NTAG213, 215 or 216: which NFC tag for a review sign?
4 September 2026 · 4 min read
All three are NFC Forum Type 2 tags and all three work with every phone that reads NFC. The difference is memory, and for a review link it barely matters — but read range does.
Memory, in the only unit that counts
A review URL is about 80–120 characters. Usable memory after formatting:
- NTAG213 — 144 bytes, roughly 130 characters of URL. Enough, with little room to spare
- NTAG215 — 504 bytes. Comfortable for any link, including long tracking parameters
- NTAG216 — 888 bytes. More than a review sign will ever need
Read range is the real difference
Bigger chips usually come on bigger antennas, and antenna size drives range. A 25mm NTAG213 sticker may need near-contact; a 30mm+ NTAG215 in a stand reads from a centimetre or two, which is the difference between a confident tap and a customer poking around for the sweet spot.
What we put in the signs
NTAG215 on a large antenna. It is a few pence more than a 213 and buys margin on both memory and range, and it is the chip most phones have been tested against, being the same one used in consumer toys and transit cards.
Questions, answered
- Do cheap tags wear out?
- Reading does not wear a tag; writing does, and they are rated for around 100,000 writes. Yours is written once.
- Will a 213 be noticeably worse?
- On a large antenna, no. On a small sticker, you will feel the shorter range every day.
