In short: RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification, a contactless one-way communication method at varying distances. NFC, Near Field Communication, allows for two-way communication and requires action by the user.

Range & Applications – NFC has a very short range of action, as the general working range is within 0.1 meters. It is a user interactive technology, and it needs the user’s special participation to ensure the completion of functions such as payment or access. NFC technology plays a huge role in access control, public transportation, mobile payment and other fields.

On the other hand, an RFID scanner can read a large number of tags at the same time, which is very common in warehouse inventory. RFID works at distances of hundreds of feet.

Communication – RFID is typically only capable of one-way communication (from the tag to the reader), NFC is capable of two-way communication.

Data Storage – NFC can store more complex data than simple identifying information. NFC tags can store up to 4KB of data. This data can take on numerous formats including text, URLs and media. While RFID tags usually require expensive readers to extract data, most modern-day smartphones are fitted with NFC reading capabilities. This greatly reduces the cost of implementing NFC tags, as users can simply use their smartphones to read data. Smartphones can read and write data onto a tag or card, obtain detailed metadata, launch an app or URL when the tag is scanned, and also share data between phones using NFC (peer-to-peer (P2P) communication).

RFID NFC have many similarities — so it may be confusing which one of these technologies is the best choice for your specific application. In this article, we’ll provide an overview of their different strengths to help you make an informed decision on which one is best for your application.