ICカードリーダー vs Japan NFC Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ICカードリーダー
View transaction history for electronic money and transportation IC cards. Export data in JSON or CSV formats, compatible with expense reporting tools. Supports Apple Watch registered Suica cards.
- View transaction history
- Export data (JSON, CSV)
- Expense reporting compatibility
- Apple Watch Suica support
- NFC enabled iPhone required
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IC Card Reader lets you check the balance and usage history of Suica and other FeliCa-based Japanese transit IC cards, as well as Rakuten Edy, just by tapping your card on your iPhone. ■ Great for travelers and commuters who want to: - Check their remaining balance without waiting at a gate or register - Decide for themselves when to top up - Review past trips and purchase history - Export travel history for expense reports during a trip or business travel ■ Key features - Read balance and history instantly via NFC — just tap your card - Supports Suica, PASMO, and other nationwide Japanese transit IC cards - Also supports Rakuten Edy balance and usage history - Name and color-tag each card for easy management - Export history as CSV (Shift-JIS/UTF-8) or JSON - No account or sign-up required — start using it right away ■ Privacy Card data is processed entirely on your device and is never sent to any external server. Supported cards: Suica, PASMO, ICOCA, TOICA, manaca, PiTaPa, Kitaca, SUGOCA, nimoca, Hayakaken, Rakuten Edy, and other nationwide interoperable Japanese transit IC cards. This app is an independent tool and is not an official app from JR East or Suica.
Japan NFC Reader
Easily check the balance and usage history of various Japanese transit and e-money cards directly on your iPhone. Supports a wide range of IC cards and payment services for convenient financial tracking.
- Check e-money balance
- View usage history
- Supports Transit IC cards
- Supports Rakuten Edy, nanaco, WAON
- Supports Hong Kong Octopus card
- iPhone compatibility
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You can check Japanese e-money balance and usage history on your iPhone. Support: ・Transit IC（Suica, PASMO, ICOCA, SUGOCA, TOICA, Kitaca, manaca, nimoca, はやかけん(Hayakaken)） ・IruCa ・PASPY ・SAPICA ・icsca ・OKICA ・Ryuto ・Region Affiliate Transit IC（totra, Iwate Green Pass, iGUCA, HACHICA, AOPASS, nolbé, Shuhoku Orange Pass, AkiCA, Towada SkyBlue Pass, cherica, MegoICa, …and more!） ・Rakuten Edy ・nanaco ・WAON ・Japan Univ. Co-op IC Prepaid ・八達通 (Octopus) (Hong Kong) Devices that support card scanning: WITH iOS 13.0 OR LATER iPhone 14 Pro iPhone 14 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhone 14 Plus iPhone SE (3rd generation) iPhone 13 Pro iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 13 iPhone 13 mini iPhone 12 Pro iPhone 12 Pro Max iPhone 12 iPhone 12 mini iPhone SE (2nd generation) iPhone 11 Pro iPhone 11 Pro Max iPhone 11 iPhone XS iPhone XS Max iPhone XR iPhone X iPhone 8 iPhone 8 Plus iPhone 7 (sold in Japan) iPhone 7 Plus (sold in Japan)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: ICカードリーダー at none against Japan NFC Reader's shown. Japan NFC Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 weeks) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. ICカードリーダー sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Japan NFC Reader sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for ICカードリーダー against 5.0 for Japan NFC Reader. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 24 respectively.
ICカードリーダー ships an update every 3 weeks, Japan NFC Reader every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 14, 2026 and July 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ICカードリーダー | Japan NFC Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (24 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 24 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Noriaki Misawa | Ryoga Tanaka |
Customer experience
ICカードリーダー
Japan NFC Reader
In-app purchases
ICカードリーダー
- コーヒーチケット$1.99
Japan NFC Reader
- Hide Ads (General)$1.99
- Hide Ads (Advanced Features)$4.99
Questions
Is ICカードリーダー free?
Is Japan NFC Reader free?
Which has better reviews, ICカードリーダー or Japan NFC Reader?
Do ICカードリーダー or Japan NFC Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, ICカードリーダー or Japan NFC Reader?
Other comparisons
