Comparison

NFC Forge vs NFC Kit

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

Head to head
About

NFC Forge

Read full description

NFC Forge is an open-source toolkit for reading, writing, duplicating, and managing NFC tags with your iPhone. No ads, no accounts, no trackers, and no cloud. Everything stays on your device. READ • Identify the chip family and decode NDEF records • Inspect lock status and security configuration • View the raw memory of supported tags and export a full .bin dump WRITE • Web links, plain text, phone numbers, email, locations, and FaceTime or WhatsApp shortcuts • Contact cards (vCard), calendar events, App Store links, and social profiles • Payment links (Venmo, PayPal, Cash App), Wi-Fi network tokens, and Bluetooth pairing records • Small embedded files and custom raw NDEF records • Stage several records and write them together as one multi-record NDEF message, with a capacity check against NTAG213, NTAG215, and NTAG216 DUPLICATE • Scan a source tag, save it to your on-device library, and write it to one or more blank tags TOOLS • Erase and format tags • Lock tags permanently to make them read-only • Password-protect supported NTAG tags • Byte-level memory editor, .bin backup and restore, and a raw command console for advanced users • Optionally use your iPhone as an NFC reader for your Mac over your local Wi-Fi network SAFETY FIRST NFC Forge protects lock bytes, capability containers, and password pages during normal writes to help prevent accidentally bricking a tag, and it warns you before any permanent action. SUPPORTED TAGS • Full read and write: NTAG213/215/216, MIFARE Ultralight, and ISO 15693 (ICODE SLIX and others) • NDEF and command passthrough: ISO 7816 Type 4 tags, DESFire, and FeliCa • MIFARE Classic: UID detection only PRIVACY NFC Forge collects no data. Tags you choose to save stay in the app's on-device storage. The source code is available on GitHub under the MIT License. FEEDBACK Send suggestions, bug reports, and feature ideas straight to the developer from Settings → Feedback. Every message is read. Requires an iPhone with NFC. Some record types, such as Wi-Fi, write a text token that other apps can scan; iOS does not automatically join a network from an NFC tag.

About

NFC Kit

Features
Read full description

NFC Kit reads, writes, erases and protects NFC tags. No ads, no account. READ • UID, chip type, capacity and tag status at a glance • Decodes every NDEF record type: link, text, Wi-Fi, contact card, phone, email, message, coordinates, MIME • Full memory view in HEX, ASCII or binary with colour-coded regions • Export the memory as .txt or .bin WRITE • Ten content types, each with its own form • Capacity is checked before writing, and the tag is read back and compared byte by byte • Edit, reorder and delete individual records • Erase the NDEF content or reformat the tag TAG SECURITY (NTAG213/215/216, Ultralight EV1) • Set and remove the PWD/PACK password • Choose the first protected page (AUTH0), block reads too (PROT), limit attempts (AUTHLIM) • Lock a tag permanently to read-only, behind a two-step confirmation • Passwords live in the Keychain and travel through iCloud Keychain, end-to-end encrypted HISTORY AND AUTOMATION • Every scan is saved; search, star and give tags a nickname • One-tap templates, batch writing with a counter and a per-tag error log • Copy content to another tag, back a tag up to a file, export and import history as JSON • Shortcuts actions for Siri and automations LIFETIME UNLOCK - $4.99, ONE-TIME, NO SUBSCRIPTION These three features require the purchase; everything else in the app stays free forever: • iCloud backup of the tag history • Export and import of tag data • Reading and editing raw tag memory The purchase restores on every device on the same Apple Account, and the app has a Restore Purchases button. WHAT iOS DOES NOT ALLOW - SAID UP FRONT iOS does not let apps read MIFARE Classic data (only the UID), copy a UID onto another tag, emulate a tag, or join Wi-Fi automatically from a tag. These are system limits that no app gets past. The app includes a page explaining all of them. Requires iOS 18, so an iPhone XR or newer.

Screenshots

NFC Forge4 screens
NFC Kit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NFC Forge at none against NFC Kit's 1. 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. NFC Kit sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. NFC Forge asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 7 level
NFC Forge versus NFC Kit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNFC ForgeNFC Kit
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSusan HamiltonMinh Duc Do Tran

In-app purchases

None

NFC Forge

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

NFC Kit

One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlock$4.99

Questions

Is NFC Forge free?
NFC Forge is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NFC Kit free?
NFC Kit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do NFC Forge or NFC Kit have ads?
Neither NFC Forge nor NFC Kit shows ads.

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