# RETRO FORTH vs Smart NFC

The clearest difference is price: RETRO FORTH at Free against Smart NFC's $1.99. RETRO FORTH also leads on iOS requirement (12.4 vs 14.0). Smart NFC's advantage is ratings volume (92 vs 5) and review sentiment (48% vs 33%). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

RETRO FORTH is free to download; Smart NFC costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for RETRO FORTH against 4.5 for Smart NFC. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smart NFC has 92 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 33% of RETRO FORTH's written reviews are positive against 48% of Smart NFC's.

RETRO FORTH ships an update monthly, Smart NFC fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 6, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | RETRO FORTH | Smart NFC |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $1.99 |
| Rating | [4.4 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/retro-forth/id1170943580/reviews) | **[4.5 (92 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smart-nfc/id1470146079/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 5 | **92** |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | **47.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | — | **#37** |
| Size | 4 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.4** | 14.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Charles Childers](https://appshunter.io/developer/900749636) | [Alec O'Connor](https://appshunter.io/developer/1071776026) |

## What reviewers say

### RETRO FORTH

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/retro-forth/id1170943580)

A compact and adaptable concatenative programming language designed for ease of learning and customization. It features a code editor, interactive listener, and support for Gopher servers, allowing for flexible development.

**Highlights:** Concatenative programming language, Code editor with Markdown subset, Literate programming style, Interactive listener interface, Gopher server data fetching, File manager, Documentation browser

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Smart NFC

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smart-nfc/id1470146079)

**Currently charting:** #37 Top Paid · Developer Tools (US App Store)

This app allows users to read, write, and interact with NFC tags directly from their compatible iPhone. It supports various record types, tag formatting, and direct memory access for advanced customization. Background reading is also available on newer devices.

**Highlights:** Read, write, duplicate, erase, and lock NDEF tags, Format tags as NDEF, Interact with links and social media records, Background tag reading, Direct tag memory access, Send custom commands to tags

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is RETRO FORTH free?

RETRO FORTH is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Smart NFC free?

Smart NFC costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, RETRO FORTH or Smart NFC?

Smart NFC is rated higher. RETRO FORTH averages 4.4 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Smart NFC averages 4.5 from 92 ratings.

### Do RETRO FORTH or Smart NFC have ads?

Neither RETRO FORTH nor Smart NFC shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, RETRO FORTH or Smart NFC?

RETRO FORTH ships an update monthly, and Smart NFC fortnightly. Most recently, RETRO FORTH was updated on September 6, 2026 and Smart NFC on September 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*