Card Lookup vs NFC Commander
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Card Lookup
This utility app uses on-device AI and computer vision to extract credit or debit card details like card number, expiry date, and cardholder name from an image. It prioritizes data privacy and security by processing information locally on your device.
- On-device AI processing
- Extracts card number, expiry, and name
- Uses Apple's computer vision
- Prioritizes data privacy
- Simple camera scanning
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Card Lookup is a native iOS on-device AI based solution that extracts the 16 digit card number, card expiry and card holder's name from the given front side of a credit or debit card. The AI engine uses the cutting edge computer vision framework from Apple along with custom trained CoreML model for precise landmark detection. The system also makes use of the Natural Language framework from Apple for identifying person names . The on-device AI engine ensures data privacy and security. Simply place the camera on the card and tap scan.
NFC Commander
This utility app allows you to read and write data to NFC cards. It supports multiple data reads and writes, various data types, and specific formats for auto-recognition on newer iPhones. An advanced version offers additional features.
- Read NFC card data
- Write data to NFC cards
- Multiple data reads/writes
- Support for multiple data types
- Specific format writing for auto-recognition
- Dark mode support
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NFCommander identifies NFC tags on iPhone, then reads and writes NDEF when the tag has it. Hold a sticker or card to see UID, technology, and capacity. Write a link, text, or vCard, clone a scan onto another sticker, or permanently lock the next tag you hold. Nothing is uploaded, and there is no account. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Identify MIFARE, ISO 15693, FeliCa, and ISO 7816 tags (iPhone 7 and later) • See UID, maker, capacity, and whether a tag is writable or locked • Read NDEF records: links, text, vCard, Smart Poster, and more • Write templates: link, text, email, phone, message, maps, vCard, or a custom NDEF record • Copy a scanned tag and write it to another writable sticker • Permanently lock a physical tag with the system writeLock API • Keep scan history on your iPhone, including UID COMPATIBILITY • Bank cards, secure ID documents, and dynamic-ID transit cards are handled by Apple Pay and cannot be read here • iOS restricts third-party apps from using MIFARE Classic or reading tags in the background • NFC is available on supported iPhones only • Locking a tag cannot be undone PRIVACY FIRST • Identify, read, write, and lock happen on your iPhone • No cloud, no analytics, no tracking, no sign-in • UID and records never leave your iPhone unless you copy or share them FREE AND PREMIUM • Identifying a tag and viewing UID, technology, and capacity is free • Premium unlocks writing, cloning, locking, and every NDEF record on a multi-record tag
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Card Lookup at none against NFC Commander's 1. Card Lookup also leads on update cadence (every 6 months vs every 34 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). NFC Commander's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (6 vs 1). On price, rating 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 Commander sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Card Lookup asks for nothing beyond the download.
Card Lookup holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NFC Commander has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Card Lookup ships an update every 6 months, NFC Commander every 34 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Card Lookup | NFC Commander |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.8 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months — better | Every 34 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pratheesh Bennet | 袁杰 张 |
Customer experience
Card Lookup
NFC Commander
In-app purchases
Card Lookup
No in-app purchases
NFC Commander
- Premium Edition$0.99








