Comparison

NFC Forge vs NFC Toolkit

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

Head to head
About

NFC Forge

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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. 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 Toolkit

Read full description

Pay once. No subscription. NFC Toolkit is the fast, clean way to read, write and manage NFC tags on your iPhone. READ • UID, chip type, capacity and memory of any tag • Every record decoded: websites, text, phone, email, SMS, locations, Wi-Fi and contacts • Open, call, copy or add contacts straight from a scan • Hex memory dump for developers WRITE • Templates: Wi-Fi guest card, business card, Google review link, website or menu, Run a Shortcut • Websites, text, phone, email, SMS, locations, Wi-Fi networks and contact cards • Several records on one tag, with a live size check for NTAG213, 215 and 216 • Share a link or contact from any app into NFC Toolkit PRO TOOLS • Password-protect NTAG tags • Lock tags permanently, with a clear confirmation • Erase and duplicate tags • Saved library and full scan history AUTOMATION • Shortcuts actions to scan or write a tag • Home Screen widget with one-tap scanning PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no cloud. Your tags, history and library stay on your iPhone. FREE OR PRO Reading and writing are always free. Use a Pro tool once by watching a short ad, or unlock everything forever with one payment. No subscription, ever. Requires iOS 17 or later (iPhone XS, XR or newer).

Screenshots

NFC Forge4 screens
NFC Toolkit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NFC Forge at none against NFC Toolkit's 1. NFC Forge also leads on ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. NFC Toolkit sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. NFC Forge asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
NFC Forge versus NFC Toolkit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNFC ForgeNFC Toolkit
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Every 3 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSusan HamiltonGabriel Gonzalez

In-app purchases

None

NFC Forge

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

NFC Toolkit

One-time1
  • NFC Toolkit Pro$7.99

Questions

Is NFC Forge free?
NFC Forge is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NFC Toolkit free?
NFC Toolkit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do NFC Forge or NFC Toolkit have ads?
NFC Toolkit shows ads; NFC Forge does not.

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