CAIL vs NFC21 Tools
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CAIL
This app provides secure mobile access to NonStop systems using familiar interfaces. It offers customizable display options, external keyboard support, and robust SSH security for a seamless user experience.
- SSH secured sessions
- User definable attribute colors
- External keyboard support
- Function key toolbar
- Password and Keyboard-Interactive authentication
- Full block mode support
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Quick, easy mobile connectivity to NonStop systems that leverages the investment and familiarity in current information services to address expanding business requirements and deliver a great User experience. The CAIL 6530 App provides native NonStop 6530 communications with iOS powered mobile devices. - Support for SSH secured sessions, to protect your data. - User definable attribute colors - Works with external keyboards - Long tap brings up a two-row toolbar for function keys - Toolbar can be scrolled up/down to show other special keys - Support for "Password" and "Keyboard-Interactive" SSH authentication - Full block mode support - Displays attributes (Blinking, Underline etc.) in user selectable colors
NFC21 Tools
Explore NFC technology with an advanced yet user-friendly toolset. Read, write, and manage NFC tags with support for various data types, including URLs, contacts, and Wi-Fi credentials. Organize your scanned tags with filters and access detailed information.
- Read and write NFC tags
- Manage tag history with filters
- Create standard, extended, and expert tag types
- Support for URL, Phone, Email, SMS, FaceTime, and Shortcuts
- Advanced options for Text, Address, Position, Contact, and Wi-Fi
- Define custom data types (MIME-Type)
- Share Bluetooth device IDs
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We love NFC, therefore we decided to develop our NFC21 tools. Our app offers you an advanced yet easy to use toolset to explore NFC with your iPhone. Reading as well as writing of NFC-tags is supported and wrapped in an attractive user interface. NFC21 tools greets you with a history view, which contains all NFC-Tags you have read or written. Additional filters enable you to narrow down the list to ‘Read’, ‘Written’, ‘Drafts’ or ‘Favorites’ only. Tap on an entry for more details like the serial number (uid), memory size, write lock as well as the stored content. Based on the latter, an available action is offered like opening a link in Safari or the import of v-cards into the Contacts app. Creation of own NFC-tags starts with the selection of a type. We differentiate three different types. First, the standard-type creates NFC-tags which are readable by newer iPhones (iPhone XS, XR or newer) without an additional app. Second, extended types which offer more advanced scenarios like sharing of locations, contacts or WIFI-credentials. These types require a suitable app (like NFC21 Tools or NFC21 Reader) to read and process the stored content. Lastly, the expert type allows the definition of own datatypes, which require suitable / custom apps to use them. In summary, NFC21 Tools support the following tag-types: Standard (usable without an app with iPhone XS, XR or newer): • URL: Share a link to a website with an NFC-tag. Long / complicated addresses are a problem of the past. • Phone number: Share a number with NFC – always right and directly dialable. • E-Mail: Prepare a message for a recipient, ready to send with a tap. • SMS: Create a short message for a predefined number, an optional text and ready to send in an instant. • FaceTime: Start a FaceTime conversation with a scan. • Shortcut: Execute a shortcut from the apple shortcuts app with a simple scan. Advanced (with App): • Text: Hide a text within an NFC-tag, waiting to be read by a scanning fellow. • Address: Prepare a location for maps to ease getting direction – complicated street names are not a problem anymore. • Position: Locate an exact position (treasure)? Store longitude and longitude for use in the maps app. • Contact: Make your business card smart and let others scan your data like magic. • WiFi: Share credentials and ease login with a tag scan. Expert: • Data: Allows to define custom data types (MIME-Type). • Bluetooth: Share Bluetooth device IDs for easier coupling. Recommended NFC-Tag types: • NXP NTAG 203, 213, 215, 216 Support and NFC-Tags The NFC21 Tools app is developed by the NFC21 GmbH. Do not hesitate to send feedback and feature requests to our support. We recommend NFC-Tags based on the NXP NTAG-Series. In our online-shop we offer you a broad selection of NFC-products in various shapes and colors. Furthermore, we produce custom NFC-products based on your individual requirements.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: NFC21 Tools at Free against CAIL's $49.99. NFC21 Tools also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.7) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 8 months). CAIL's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 57%) and iOS requirement (12.4 vs 14.0). On ads, in-app purchases 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
NFC21 Tools is free to download; CAIL costs $49.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
NFC21 Tools holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NFC21 Tools has 37 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of CAIL's written reviews are positive against 57% of NFC21 Tools's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
CAIL ships an update every 8 months, NFC21 Tools every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CAIL | NFC21 Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.7 (3 ratings) | 4.7 (37 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 56.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 37 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.4 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cail Systems Inc | NFC21 GmbH |
Customer experience
CAIL
NFC21 Tools
In-app purchases
CAIL
No in-app purchases
NFC21 Tools
No in-app purchases









