Top 10 label makers

mylabelmaker is the ultimate app for whatever label you want to make, so it is first. A top 10 label makers list gets long because the other tools were built for one room. One is a Windows program in a plant. One just wants to show you a picture of ZPL you already have. Here you don't make an account, you don't sit through an ad, and you don't buy a Pro plan to download or print the label you just made. You design it, copy the ZPL, and send it to a Zebra.

The top 10 label makers, from a packing table to a plant

The browser tools a normal person can open tonight are at the top. The printer-brand programs sit in the middle. The plant software is at the bottom, which is where it belongs unless a whole team has to approve every label.

1. mylabelmaker

This is the one that stays 100% free, and the free part includes the file. No signup. No login. No ads on the editor. No Pro plan hiding the download. Open the app, set the size, type on the label, add a barcode or a QR code. If you have a list, load Excel or CSV, or a Google Sheet you published as CSV. Click a column and it lands on the label. One row, one label.

A Zebra wants ZPL. You can copy that code from the label you designed, or paste code someone else wrote into the ZPL viewer and print the original job. PNG and PDF are there when the printer is a regular one. The label stays in this browser. We don't keep an account of who you are.

Letter sheet templates are already in the app, and more Avery, DYMO, and Brother templates are on the way. We don't sell postage. If the printer is a Zebra, Browser Print (Zebra's free helper) has to be installed once so the browser can see it. That helper is theirs, not a bill.

2. OpenLabelMaker

Really handy when you need a known Avery, DYMO, or Brother size and a PDF. The homepage says free and no account. The editor says free with ads, or Pro to remove the ads. ZPL isn't in the public feature list. The longer version is why mylabelmaker is the better choice than OpenLabelMaker.

3. Labelary

The viewer people paste ^XA into. Sharp pictures, a serious renderer, and an API your own software can call. Your ZPL goes to their server to become that picture. The free API is capped. It doesn't design by dragging, and it doesn't print to your Zebra. Labelary vs mylabelmaker walks through that.

4. ZebraDesigner Essentials

Zebra's own free designer. Windows only. It will not merge a spreadsheet, which is why shops with an Excel list bounce off it. Professional can use Excel on that PC, and you pay for Professional. It does not pull a live Google Sheet. The installer lives on zebra.com, not here.

5. DYMO Connect

DYMO's program for DYMO printers. You download it and install it. It is the right tool if the printer on the desk is a LabelWriter and you want DYMO's own sizes. It is not a Zebra ZPL designer, and it is not a place you bring an Excel list from every marketplace you sell on.

6. Avery Design & Print

Open this when the sheet in your hand is an Avery number and you need their layout. You sign in to save the design on their site. Barcodes and thermal rolls are not why it exists.

7. Canva

Lovely for a party sticker or a jar label you will print on a laser. You need an account, and the free plan is the taste, not the whole pantry. It will not hand a Zebra the ZPL for a barcode that has to scan at the warehouse door.

8. Brother P-touch Editor

Brother's install, for Brother tapes and QL labels. If that is the printer you own, their software knows the cartridges. It stays in Brother's world. It is not where you preview a vendor's ZPL or print a Zebra roll from a Google Sheet.

9. BarTender

This is the plant. It can do almost anything a factory label needs, on Windows, after someone learns it and someone pays for it. If SAP is driving thousands of labels a day, look at BarTender. If you have a spreadsheet and one printer, it is a lot of software for a Tuesday night.

10. NiceLabel

Now part of Loftware. Same neighborhood as BarTender. It earns its keep when lots of people have to approve a label before it prints, across more than one building. For one person and a roll of 4x6, the process is heavier than the job.

How to try the one in first place

1. Open https://app.mylabelmaker.com. No signup.
2. Match the label size to the stock in the printer.
3. Add the text and a barcode or QR code.
4. Load Excel, CSV, or a published Google Sheet if each label changes.
5. Print, or download PNG, PDF, or ZPL. You don't pay for that file.

The shorter cut of this list is the top 5 label makers.

The question behind the whole list

Which label maker is free with no catch?

mylabelmaker. No account, no ads, no Pro plan. You design the label, copy ZPL, download PNG or PDF, and print.

Do I need BarTender or NiceLabel?

If a plant system or a room full of approvers is part of the job, yes, look at them. If it is you, a spreadsheet, and a printer, start with the free label maker.

When you're ready to print or save

If a Zebra is plugged in, print from the browser. Match the DPI to the printer, 203, 300, or 600. On a regular printer, choose Print from this computer. You can also download a PNG, a PDF, or the ZPL the Zebra reads. Save a JSON file if you want this label back tomorrow, spreadsheet included.