Japan NFC Reader vs Smart NFC Tools
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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)
Smart NFC Tools
Easily read, inspect, and modify NFC tags with this intuitive tool. Write to tags in various formats to trigger actions like opening websites or making calls. Prioritizes user privacy by operating entirely offline.
- Read NFC tag content
- Inspect and modify NFC tags
- Erase, lock, and copy tags
- Write NFC tags in various formats
- Trigger phone calls or open websites
- 100% offline operation
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Smart NFC Tools is the most accessible and easy to use NFC Reader and Writer for mobile devices! With a simple user interface and powerful tools you can interact with NDEF-Formatted NFC cards without any external hardware! - Read, Inspect and modify: Read a tag by touching the back of your device against it and Smart NFC Tools will show you a full report on the tag's content and give you options such as erase, lock and copy. It's super easy! - Write in many formats: Smart NFC Tools enables you to write NFC tags in popular formats that allow for custom interactions such as opening a website or triggering a phone call just by touching the tag with a compatible device! - Note about privacy: Smart NFC Tools works 100% offline, without any personal or content data being sent to an external server or third party server. Your privacy is our priority! Embrace the world of NFC technologies using your phone or tablet! Smart NFC Tools is now available for all iOS devices!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Japan NFC Reader at 67% against Smart NFC Tools's 30%. Japan NFC Reader also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). Smart NFC Tools's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (476 vs 24). On price, update cadence, 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. Japan NFC Reader sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Smart NFC Tools sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Japan NFC Reader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smart NFC Tools has 476 ratings behind it against 24, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Japan NFC Reader's written reviews are positive against 30% of Smart NFC Tools's.
Japan NFC Reader ships an update every 6 days, Smart NFC Tools weekly. The most recent releases landed on July 5, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Japan NFC Reader | Smart NFC Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (24 ratings) — better | 4.6 (476 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better | 30.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 24 | 476 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ryoga Tanaka | Arthur Eduardo Skaetta Alvarez Desenvolvimento de Software LTDA. |
Customer experience
Japan NFC Reader
Smart NFC Tools
Bugs and requests
Japan NFC Reader
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Smart NFC Tools
Reported bugs
6 issues- Doesn't work to save contact card
- App glitches
- Doesn't work to read card and fob
- Paid for unlock, but restore doesn't work after iOS update
- Paid for ability to lock tags, but feature does not work
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- App not working after 15 minutes, even after purchase
Requested features
2 requests- Add social media to chips
- Ability to add multiple items to card after paying
In-app purchases
Japan NFC Reader
- Hide Ads (General)$1.99
- Hide Ads (Advanced Features)$4.99
Smart NFC Tools
- NFC Tools Premium$1.99
Questions
Is Japan NFC Reader free?
Is Smart NFC Tools free?
Which has better reviews, Japan NFC Reader or Smart NFC Tools?
Do Japan NFC Reader or Smart NFC Tools have ads?
Which is updated more often, Japan NFC Reader or Smart NFC Tools?
Other comparisons
