jsbarcode vs react-barcode: Choosing the Right Barcode Library for Your Web App

Both jsbarcode and react-barcode let you generate standard-compliant barcodes (like CODE128, EAN-13, UPC-A) directly in the browser. But they serve different architectural needs. Let’s compare how they work under real-world conditions.

🧱 Core Architecture: Vanilla JS vs React Component

jsbarcode is a pure JavaScript utility. You call it imperatively with a DOM element (or selector) and configuration options. It directly manipulates that element to render the barcode as SVG, canvas, or <img>.

// jsbarcode: imperative DOM mutation
import JsBarcode from "jsbarcode";

// Assumes <svg id="barcode"></svg> exists in DOM
JsBarcode("#barcode", "1234567890", {
  format: "CODE128",
  displayValue: true
});

react-barcode wraps jsbarcode into a React component. You declare it in JSX with props, and it manages the underlying DOM element and re-renders automatically when props change.

// react-barcode: declarative component
import Barcode from "react-barcode";

function ProductLabel({ sku }) {
  return (
    <Barcode
      value={sku}
      format="CODE128"
      displayValue={true}
    />
  );
}

🔁 Re-rendering Behavior: Manual vs Automatic

With jsbarcode, you must manually trigger re-renders when data changes. This gives you full control but requires extra logic.

// jsbarcode: manual update on state change
function updateBarcode(newSku) {
  JsBarcode("#barcode", newSku, { format: "CODE128" });
}

// In a vanilla app or non-React framework
someButton.addEventListener("click", () => updateBarcode("NEW123"));

With react-barcode, React’s reconciliation handles updates automatically. If value prop changes, the barcode re-renders without extra code.

// react-barcode: automatic re-render
function DynamicLabel() {
  const [sku, setSku] = useState("INITIAL");

  return (
    <>
      <Barcode value={sku} format="CODE128" />
      <button onClick={() => setSku("UPDATED")}>
        Change SKU
      </button>
    </>
  );
}

🖼️ Rendering Targets: Flexible vs Constrained

jsbarcode supports three output formats: SVG, Canvas, and <img> (data URL). You choose by passing the appropriate DOM element type.

// Render to canvas
const canvas = document.getElementById("myCanvas");
JsBarcode(canvas, "12345");

// Render to img tag (as data URL)
const img = document.getElementById("myImg");
JsBarcode(img, "12345");

react-barcode only renders to SVG by default. While you can technically pass a renderer prop, the component is designed around SVG output and doesn’t expose easy canvas or image rendering.

// react-barcode: SVG-only (no canvas/img support out of the box)
<Barcode value="12345" format="CODE128" />

⚙️ Configuration and Options

Both libraries share the same core configuration options because react-barcode delegates to jsbarcode. However, the way you pass them differs.

jsbarcode uses a flat options object:

JsBarcode("#barcode", "12345", {
  format: "EAN13",
  lineColor: "#000",
  width: 2,
  height: 100,
  displayValue: true,
  fontOptions: "bold"
});

react-barcode maps these options to component props:

<Barcode
  value="12345"
  format="EAN13"
  lineColor="#000"
  width={2}
  height={100}
  displayValue={true}
  fontOptions="bold"
/>

Note: All jsbarcode options are supported as props in react-barcode, per its documentation.

🧪 Error Handling and Validation

Both libraries throw errors for invalid inputs (e.g., unsupported characters for a given format). However, error handling differs in practice.

With jsbarcode, you wrap calls in try/catch:

try {
  JsBarcode("#barcode", "INVALID!@#", { format: "EAN13" });
} catch (err) {
  console.error("Barcode generation failed:", err.message);
}

With react-barcode, errors during render will bubble up as React rendering errors. You typically handle them with an error boundary:

<ErrorBoundary fallback={<div>Invalid barcode</div>}>
  <Barcode value="INVALID!@#" format="EAN13" />
</ErrorBoundary>

📦 Bundle Impact and Dependencies

jsbarcode has zero dependencies and is extremely lightweight. It’s suitable for performance-sensitive contexts like mobile web or embedded systems.

react-barcode depends on jsbarcode and React. If you’re already in a React app, the incremental cost is small—but it adds no value outside React.

🌐 Real-World Use Cases

Case 1: Server-Rendered E-Commerce Site with Client Barcode

You have a PHP/Node.js SSR site and need to show barcodes on product pages after JS loads.

• ✅ Best choice: jsbarcode
• Why? No React needed; just drop in a script tag and call it on page load.

<!-- In your SSR template -->
<svg id="product-barcode"></svg>
<script>
  JsBarcode("#product-barcode", "{{ product.sku }}");
</script>

Case 2: React Admin Dashboard with Editable Labels

Users can edit product SKUs in a form, and the barcode preview updates live.

• ✅ Best choice: react-barcode
• Why? Declarative binding to state avoids manual DOM updates.

function LabelEditor() {
  const [sku, setSku] = useState("");
  return (
    <div>
      <input value={sku} onChange={e => setSku(e.target.value)} />
      {sku && <Barcode value={sku} format="CODE128" />}
    </div>
  );
}

Case 3: Printing High-Density Barcodes to Canvas

You need to generate thousands of barcodes in a worker or offscreen canvas for batch printing.

• ✅ Best choice: jsbarcode
• Why? Direct canvas access and no React overhead.

// In a web worker or headless context
const canvas = new OffscreenCanvas(200, 100);
JsBarcode(canvas, "BATCH123", { format: "CODE128" });

📌 Summary Table

💡 Final Recommendation

• If you’re not using React, or need canvas/image output, or want maximum control and minimal abstraction — go with jsbarcode.
• If you’re in a React app and want simple, self-updating barcode components without managing DOM refs — use react-barcode.

Both are well-maintained and production-ready. The choice isn’t about quality—it’s about fitting the right tool to your app’s architecture.