NTAG213 NFC Labels & Stickers

Choose NTAG213 for a product link

For a label that opens product information, an instruction page or your own landing page, start with the actual URL and the intended user journey. Test the encoded record before approving artwork so the printed call to action matches what the tap does. If you are still choosing between a tap and a printed QR code for the same link, our RFID vs QR code guide compares the two.

The interface and memory values are chip specifications from the NXP NTAG21x data sheet. They do not establish the read range, weather resistance or adhesive performance of a finished label.

NTAG213, NTAG215 and NTAG216 labels compared

Measure the complete encoded NDEF message, including its overhead. A longer record may need a larger chip; extra memory alone does not improve the label antenna or confirm phone compatibility. If only the web content changes, a URL you control can keep the label useful without rewriting it.

*The three chips differ almost only in memory. All of them carry a manufacturer-programmed 7-byte UID, 32-bit password protection, an automatic NFC read counter and an ECC originality signature, with 10-year data retention and 100,000 write cycles, per the NXP NTAG21x data sheet. The 100 mm operating distance in that data sheet is a chip reference measured with a test antenna and depends on field strength and antenna geometry; a finished sticker antenna is smaller, so a label reads at a shorter distance.

Which NTAG213 label suits your project

Start from the record you need to store and how the tag will be used, then pick the smallest chip that holds it comfortably.

• URL and product-link tags: an NTAG213 label holds a typical web address with room to spare: up to 132 characters after https://www. Measure the complete encoded record, not the visible URL, and keep the destination on a page you control so the content can change without re-encoding the label.
• Business cards and profile tags: a short link to a hosted profile fits NTAG213. A full vCard can exceed the 137-byte NDEF message an NTAG213 takes. Measure the complete record before selecting NTAG215 or NTAG216, and test how the target phones open it.
• Gaming and amiibo-style tags: figure data images of this kind need 504 bytes, which is why they use NTAG215. We supply blank, rewritable NTAG215 labels; you are responsible for the data you write and for any rights in it.
• Product authentication: a static NDEF URL identifies a product but does not authenticate it, because the record can be copied to another tag. For cryptographic verification, evaluate the NTAG424 DNA label, and define the dynamic-message verification and key-management responsibilities with your integrator.

Specify the label around the surface

• Mounting surface: identify paperboard, plastic, glass or metal, and tell us whether the contents include liquid. Test the sample in its final position on the filled package.
• Dimensions and artwork: supply the available area, shape, print file and any serial number or QR-code requirement. Available constructions and finishing are confirmed for the quoted label.
• Use conditions: describe indoor or outdoor exposure, cleaning and expected service life. Select and test the finished adhesive and face material for those conditions.
• Supply format: specify individual labels or rolls and, if relevant, your applicator requirements.

Agree the encoding before the batch

Tell us whether you need blank labels, the same URL on every label or individual records, and the data format you will send, such as a serial-to-URL file. The lock state is agreed in the quotation, and a sample demonstrates the exact delivery state. We read every encoded label back to check the record, and a data report accompanies each encoded order; labels printed with a serial number also come with a file pairing each label's UID with its serial, and both come as Excel, CSV or XML (encoding service).

• Write and read the full record with your intended tools, then check the destination on your target phones or reader.
• Decide who owns the destination URL and who will maintain the page after the labels are applied.
• Approve the record and future update process before enabling permanent read-only locks.
• For a project requiring cryptographic message validation, assess NTAG424 DNA labels with your integrator.

What to include in your NTAG213 enquiry

Send quantity, destination country, required date, label dimensions, mounting surface, artwork and encoding needs. If replacing a label, include the chip identification and reader or phone models. We can use those details to discuss a suitable sample and prepare a quotation with the agreed construction and delivery configuration.

For reader-based credentials, compare MIFARE stickers. Browse RFID readers when selecting encoding or test equipment; confirm support for your chip and software. See the full RFID labels range for other sticker formats.

Match the chip to what the tag stores

Compare the complete encoded record with the available user memory, then check the finished label and the encoding tool. The table gives a starting point for common payloads; the quotation confirms the offered chip and construction.

Most projects never approach the limit. The common pattern is a short link on the tag and the rich content behind a URL you control, so NTAG213 is the usual choice and the destination can change without re-encoding. Buy more memory only when the data itself has to live on the tag, such as a full contact record, several records or an offline payload. The chips share a command set, but the encoding software must support the selected variant, its memory bounds and configuration addresses. Test a change of chip with the intended tools.

How much of a URL actually fits

An NDEF message does not use the whole user-memory figure. It sits inside a short TLV wrapper — a type byte (0x03), a length field and the message, then a 0xFE terminator only when space remains — and each record in the message carries its own header. User memory starts at page 4. As delivered, an NTAG213 starts it with a 5-byte Lock Control TLV, so the NDEF TLV begins at page 5, byte 1. That leaves at most 137 bytes for the NDEF message on NTAG213; NTAG215 and NTAG216 allow 492 and 868 bytes.

A web address is stored as a URI record: a single prefix byte stands in for a common scheme (0x02 for https://www., 0x04 for https://, 0x03 for http://), then the remaining characters as text. So https://www. costs one byte, not twelve. After the 4-byte record header and the prefix byte, an NTAG213 label holds up to 132 characters after https://www.; plan for fewer, to leave headroom. Long tracking parameters, a vCard or a second record are what push a design towards NTAG215 or NTAG216. Measure the complete encoded record during sample testing, not the visible URL. Our NTAG213 vs NTAG215 vs NTAG216 comparison works through the byte count and maximum URL length for each chip. The NDEF generator and tag capacity checker shows the encoded bytes of your link and the space left on NTAG213, NTAG215 and NTAG216.

Reading the label on iPhone and Android

A label carrying a well-formed https link record needs no app on a current phone; our NFC cards guide explains which iPhones read it in the background and how Android handles it. What is specific to a label is where it sits:

• Placement: an iPhone reads at its top edge, so put the tap mark where a customer can bring that edge to it on the finished pack. On Android the antenna sits in a different place from model to model; try the label on the handsets your customers use.
• Metal surfaces: a label placed directly on metal is detuned and may stop reading. Specify an on-metal construction for a metal surface and test it in place.
• Reads on Android but not iPhone: the chip is usually one iOS does not read natively, such as MIFARE Classic, rather than a defective label; NTAG213 avoids that mismatch. See MIFARE stickers for reader-based credential chips.

Password protection and its limits

NTAG21x offers a 32-bit password (PWD) and a 16-bit acknowledge (PACK). AUTH0 sets the first protected page. PROT selects write-only protection (0) or read/write protection (1); protected operations require a successful PWD_AUTH. A configured AUTHLIM limit can permanently block the protected access after too many unsuccessful attempts. Check these settings on the sample before issuing a batch.

Treat this as a deterrent against casual rewriting, not as authentication. The password is a single 32-bit secret, often shared across a batch, and it does nothing to stop a static NDEF record being copied byte-for-byte onto another tag: the copy carries the same URL and reads identically. The originality signature supports checking the chip’s NXP origin; it does not authenticate the payload or the product. For a project that must cryptographically verify each tap, evaluate the NTAG424 DNA label, with a configured dynamic message and a verification service agreed with your integrator.

How NTAG213, 215 and 216 memory is laid out

NTAG21x memory is a flat address space of four-byte pages. Encoding tools and reader firmware address pages (0x00, 0x04, 0x28 and so on), not byte offsets, because READ and WRITE operate on whole pages. The three chips share the same layout; only the size of the user region and the address of the configuration block move up as memory grows.

The 24-bit NFC read counter and the ECC originality signature are chip features, not user pages. When enabled, the counter increments once per tap, on the first READ or FAST_READ after the tag enters the field, and is returned by READ_CNT; the signature is read with READ_SIG and verified against NXP's public key to confirm genuine silicon. Neither consumes NDEF space. A WRITE always replaces a full four-byte page, so a reader changing a few bytes must read the page, modify it and write it back.

The NTAG21x command set

The command set is short and shared across the family. A tap runs anti-collision, then the reader can identify the chip, read or write pages, and optionally authenticate. Every command is a one-byte opcode followed by its parameters.

GET_VERSION helps a reader identify the variant. The encoding software must then use the correct memory bounds and configuration addresses; shared command names alone do not establish support for every capacity. Test reading, writing and the final lock settings on the selected sample.