Action NFC
Read and write physical NFC chips straight from the browser. Every tag you write through aicente can carry a tracking link - see where, when and how it gets used.
Data is power
Other NFC writers put a link on a chip and go blind. Action NFC writes a tracked link, so the same tag becomes a sensor for your business.
NFC vs QR split
Print the matching QR next to the chip - see exactly which channel your customers prefer, per tag.
City-level geo
Coarse location per tap. Know which store, table or event card actually performs.
Device mix
iPhone vs Android per tag - decide where NFC-first or QR-first makes sense.
30-day trend
Taps by day, last-tap recency, totals - spot dead tags and star performers at a glance.
Change the destination anytime without rewriting the chip - the tracked link is the indirection layer.
Your aicente assets are one tap from a chip - no copy-pasting.
Stick to the NTAG21x family - universal compatibility (Android, iPhone, PC/Mac) and password protection. A tracked link needs ~35 bytes; all three fit easily.
Cheapest
NTAG 213
137 B user memory
The affordable default - a tracked link uses ~35 bytes, so this fits with room to spare.
Best value
NTAG 215
492 B user memory
The sweet spot of price and capacity. Works with everything, including amiibo-style uses.
Most memory
NTAG 216
868 B user memory
For content-rich records - long vCards, multiple records, big text payloads.
Skip Mifare Classic (partial phone support) and specialty chips unless you know you need them. Anti-metal variants exist for mounting on metal surfaces. Prefer ready-made hardware? Action Tag ships cards, stands and stickers pre-programmed.
| NFC tap | QR scan | |
|---|---|---|
| Friction | One tap, nothing to aim | Open camera, frame the code |
| Range | ~2 cm — in-hand moments | Meters - posters, screens, menus |
| Wear & tear | Survives scratches and dirt | Needs clean, visible print |
| Works on | Every modern smartphone | Every camera phone |
| Cost | Cents per chip | Free to print |
The winning move is the combo: chip + printed QR carrying the same tracked link. Every tag's analytics page has a print-ready QR download, marked so scans and taps chart separately.
No. Every modern iPhone and Android reads NFC URL tags natively - tap the tag and the link opens. No app, no camera, no typing.
Both, on the same aicente tracked link. NFC wins up close (tap, zero friction); QR works from across the table and on any screen or print. Action NFC gives one link two channels - and shows you the exact NFC-vs-QR usage split per tag.
NTAG213 for cheap link tags, NTAG215 for the best value, NTAG216 for big payloads. All three work with Android, iPhone and desktop readers, and support password protection. Avoid exotic chips (Mifare Classic, ICODE) for link use.
Instead of the raw destination, your chip carries aicente.com/t/<tag-id>. Each tap logs the time, device type and coarse location, then instantly forwards - the visitor never notices. Your dashboard shows taps by day, channel (NFC vs QR), device and city.
Yes, twice over: unlocked NTAG chips are rewritable in seconds, and a tracked aicente link lets you change the destination without touching the chip at all.
Reading works natively. Writing needs the Action NFC iOS app (Apple restricts NFC writing to native apps) or any NDEF writer app with your copied tracked link. On Android, Chrome writes directly from this page.
Write your first tag in under a minute - grab a link, tap a chip, watch the data arrive.
Write a tag now