Comparison

Parakey vs NFC Reader & Writer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Parakey

Transform your smartphone into a digital key for various locked spaces like offices and parking garages. This app eliminates the need for physical keys, fobs, or cards, offering convenient access even without an internet connection.

Highlights
  • Smartphone as a digital key
  • Access locked spaces without internet
  • Automatic door detection
  • NFC sticker unlocking
  • Lock screen widgets
Features
Read full description

Use your smartphone as a key to locked spaces, such as the office, parking garage or gym – even without internet access. No more physical keys, fobs or entry cards to keep track of! — Features — • Automatic detection of doors you are close to and have access to – no need to scroll through long lists of doors • Tap your phone on a Parakey NFC sticker to unlock • Add widgets to open the app or NFC reader from the lock screen • Access to many locked spaces? Your frequently unlocked ones are displayed at the top • ... and much more! — Requirements — • Parakey-devices installed in the locked areas • You need to be invited by an administrator in order to create an account and login as a user • iPhone 6s or greater • iOS 15.0 or greater

About

NFC Reader & Writer

Easily read and write to NFC tags, supporting various data types like text, URLs, and contact information. This app also offers tag copying, infinite copying, and erasure, along with NFC device status checks and general device information.

Highlights
  • Read all tag types (Text, URL, VCARD, Bluetooth, WIFI, Email)
  • Write custom tasks to NFC tags
  • Tag copy and copy to infinity
  • Erase NFC tags
  • NFC device status checker
  • View device information (Model, Data Usage, WiFi, Battery)
Features
Read full description

NFC Reader & Writer turns your phone into a complete NFC toolkit. Hold it near a tag to see exactly what is stored on it, then write your own tags in seconds. READ NDEF TAGS • Tag contents appear the moment your phone touches it • Text, URL, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, vCard, email, SMS, phone number, address, app and location records • Run an action straight from the record you scanned ADVANCED TAG INSIGHTS • Security analysis with the tag's security flags • Memory breakdown — used, free and total capacity • NDEF decoder with a plain-language summary of every record • Raw data in HEX and ASCII for advanced users WRITE YOUR OWN TAGS • Build a tag from templates: text, URL, Google search, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, vCard, email, SMS, phone, address, location and custom URL • Add several records to one tag before you write it QUICK ACTIONS ON IPHONE • Open the Quick Actions tab for one-tap access: Copy Tag, Copy Tag to Infinity, Erase Tag, Lock Tag (Read-Only) and Automations • Erase Tag wipes a tag so you can reuse it, after a confirmation • Lock Tag makes a tag permanently read-only (write-protect), after a confirmation. This is a Pro feature TAG HISTORY • Every scan is saved with its time and record count • Reopen, share or delete any entry • Export your history to CSV NFC COMPATIBILITY CHECK • Detect whether your device has NFC hardware • Check whether NFC reading is available on your iPhone • Verify read and write capability USEFUL EXTRAS • Device information at a glance • One-tap shortcuts to your system settings • Tools: compass, battery, flashlight and screen light • Dark mode • Available in 14 languages SUPPORTED TAGS ON IPHONE • Reads NDEF data on NFC Forum Type 1–5 tags: ISO 14443 (NTAG, MIFARE Ultralight, MIFARE DESFire), ISO 15693 (ICODE) and FeliCa • Writes to tags that are NDEF-formatted and not locked • iPhone cannot read MIFARE Classic, tags that are not NDEF-formatted, or bank, transit and ID cards WHAT YOU NEED 1. iPhone 7 or newer, on iOS 15 or later 2. Nothing to switch on: NFC on iPhone is always ready Free to use, supported by ads. An optional Pro upgrade removes ads and unlocks unlimited Advanced Tag Insights and Lock Tag, available monthly, yearly or as a one-time purchase. Questions or a problem? Write to support@yalintech.com and we will help. Privacy Policy: https://yalintech.com/legal/nfc/privacy Terms of Service: https://yalintech.com/legal/nfc/terms

Screenshots

Parakey4 screens
NFC Reader & Writer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: NFC Reader & Writer at 4.0 against Parakey's 3.0. NFC Reader & Writer also leads on ratings volume (106 vs 5) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). Parakey's advantage is review sentiment (50% vs 13%) and in-app purchases (none vs 5). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. NFC Reader & Writer sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Parakey asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NFC Reader & Writer holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NFC Reader & Writer has 106 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Parakey's written reviews are positive against 13% of NFC Reader & Writer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Parakey ships an update every 5 weeks, NFC Reader & Writer fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Parakey versus NFC Reader & Writer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterParakeyNFC Reader & Writer
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (5 ratings)4.0 (106 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better13.3% of reviews
Number of ratings5106 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.1 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperParakey ABYalintech

Customer experience

Parakey

All ratings5 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

NFC Reader & Writer

All ratings106 ratings
Positive76.4%
Neutral1.9%
Negative21.7%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive13.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative80.0%

In-app purchases

None

Parakey

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

NFC Reader & Writer

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$7.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time2
  • One time purchase$10.99
  • One time purchase$24.99

Questions

Is Parakey free?
Parakey is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NFC Reader & Writer free?
NFC Reader & Writer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Parakey or NFC Reader & Writer?
NFC Reader & Writer is rated higher. Parakey averages 3.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while NFC Reader & Writer averages 4.0 from 106 ratings.
Do Parakey or NFC Reader & Writer have ads?
NFC Reader & Writer shows ads; Parakey does not.
Which is updated more often, Parakey or NFC Reader & Writer?
Parakey ships an update every 5 weeks, and NFC Reader & Writer fortnightly. Most recently, Parakey was updated on October 10, 2026 and NFC Reader & Writer on October 21, 2026.

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