Cordless Barcode Scanner: Zebra vs Datalogic vs Honeywell

A cordless barcode scanner in our catalogue costs anywhere from 111 EUR to 706 EUR, and the part numbers give almost nothing away. Two Zebra codes that differ by four characters can mean "scanner in a box" or "scanner, cable and charging cradle", and a Datalogic number ending in WLC costs 190 EUR less than one ending in BTK1 because the cradle is missing. This guide compares three cordless barcode scanners we actually stock, says what each part number includes, and gives the honest answer about when the cheap one is enough.

Which cordless barcode scanner should you order?

Start here. If your situation is in the left column, the right column is the order.

What does the part number actually include?

This is where most cordless orders go wrong, and it is worth two minutes before you click buy.

Zebra sells the DS2278 both as a bare scanner and as a kit. DS2278-SR00007ZZWW is the scanner on its own. The kit part number DS2278-SR7U2100PRW is that same scanner plus a shielded USB cable and the CR2278-PC10004WW presentation cradle. If you order the bare scanner and expected a stand, you now have a scanner with nowhere to sit and no way to charge it except a micro-USB cable. At our list prices the cradle adds 109.08 EUR to a 111.21 EUR scanner, so the stand roughly doubles the bill.

Datalogic uses a suffix instead. On the Gryphon I 4500 series, WLC is the scanner and battery without a base, while BTK1 is the full Bluetooth kit with the charging base and cable. GBT4500-BK-HD-WLC is 365.98 EUR and GBT4500-BK-BTK1 is 556.25 EUR. Same scanner family, 190 EUR apart, one letter group different.

Honeywell packs the difference into the middle of the code. On the Xenon Ultra 1962g, BF means the battery-free supercapacitor version and WC means the contactless charging base. 1962GHD-2USB-5BF-R is the high density, battery-free scanner with a base and USB cable.

One more trap worth naming: the Datalogic Gryphon I 4200 series looks like a cheaper 4500, but it is a linear imager and reads 1D codes only. If you will meet a QR code, a GS1 DataMatrix or a customer loyalty code on a phone screen, you need the 4500 series or another 2D imager. Everything else in this article is 2D.

How do the three scanners compare on paper?

Read that table with a sense of proportion. All three survive a shop counter. The DS2278 is rated to 1.5 m rather than 1.8 m, which matters on a pallet truck and almost never matters behind a till. The real separation is in the radio, the power system and the optics.

Bluetooth or 433 MHz radio: which one for a warehouse?

Bluetooth is the right default. It pairs with tablets, laptops and most POS hardware without a base, and every operating system understands it. It is also Class dependent. The DS2278 is a Class 2 radio, which is a nominal 10 m line of sight. That is plenty at a till and thin in a hall. The GBT4500 and the Xenon Ultra are rated to 100 m in open air, which in a real building with steel racking and stock in the way usually means a comfortable 20 to 30 m.

The 433 MHz option is different in kind. Datalogic's STAR system on the GM4500 is a narrowband radio rated to 50 m in open air, and it does not share the 2.4 GHz band with your Wi-Fi, your customers' phones or the other eleven scanners on the floor. In a warehouse where the 2.4 GHz band is already crowded, that is the practical difference between scans that land and scans that queue. It also supports multiple scanners talking to one base, so a picking team does not need a cradle each. The cost is that it is a proprietary radio: it will not pair with a tablet, and you keep the base.

Is a battery-free scanner worth the premium?

The Honeywell Xenon Ultra 1962g comes in two power systems. The lithium-ion version holds 3,300 mAh and is good for up to 80,000 scans per charge, with a 4.5 hour recharge. The battery-free version replaces the cell with a supercapacitor: about 450 scans on a full charge, and a recharge in under 60 seconds in the base.

Four hundred and fifty scans sounds alarming until you picture the workflow it is built for. A supermarket lane, a trade counter, a pharmacy dispensary: the scanner lives in its base between customers and tops up in seconds every time it is put down. It never runs flat, because it is never away from the base long enough. There is no battery to degrade after two years, no battery to buy again, and no battery to dispose of. Honeywell warrants the supercapacitor for five years against one year for the lithium-ion cell.

It is the wrong choice for anyone who walks away from the base. If your work is a stock count down the length of a building, or goods-in on a loading bay, buy a lithium-ion scanner and a spare battery. The Zebra DS2278 at up to 110,000 scans per charge is the strongest performer in this group on a single charge, and a spare DS2278 battery is under 40 EUR.

Standard range or high density: which scan engine?

SR and HD are not quality grades, they are focus choices, and ordering the wrong one is the most common regret in this category.

Standard range is what a shop wants: a wide working window so staff can wave a box at the scanner from 30 cm without aiming. High density is what a laboratory, a pharmacy or an electronics repair bench wants: it resolves 3 mil bars and 5 mil Data Matrix that a standard engine simply cannot see, at the cost of a short working distance that forces the operator to come close. Buying HD for a supermarket produces complaints about having to aim. Buying SR for a pharmacy produces codes that will not read at all.

What does it really cost once it works?

Prices are our list prices in September 2026 and move with supply. The honest reading of this table: for a single shop till with ordinary retail barcodes, the cheapest line is genuinely fine, and the money you might spend upgrading to a Xenon Ultra is better spent on the cradle, a spare battery and a second scanner for the other lane.

Common questions

Does a cordless barcode scanner need a cradle?
No. All three pair over Bluetooth to a laptop, tablet or POS PC and behave as a keyboard. The cradle buys you a charging point, a place to park the scanner and, on Zebra, a longer usable radio path. Order it unless the scanner will live next to a USB port.

Will these read a QR code from a phone screen?
Yes, all three are 2D imagers and handle screen codes. A 1D linear imager such as the Gryphon 4200 will not, and neither will an older laser scanner.

Are they ready for GS1 DataMatrix and the 2D transition?
Yes. Any 2D area imager in this comparison reads GS1 DataMatrix and QR out of the box, which is the hardware half of the GS1 2D migration. The software half is whether your POS parses GS1 application identifiers.

How long does a battery actually last in service?
Expect two to three years of daily charge cycles before runtime drops noticeably. Budget for a replacement cell in year three on lithium-ion models, or choose the battery-free Xenon Ultra and skip that line entirely.

Can one base serve several scanners?
On the Datalogic 433 MHz STAR system, yes: several GM4500 scanners can report to one base. On standard Bluetooth kits, plan one base per scanner.

What if staff need to work far from any host?
A cordless scanner still needs a live radio link to something. If the work happens out of range, the right tool is a batch-capable mobile terminal that stores scans locally.

The full range is in cordless and wireless barcode scanners, with the corded models and every other engine option under barcode scanners. Cradles, spare batteries and cables sit in barcode scanner accessories and belong in the same order. Manufacturer detail on the battery-free option is on the Honeywell Xenon Ultra 1962 product page.