Is RFID the same as NFC ?

No.

Simply RFID is a general 'umbrella' term covering a range of technologies. This includes LF low frequency UHF ultra-high frequency and HF high frequency contactless communication systems.

NFC works in the HF band only. So while NFC is technically part of RFID they are not the same.

However there's also the way that many people would talk about RFID. In many cases when people talk about RFID they really mean UHF. So in a sense RFID - although technically an umbrella term for a range of tech - the terms are often 'LF' 'NFC' and 'RFID/UHF'.

For more information on the specific differences between the technologies, read our differences between NFC and RFID guide.

The important point here is that each of these frequency groups and often many of the chips within them are not compatible with each other. Therefore it's very important that when looking for tags for an existing system the right chip/tag is chosen.

As a final note only NFC chip can be scanned with mobile phones.
Seritag - 26 Feb 2023