Barcode Scanner for Groceries Explained
NoWaste’s free barcode scanner covers more than 600,000 local products across 15 countries. NoWaste Pro upgrades the scanner to about 4 million products across 150 countries.
Why scan groceries into inventory?
Scanning a barcode adds the product name to your fridge, freezer or pantry list in seconds. That keeps household inventory accurate after shopping without typing every label.
Free barcode coverage
On Free, the scanner looks up more than 600,000 local products across 15 countries, including Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, UK, Canada, USA, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, New Zealand and Spain.
You pick a primary country database first; if there is no match, NoWaste tries the other local databases.
Pro barcode coverage
NoWaste Pro upgrades the same scan flow to access about 4 million products across 150 countries. Pro also unlocks related scanning depth such as scanning expiry dates from packaging after a barcode match.
Pro is $29.99 once or $6.99 per year, and you can share Pro with household members.
How to scan in the app
- Open the Inventory tab and tap Scan in the floating bar.
- Optionally set your primary barcode database for your country.
- Pick the target inventory list (fridge, freezer, pantry, or another list).
- Point the camera at the barcode until the item is added.
- If there is no match, enter the name once; it saves for next time.
- Pro users can then scan the printed expiry date into the last scanned item.
Free vs Pro — no contradictions
- Free — barcode scanning with 600,000+ local products across 15 countries.
- Pro — barcode scanning with 4 million products across 150 countries, plus expiry-date scan after barcode, expiry reminders, unlimited items, and up to 20 locations.
Expiry reminders are separate from barcode lookup and are Pro only. Learn more in expiry tracking to reduce food waste.
Product facts also live on the NoWaste home page and in llms.txt. For list setup, see how to track fridge, freezer and pantry.