Comparison

ChipVault vs VaultPony

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

Head to head
About

ChipVault

This app transforms NFC cards into secure, encrypted personal data vaults. Store passwords, recovery phrases, and more, all protected by your master password and AES-128 encryption directly on the chip. Your data remains offline, with no cloud or server reliance.

Highlights
  • Personalize DESFire EV2/EV3 cards
  • AES-128 encrypted data storage
  • Store passwords, notes, recovery phrases
  • Edit card details and categories
  • Clone cards for backup
  • Visual storage usage
  • Reset cards to factory state
Read full description

The only iOS app dedicated to NXP DESFire EV2 and EV3 NFC cards. ChipVault turns your DESFire cards into hardware-backed personal data vaults — AES-128 encrypted at the chip level, secured by your own master password. No cloud, no servers, no accounts, no subscriptions. The cards in your wallet are the storage. SECURE FIRST. Traditional NXP card tools fall short on security when working with these chips. ChipVault treats native AES encryption, EV2 Secure Messaging, and proper key derivation as first-class citizens — not afterthoughts. Every byte written to a card is encrypted with a key derived from your master password and that card's unique UID. The same data on a different card is a different ciphertext. A different password unlocks nothing. The chip enforces this at the silicon level. WHAT YOU CAN DO — Personalize a blank DESFire EV2 or EV3 card into a ChipVault: pick up to 8 categories from a palette of 15+ pre-canned options (Financial, Medical, Travel, Auto, Insurance, Tools, Credentials, Licenses, Subscriptions, Crypto Recovery, Family, Work, Notes, Wi-Fi & IoT, Personal IDs) or roll your own with custom names — Store passwords, codes, account numbers, notes, recovery phrases — each entry is a simple key plus a multi-line value, with optional hide-by-default for sensitive fields — Read your data with a tap and your master password — Edit a card after enrollment: rename it, change its theme and icon, rename any category — all instant, no NFC tap needed — Add new categories or delete existing ones on a card you've already personalized — one NFC tap each, with confirmation — Clone an entire card to a backup card — your safety net stays in your physical control, with per-trait toggles for what carries over (name, theme, icon) — Recover from a stuck chip memory allocator with Reset & Restructure — wipes entries and rebuilds the card with your current category set (chip-level recovery you'll rarely need, but you'll be glad it's there if you do) — See exactly how much space each category is using with the visual storage donut — Reset any card back to factory state with a single command — Delete individual entries cleanly with no leftover ghost data USE CASES — A password manager backup that doesn't live on anyone's cloud — A travel-only vault you carry separately from your phone — Encrypted storage for crypto recovery phrases that survives device loss — An emergency credentials kit that goes in a safe deposit box — A shared medical info card a family member can read with their own ChipVault install (if they know your master password) PRIVACY BY DESIGN ChipVault has no servers. No analytics. No tracking SDKs. No accounts to create. Nothing you do leaves your device, except a small operational record stored in your own iOS Keychain (which you control). Your master password is never transmitted, never logged, and never recoverable — write it down somewhere safe. WHAT YOU'LL NEED — An iPhone with NFC support (iPhone 7 or later) — One or more NXP DESFire EV2 or EV3 NFC cards (widely available online — see the in-app guide) ONE-TIME PURCHASE A 20-day free trial. After that, a single one-time purchase unlocks ChipVault forever — on all your devices. No subscriptions. Ever. ABOUT N0AGI ChipVault is built by N0AGI LLC, an indie shop focused on tools that respect your data and your wallet. Questions, feedback, or bug reports: n0agi@n0agi.com

About

VaultPony

Features
Read full description

VaultPony creates and opens encrypted containers on iPhone and iPad. A vault is a single encrypted file that holds a private filesystem, and only your password opens it. The containers are compatible with VeraCrypt, so you can open the same vaults on the desktop and back. There is no account, no cloud, and no network access. Your vaults are just files, kept wherever you choose, On My iPhone, iCloud Drive, or a third-party storage provider. Features: Create and open VeraCrypt-compatible containers, with a choice of cipher, hash, and filesystem (FAT or exFAT). Hidden volumes: conceal a second vault inside the first. Two passwords, and the outer one gives no sign the hidden one exists. The outer volume can be write-protected so normal use will not overwrite the hidden data. Header backup and recovery, in-place password change, and keyfiles. Face ID unlock, auto-lock when the app leaves the foreground, a privacy screen that hides vault content in the app switcher, and a no-trace mode that never writes decrypted content outside the vault. A full split-view layout on iPad; browse and preview side by side. Localized in English, German, Spanish, French, Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese. VaultPony is free and open source, built on a shared Rust core you can inspect. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by IDRIX; VeraCrypt is a registered trademark of IDRIX.

Screenshots

ChipVault4 screens
VaultPony4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: VaultPony at none against ChipVault's 1. ChipVault's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. ChipVault sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. VaultPony asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ChipVault ships an update weekly, VaultPony every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
ChipVault versus VaultPony: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChipVaultVaultPony
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperN0AGI LLCKevin Stewart

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ChipVault

One-time1
  • ChipVault Full Access$6.99
None

VaultPony

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ChipVault free?
ChipVault is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is VaultPony free?
VaultPony is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ChipVault or VaultPony have ads?
Neither ChipVault nor VaultPony shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ChipVault or VaultPony?
ChipVault ships an update weekly, and VaultPony every 2 weeks. Most recently, ChipVault was updated on October 10, 2026 and VaultPony on October 2, 2026.

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