NFC Reader / Writer vs NFC21 Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
NFC21 Reader
Easily read and interact with NFC tags. Scan tags to preview content and immediately perform actions like opening websites, adding contacts, or connecting to Wi-Fi. Supports various tag types for seamless interaction.
- Scan NFC tags
- Preview tag content
- Directly execute actions
- Supports URL, VCard, WiFi, Text, GEO, Phone, Mail, SMS
- Continuous improvement and new features
- Simple and usable interface
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We love NFC! That's why, we strive to provide the most simple and usable solution to read NFC-Tags. NFC21 Reader focuses on the content of a scanned NFC-Tag and offers an action to proceed immediately – without any distractions whatsoever. NFC tags are used to store information like website links, phone numbers, business cards or WiFi configurations. NFC21 Reader enables you to read and interact with such nfc tags in just two easy steps: First, by scanning the NFC tag, you get a preview of its contents. Second, execute an action matched to the given content. For example, to open a weblink in Safari, import a business card into contacts or show a location in maps. NFC21 Reader supports the following Tag-Types: • URL: Website Links to open in Safari. • VCard: Business cards, that may be added to your contacts. • WiFi: Network configuration to easily join a secured WiFi. • Text: Short texts that can be copied to the clipboard. • GEO: Location that is shown in maps application. • Phone Number: To easily dial a stored phone number. • Mail: Create a new mail with prefilled address and subject. • SMS: Start a new SMS-chat with a given phone number. We improve the application continuously and add more types and actions. Do you miss a feature? Our development team would love to listen to your idea! NFC-Expert? Experts should take a look at our NFC21 Tools app. It allows to create and write to own NFC-Tags and provides more detail and technical information about used tags.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: NFC21 Reader at 71% against NFC Reader / Writer's 16%. NFC21 Reader also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). NFC Reader / Writer's advantage is rating (3.6 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (19 vs 4). On price, update cadence and device support 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. NFC21 Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
NFC Reader / Writer holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 16% of NFC Reader / Writer's written reviews are positive against 71% of NFC21 Reader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
NFC Reader / Writer ships an update monthly, NFC21 Reader every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on July 8, 2026 and June 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NFC Reader / Writer | NFC21 Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (19 ratings) — better | 3.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 16.0% of reviews | 70.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 19 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Andrew Sowers | NFC21 GmbH |
Customer experience
NFC Reader / Writer
NFC21 Reader
Bugs and 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
NFC21 Reader
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
NFC Reader / Writer
- Remove Ads$1.99
NFC21 Reader
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is NFC Reader / Writer free?
Is NFC21 Reader free?
Which has better reviews, NFC Reader / Writer or NFC21 Reader?
Do NFC Reader / Writer or NFC21 Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, NFC Reader / Writer or NFC21 Reader?
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