Comparison

NFC Tag Manager vs NFC21 Tools

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

NFC Tag Manager

Easily read and write NFC tags with support for plain text and URL content. Features include tag creation, cleaning, and viewing recently accessed tags.

Highlights
  • Read NFC tags
  • Create NFC tags
  • Clean NFC tags
  • View recent tags
  • Supports plain text
  • Supports URL content
Features
Read full description

Read and Write NDEF tags in an easy way. We support plain text and URL content. - Read tags - Create tags - Clean tags - See your recently read tags Please feel free to request for more features and give me more ideas.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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

NFC Tag Manager4 screens
NFC21 Tools4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NFC21 Tools at none against NFC Tag Manager's 1. NFC21 Tools also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). NFC Tag Manager's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (164 vs 32). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. NFC Tag Manager sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. NFC21 Tools asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for NFC Tag Manager against 4.8 for NFC21 Tools. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NFC Tag Manager has 164 ratings behind it against 32, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 62% of NFC Tag Manager's written reviews are positive against 57% of NFC21 Tools's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NFC Tag Manager ships an update every 9 days, NFC21 Tools every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and July 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
NFC Tag Manager versus NFC21 Tools: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNFC Tag ManagerNFC21 Tools
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (164 ratings)4.8 (32 ratings) — better
Positive reviews61.5% of reviews — better56.6% of reviews
Number of ratings164 — better32
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBruno GoncalvesNFC21 GmbH

Customer experience

NFC Tag Manager

All ratings164 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral3.7%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive61.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative38.5%

NFC21 Tools

All ratings32 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive56.6%
Neutral5.7%
Negative37.7%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

NFC Tag Manager

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99
None

NFC21 Tools

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NFC Tag Manager free?
NFC Tag Manager is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is NFC21 Tools free?
NFC21 Tools is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NFC Tag Manager or NFC21 Tools?
NFC21 Tools is rated higher. NFC Tag Manager averages 4.7 out of 5 from 164 ratings, while NFC21 Tools averages 4.8 from 32 ratings.
Do NFC Tag Manager or NFC21 Tools have ads?
Neither NFC Tag Manager nor NFC21 Tools shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NFC Tag Manager or NFC21 Tools?
NFC Tag Manager ships an update every 9 days, and NFC21 Tools every 2 months. Most recently, NFC Tag Manager was updated on September 13, 2026 and NFC21 Tools on July 6, 2026.

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