NFC vs QR codes for tracking physical assets
Both put a link on your equipment. They differ in cost, how long they last and which phones can read them. Here’s how we’d decide.
The short version
Put a QR label on everything. Add NFC tags to the few items people pick up all day, or that live somewhere rough. That covers most teams, and you can switch later without re-tagging anything.
What they actually do
A QR code and an NFC tag each hold a web address and nothing more. When someone scans or taps one with a phone, the asset’s page opens in ZORESET and the scan is logged as a sighting: who saw it, where, and when.
A QR code is printed ink. The phone’s camera reads it, with no app and no battery involved.
An NFC tag is a small chip and antenna inside a sticker or card. It has no battery either. The phone powers it for a moment when you hold it within about 4 cm.
Side by side
| QR code | NFC tag | |
|---|---|---|
| What goes on the asset | A printed sticker | A sticker or card with a chip |
| Cost | Almost nothing; print them yourself | Well under a dollar each in bulk |
| How you read it | Point the camera | Hold the phone against it |
| Range | Anywhere the camera can focus | About 4 cm |
| Phones | Any phone with a camera | Most recent iPhones and Android phones; writing tags from a browser needs Chrome on Android |
| Durability | Scuffs, fades, tears; has to stay visible | Sealed; can sit under a label or inside a case |
| On metal | Fine | Needs an on-metal tag |
Why most teams start with QR
It costs nothing to try. You can print a sheet of labels on the office printer this afternoon and have your monitors and chairs tagged by the end of the day. Every phone with a camera can read them, old or new, iPhone or Android. They’re also visible, so a visitor or a new starter sees the square and knows to scan it. If one gets damaged, print another with the same code.
The weak point is wear. A label on a desk monitor will last for years. A label on the base of a projector that gets dragged across meeting tables won’t.
Where NFC is worth paying for
On things that get handled constantly: the meeting-room clicker, a loan laptop, a set of power tools. A tap is quicker than lining up a camera, and it still works in a dark cupboard or with gloves on. The chip is sealed, so dirt and cleaning spray don’t bother it, and you can hide it under a label or inside a case where nobody will pick at it.
There are two catches. Reading works on most recent phones, but writing tags from a browser only works in Chrome on Android. And a standard tag stuck to metal usually won’t read at all, so buy on-metal tags for anything with a metal casing.
One asset, both tags
In ZORESET the QR label and the NFC tag point to the same address, so an asset can carry both and a scan of either counts. On an Android phone you can write the NFC tag and print the matching QR label from the same dialog, which keeps the pairs from getting mixed up.
What scanning won’t tell you
A tag only records something when a person scans it. It won’t notice a laptop leaving the building at 2am. For that you need a Bluetooth tag with a gateway, or a cellular tracker. Most teams aren’t there yet. What they need first is a reliable answer to “where was this last seen?”
Getting started
- Add your assets, or import them from a spreadsheet.
- Print QR labels and stick one on each asset.
- Write NFC tags for the handful of items that get handled most.
- Scan a few on your next walk round the office. The sightings show up straight away.