a cover you're sending to IngramSpark. And if you bought a "cheap ISBN" from a reseller, check whose name it's registered to before it goes on a cover.
Keep it plain. Black bars on white, with the white margin around it. Scale it evenly (80% to 200% of standard size is fine) and don't stretch it one way, or it stops scanning. Test it with a barcode app on your phone before you order a proof.
Leave the right space for it. Every printer wants it in a slightly different spot and size on the back cover. KDP rejects covers with art or text where its barcode goes.
I got sick of how fiddly all of this is, so I built a free barcode generator into Bervet. Type your ISBN (or up to ten at once if you're doing a series), pick the size, and download a print-ready SVG or PNG. It's made in your browser, so your ISBN isn't sent anywhere and nothing's kept. It's free; you just need a Bervet account so the bots stay out.
While I was at it there's now a spine width and cover size checker too. Put in your trim, paper and page count and it gives you the spine, the full cover size and a template for each printer, and it'll check your cover and interior PDFs before you upload: bleed, safe areas, barcode spot, fonts, image resolution. There's also an ebook cover checker, a print royalty calculator for most countries, and an ISBN planner.
Barcode generator: https://bervet.com/tools/isbn-barcode-generator All the tools: https://bervet.com/tools
If something in them doesn't make sense or gets your book wrong, tell me here. I'd rather fix it than have you find out from a rejection email.