The 3 different NFC card types

There are several NFC card types on the market. So too in our web store. Choices often cause choice stress and confusion. We also notice this in practice, since we receive many questions about the different types of NFC cards. Therefore, we thought it would be a good idea to devote a blog to this topic. In this article, we are going to talk about which NFC card types there are and what the difference is.

What is an NFC card?

An NFC card is actually a kind of debit card. It also contains an NFC chip. NFC cards are made of PVC. This is the material almost all cards are made of. Think of your bank card or ID card. The card contains an NFC chip. Around the chip is a PVC shell, so you cannot see the chip. In addition, the casing provides good protection, making the chip last for years. The cards are usually supplied blank, but can also be printed. For example, you can make an NFC business card. On the card you can program your contact information. As soon as you hold the card against a phone, your contact information immediately appears on the screen. Then you can choose to store the contact information in the phone. Many other applications are possible, such as an access card. As soon as you hold the access card in front of a scanner, the gate will open. Thanks to the antenna in the chip, it can receive radio waves from another NFC chip. The transmitter ensures that the chip can also transmit radio waves. This makes communication between them possible. Tasks can be forwarded from the chip to a device in this way.

What NFC card types are there?

There are several different NFC card types. The most commonly used variants are the NTAG213, NTAG215 and NTAG216. The difference between these variants is in the chip, namely the number of bytes (capacity). Other than that, the chips are identical to each other. Below I will explain the different types of NFC card types.

NTAG213

This variant is quite rare. This is because an NTAG213 chip only has a capacity of 144 bytes. For the applications used with an NFC card, this is often too little. More memory is usually needed. This is why we see that this product is scarce.

NTAG215

This variant has a memory of 544 bytes. This is about 4 times as much as the NTAG213. In most cases, you will have enough capacity with this variant. The NTAG215 is known as the Amiibo chip. This chip lends itself perfectly to programming Amiibo used in gaming. Program your favorite Amiibo onto the tag and then hold it against your game console. The character will instantly appear in your game.

NTAG216

Should you not want to risk having too little capacity, we recommend purchasing the NTAG216. This chip has the most number of bytes of the three chips. With a capacity of 888 bytes, you can be sure that you have enough capacity. This variant is often used as a digital business card. After all, programming contact information takes a lot of capacity.

Have you programmed the chip? Then you can always empty it and reprogram it with a different task. This allows an NFC card to last for years and be used again.

Other variants of NFC

In this article, we have talked about NFC card types and the differences between them. Of course, there are other variants of NFC available. Think of stickers that you can put on anything, as well as key chains and coins.