NFC technology is a subgroup of RFID technology, the common protocol is 13.56MHz and and its integration with most devices makes it a hot technology today. From businesses to DIYers, now purchase custom 13.56MHz NFC card for many different uses according to their own needs.

NFC cards are classified according to the NFC forum established by Nokia, Philips, and Sony in five (5) main types that provide different communication speeds and capabilities. Different types will have differences in the following:

• Configurability
• Memory capacity
• Security
• Data retention
• Write endurance

How to Choose NFC Chips

Today we will share some useful information for you to choose the suitable NFC chips when you consider to buy a NFC card.

When selecting NFC chips, you must choose one according to your needs. Even NFC chips compliant with the same NFC Forum Type will have different features. Most of the easily accessible tags for DIYers will be Type 2 tags and will largely include NXP NTAGs and MIFARE chips types.

NTAG213

The NTAG213 is an easy-to-use and popular chip on the market. It can be used for a custom NFC game card, custom NFC business card or custom NFC social media card.

NTAG215

The NTAG215 has a larger storage capacity of 504 bytes than the NTAG213 and is more useful for storing more URL characters. It is the only tag that can be used to create an Amiibo.

NTAG216

The NTAG216 has a storage capacity of 888 bytes and can store 854 URL characters to store plenty of different kinds of information.

MIFARE Ultralight

The MIFARE Ultralight is an affordable NFC chip that can store the security data and are ideal for high-volume projects.It is popular used for as a custom NFC payment card.

MIFARE Classic EV1

The MIFARE Classic is an access control & cashless payment NFC chip that is a Type 5-compliant NFC chip that started a revolution in contactless smart cards.

MIFARE DESFire

The MIFARE DESFire is an access control & cashless payment  chip that is Type 4-compliant. The DESFire name references the use of the following hardware cryptographic engines for securing transmission data:

DES

2K3DES

3K3DES

AES

ICODE

The ICODE enjoys the long reading distance than other NFC chips, the capacity can be 1k or 2k. If you prefer the great reading distance, this will be your best options.

Conclusion

NFC technology is becoming more and more useful, but the end-user need to choose the right chip for their use case according to their application, this way can save more time and money.

If you need the NFC business card, then choose NTAG213, NTAG215, NTAG216 according to the capacity.

If you need the NFC game card, NTAG213, NTAG215, MIFARE Ultralight will be the good options.

If you need the NFC access control card, MIFARE Classic can meets your request.

If you need the NFC payment card, MIFARE Ultralight, MIFARE DESFire chips will be more security.

Make sure to research and confirm the application & function you need first which NFC chip you need before getting one.