NFC Scanner vs NFC Reader / Writer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NFC Scanner
Easily read NFC tags on your iPhone or iPod. This utility app provides a history of scanned tags, supports multi-record tags, and allows you to open links directly from within the application. It's designed for quick, one-handed use.
- Read NFC tags on iOS
- Scan history
- Automatic scanning option
- Multi-record tag support
- One-hand optimized UI
- Open links from app
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Read NFC Tags for the first time on iOS! NFC Scanner features: - A history of the tags you scanned - Optional automatic scanning when the app is launched for quick tag reading. - Support for multi-record tags - User interface optimized for one-hand use - Open links from right within the app + more coming soon!
NFC Reader / Writer
This utility app allows you to read, save, and share information stored on NFC tags. It can extract data like URLs, contact cards, and text messages. Note that NFC tag reading requires an iPhone 7 or newer.
- Read NFC tags
- Save tags for later
- Share tag data
- Save contacts from tags
- Open URLs from tags
- Display text messages
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With NFC Reader you can read tags, save them for later viewing, share them, save contacts, open URLs and more! Be advised: Reading NFC tags requires iPhone 7, 8, or X. FAQ: - Will my iPhone work with NFC? That depends: iPhone 7 and up supports NFC reading and NFC reading only works when NFC tags are NDEF formatted. If you're not sure what that means, you can reach out to our support for more information. - Are NFC tags RFID tags? No, NFC NDEF tags are not RFID tags - this means your gym cards, debit/credit cards, hotel cards, etc aren't readable by this app. - Will this app help me pair to my speaker/router/camera/etc? No, this app doesn't support deep integrations into NFC enabled products - this app is intended to read NFC tags and display data within those tags. Some tags contain actionable data like website URLs, text messages, geotags, contact cards, etc. If you have any questions, reach out to me at andrew@baristable.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: NFC Reader / Writer at 3.6 against NFC Scanner's 1.8. NFC Scanner's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. NFC Reader / Writer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. NFC Scanner asks for nothing beyond the download.
NFC Reader / Writer holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 1.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 19 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 10% of NFC Scanner's written reviews are positive against 16% of NFC Reader / Writer's.
NFC Scanner ships an update every 4 weeks, NFC Reader / Writer monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NFC Scanner | NFC Reader / Writer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.8 (16 ratings) | 3.6 (19 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 10.0% of reviews | 16.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 16 | 19 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Wander Bit LLC - Photo & Video Editor Apps and More | Andrew Sowers |
Customer experience
NFC Scanner
NFC Reader / Writer
Bugs and requests
NFC Scanner
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
NFC Reader / Writer
Reported bugs
7 issues- App crashes immediately on launch for devices without NFC support
- NFC reading fails on iPhone 6, 6S, and SE despite claimed compatibility
- Session invalidated - feature not supported error messages
- Apple Pay popup appears when scanning NFC tags
- Unreadable symbols displayed on screen during scanning
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- App won't open on multiple device models
- CoreNFC framework compatibility issues
Requested features
6 requests- Support for older iPhone models (iPhone 6, 6S, SE)
- Ability to open amiibo files from Google Drive
- Italian language support
- Better error handling and user notifications
- Support for writing NFC tags on all compatible devices
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- Graceful handling for devices without NFC hardware
In-app purchases
NFC Scanner
No in-app purchases
NFC Reader / Writer
- Remove Ads$1.99
Questions
Is NFC Scanner free?
Is NFC Reader / Writer free?
Which has better reviews, NFC Scanner or NFC Reader / Writer?
Do NFC Scanner or NFC Reader / Writer have ads?
Which is updated more often, NFC Scanner or NFC Reader / Writer?
Other comparisons
