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Compare different NFC Chips to better understand which one to choose between MIFARE®, NTAG®, ICODE®, based on memory, compatibility, and other.

You can find different types of NFC Chips on Shop NFC, such as: NTAG® Series, MIFARE Classic®, MIFARE Ultralight®, MIFARE® DESFire®, MIFARE Plus®, ST25TA and ICODE® Series.

In general, NTAG® Series ICs are compatible with every NFC mobile device. The Operative Frequency of NFC Tags is 13.56 MHz.

NFC Tags does not work on metal surfaces. If you need to use the NFC Tags close to metal, you should choose the On-Metal NFC Tags which are specially made for this purpose.

To better understand the technical characteristics of the different types of NFC Tags, please refer to the following tables, which will help you to better understand what kind of Tags you need.

See Also:

Technical specifications of NTAG® NFC ICs (ISO 14443-A)

NTAG213 - NTAG215 - NTAG216

NTAG213 / NTAG213 TT NTAG215 NTAG216
Total capacity (1) 180 bytes 540 bytes 924 bytes
Available memory (2) 144 bytes 504 bytes 888 bytes
URL length (3) 132 characters 492 characters 854 characters
Text length (4) 130 characters 490 characters 852 characters
V-Card Fields (5) 4-5 9-10 10+
Data retention 10 years
Read/write endurance 100,000 cycles
Why choose this chip Great chip, very versatile.
It is expected that will replace the predecessor NTAG203.
Good memory, even if smaller than NTAG216. The latest chip, with higher capacity and high scan strength. Perfect for V-Card or other uses that require high storage.
NFC Forum Specifics (6) NFC Forum Type 2
Encryption (7) Not supported
Serial Number (UID) (8) Yes (7 bytes)
Compatibility (9) Compatible with all NFC Smartphones, NFC Tablets, and ISO14443-A NFC Readers (check software compatibility)
Password Protection (10) Yes
Scan Counter Yes

 

NTAG203 - NTAG210 - NTAG210μ - NTAG212

NTAG203 NTAG210 / NTAG210μ
NTAG212
Total capacity (1) 168 bytes 80 bytes 164 bytes
Available memory (2) 137 bytes 48 bytes 128 bytes
URL length (3) 132 characters 41 characters 122 characters
Text length (4) 130 characters 39 characters 120 characters
V-Card Fields (5) 4-5 1-2 3-4
Data retention 5 years 10 years
Read/write endurance 10,000 cycles 100,000 cycles
Why choose this chip Obsolete. Replaced by Ntag213. Very cheap. Ideal for URLs and short codes, or where only UID is needed. Unusual chip. It can be used in marketing or where more memory is required than NTAG210.
NFC Forum Specifics (6) NFC Forum Type 2
Encryption (7) Not supported
Serial Number (UID) (8) Yes (7 bytes)
Compatibility (9) Compatible with all NFC Smartphones, NFC Tablets, and ISO14443-A NFC Readers (check software compatibility)
Password Protection (10) No Yes / No Yes
Scan Counter No

NTAG 413 DNA - NTAG 424 DNA

NTAG413 DNA NTAG424 DNA
Available memory (2) 128 bytes 256 bytes
Communication rate 424 kbps 848 kbps
Data retention 50 years
Read/write endurance Min. 200,000 cycles (typically 500,000)
Why choose this chip / Special features

Supporting Secure Unique NFC Message (SUN), which enable and simpify at the same time many applcications involving security and encryption, such as: advanced anti-counterfeiting, secured sensitive data applications, secure login, authentication, etc.

File system compliant with ISO 7816 

NFC Forum Specifics (6) NFC Forum Type 4
Encryption (7) AES-128
Serial Number (UID) (8) Yes (7 bytes)
Compatibility (9) Compatible with all NFC Smartphones, NFC Tablets, and ISO14443-A NFC Readers (check software compatibility)
Scan Counter Yes (32 bytes)

More info on: NTAG chips

Technical specifications of ST25TA NFC ICs (ISO 14443-A)

ST25TA512B ST25TA02KB ST25TA16K ST25TA64K
Available memory (2) 512 bit / 64 byte 2048 bit / 256 byte 16 kbit / 2 kbyte 64 kbit / 8 kbyte
Data retention 200 years
Read/write endurance 1 million cycles
Why choose this chip For the high number of read/write cycles supported; for the long-term data retention; for the password protection both in reading and writing mode. For the high number of read/write cycles supported; for the long-term data retention; for the password protection both in reading and writing mode; for memory (greater than NTAG216 one).
NFC Forum Specifics (6) Type 4
Encryption (7) No
Serial Number (UID) (8) Yes (7 byte)
Compatibility (9) Compatible with NFC smartphones and ISO14443-A NFC Readers (check software compatibility)
Password Protection (10) Yes (both in reading and writing mode)
Scan Counter Yes No
TruST25™ digital signature Yes No

Technical specifications of ST25TV NFC ICs (ISO 15693)

ST25TV512 ST25TV02K
Total user memory (2) 512 bits / 64 bytes 2048 bits / 256 bytes
Data retention 60 years
Read/write endurance 100,000 cycles
Why choose this chip
  • Possibility of blocking the memory for both reading and writing
  • KILL mode and "untraceable" mode
  • Tamper detection capability (patent pending)
  • TruST25 digital signature
  • EAS support (electronic article surveillance)
NFC Forum Specifics (6) NFC Forum Type V
Encryption (7) No
Serial Number (UID) (8) Yes (8 bytes)
Compatibility  (9) Compatible with NFC smartphones and ISO 15693 NFC Readers (check software compatibility)
Password Protection (10) Yes (both in reading and writing mode)
Scan Counter Yes
TruST25™ digital signature Yes

Technical specification of ICODE® SLIX ICs (ISO 15693, ISO 18000)

ICODE® SLIX-L ICODE® SLIX ICODE® SLIX-S ICODE® SLIX 2
Total capacity (1) 32 bytes 112 bytes 160 bytes 316 bytes
Data Retention 50 years
Write Endurance 100,000 cycles
Why choose this chip Inventory, supply chain management, asset tracking, automation. Inventory, supply chain management, anti-counterfeting. Inventory, supply chain management, anti-counterfeting. Inventory, supply chain management, anti-counterfeting, asset tracking, ticketing.
NFC Forum Specifics (6) Type V
Password protection No Yes
Serial Number (UID) (8) Yes (8 bytes)
Compatibility (9) Compatible with NFC smartphones and ISO15693 NFC Readers (check software compatibility)

More info on: ICODE® chips

Technical Specifications of other types of NFC Tags

MIFARE Classic® EV1 1k MIFARE Classic® EV1 4k MIFARE Ultralight® EV1
Total capacity (1) 1 kb (1024 bytes) 4 kb (4048 bytes) 64 bytes
Available memory (2) 716 bytes 3440 bytes 46 bytes
URL length (3) 256 characters 2000 characters 41 characters
Text length (4) 709 characters about 3000 characters 39 characters
V-Card Fields (5) 9-10 10+ 1-2
Why choose this chip Use these ones only if you are using readers and/or softwares only compatible with MIFARE Classic® standard. Their hardware encryption is no longer secure. The large memory could be useful, but we suggest to use MIFARE® DESFire® IC instead.  Cost effective, short URLs, smart poster and general NFC use.
NFC Forum T2 (6) No Yes
Cryptography (7) Yes (not recommended) No
Serial number UID (8) Yes (4 or 7 byte) Yes (7 byte)
Universal Compatibility (9) No Format could be needed

More info on: Mifare Classic® - Mifare Ultralight® - Mifare® Desfire®

Glossary

  1. Total capacity: is the total memory of the Tag. Part of it, however, is not writable, as required for some functions.
  2. Available memory: the actual memory you have to write data to the NFC Tag.
  3. URL length: The maximum number of characters that a link on this Tag can contain, net of the 'http://www.'
  4. Text length: The maximum number of characters that you can write on this NFC Tag.
  5. V-Card Fields: V-Card is the standard for import or export contacts of an address book. The values are approximate because the number depends of the length of each field.
  6. NFC Forum specifications: compatibility with the technical specifications drawn up by the NFC Forum. For more information, please visit http://www.nfc-forum.org.
  7. Encryption: a safety feature on the chip, which can help prevent the cloning is an advanced feature that requires technical skills, but not necessary for standard use.
  8. Serial Number: the Tag contains a unique ID.
  9. Universal Compatibility: nTag chips are the only compatible with every smartphone and tablet. To check other compatibility, see the list of NFC enabled smartphones and tablets
  10. Password Protection: NTAG® and ICODE® SLIX S ICs can be protected with a password to prevent them from rewriting. A pw-protected NFC Tag cannot be overwritten, but can be read by everyone. You can use a 32-bit password. To use this feature, we recommend the NXP app, NFC TagWriter. ST25TA chips can be protected both in reading and writing mode. A Tag protected in read mode is unreadable.

More general info on NFC Tags

MIFARE®, NTAG®, MIFARE Classic®, MIFARE Ultralight®, MIFARE Plus®, DESFire® and ICODE® are trademarks of NXP Semiconductors.