Which NFC tag type is used in cheap consumer stickers?

Most consumer NFC stickers are NFC Forum Type 2, based on ISO/IEC 14443 Type A chips like the NXP NTAG213, NTAG215, and NTAG216. They are inexpensive and store URLs, contact cards, or small NDEF messages.

What is the difference between ISO 14443 and ISO 15693?

ISO/IEC 14443 is the proximity standard with a range under about 4 cm, used for payments and most tags. ISO/IEC 15693 is the vicinity standard with a longer range up to roughly 1 metre, used for inventory and library tags (NFC Forum Type 5).

Why does NFC have such a short range?

NFC operates at 13.56 MHz with deliberately weak coupling, giving a range of only a few centimetres for proximity types. This short range is a security feature that makes casual eavesdropping difficult, which is why it suits contactless payment.

What are the three NFC operating modes?

Reader/Writer mode lets a device read or write passive tags. Card Emulation mode makes a phone act like a contactless card for payments or transit. Peer-to-Peer mode let two active devices exchange data, though it is now largely deprecated.

NDEF (NFC Data Exchange Format) is the standard message format stored on NFC tags. It wraps records such as a URL, text, or vCard so any compliant reader, including a smartphone, can interpret the tag's contents.

What is the NFC Standard Reference?

Reference table of NFC Forum tag types 1 through 5 with the underlying ISO/IEC 14443 and 15693 standards — protocol basis, memory size, data rate, and typical applications, plus the three NFC operating modes. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

NFC Standard Reference

Name: NFC Standard Reference
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

NFC tag types and standards

Near Field Communication covers a small family of tag types defined by the NFC Forum, each layered on an existing ISO/IEC contactless standard. This reference lists Types 1 through 5 with their protocol basis, memory range, data rate, and typical uses, plus the three NFC operating modes that govern how a device interacts with tags and cards.

The five NFC Forum tag types at a glance

Type	Underlying standard	Memory	Typical speed	Common chips / uses
Type 1	ISO/IEC 14443 Type A	96 bytes–2 KB	106 kbit/s	Topaz — simple, low-cost tags; largely superseded
Type 2	ISO/IEC 14443 Type A	48 bytes–2 KB	106 kbit/s	NTAG213/215/216 — consumer stickers, URL tags
Type 3	FeliCa (JIS X 6319-4)	Variable, up to ~1 MB	212/424 kbit/s	Sony FeliCa — transit cards (Suica, Octopus)
Type 4	ISO/IEC 14443 Type A/B	Up to 32 KB	106–424 kbit/s	MIFARE DESFire — access control, e-passports, payment
Type 5	ISO/IEC 15693	Variable	26.48 kbit/s	Inventory, library RFID — up to ~1 m read range

How the radio layer works

All NFC operates on 13.56 MHz and powers passive tags by magnetic induction — the reader’s alternating field induces a current in the tag’s antenna coil, giving it just enough power to respond. This is why NFC tags work without a battery. The coupling is deliberate kept weak, limiting proximity NFC to roughly 4 centimetres for ISO 14443 types. ISO 15693 (Type 5) uses a stronger field and broader coupling geometry, extending range to about 1 metre at the cost of lower data rate.

The three NFC operating modes

Reader/Writer mode — the device (smartphone, terminal) reads or writes a passive NFC tag. This is how phones tap to URLs on a poster tag or write a contact card to a blank sticker.

Card Emulation mode — the device impersonates a contactless smart card. This is how Apple Pay, Google Pay, and transit cards work — the phone acts like a payment card when held near a terminal, with a secure element or HCE (Host Card Emulation) handling the cryptographic credentials.

Peer-to-Peer mode — two NFC-capable devices exchange data directly. This was used for Android Beam, but the mode is now largely deprecated in favour of Bluetooth or Wi-Fi for file transfer.

NDEF: the data format on tags

All tag types support NDEF (NFC Data Exchange Format) — a compact binary format that wraps records such as a URL (U record type), plain text (T), a vCard, or an Android Application Record. Any compliant reader, including any modern smartphone, can parse NDEF without knowing the specific tag chip. Writing a URL to an NTAG213, for example, means writing an NDEF message containing a single U record with the URL.

Choosing the right tag type

Consumer stickers and smart posters: Type 2 (NTAG213 for small payloads, NTAG215/216 for more data like vCards or long URLs) — cheap, widely compatible, and enough memory for almost any everyday use case.
Transit and high-speed reading: Type 3 (FeliCa) if targeting East Asian transit systems; otherwise Type 4.
Access control, e-passports, high security: Type 4 (DESFire) — supports AES encryption, mutual authentication, and large data storage.
Inventory and warehouse: Type 5 (ISO 15693) — longer read range so handheld readers can scan items without precise alignment.