Which NFC tags work with iPhone for home inventory?

Any iPhone-compatible NFC tag works. The most common types are NTAG213, NTAG215, and NTAG216 - all three are fine. Avoid Mifare Classic tags, which look similar but aren't compatible with iPhone. A pack of 10-20 typically costs £8-£15 on Amazon.

Do NFC tags work on metal surfaces?

Regular NFC stickers don't work well on metal - the metal interferes with the chip's signal. For filing cabinets, toolboxes, metal shelving, and appliances, use anti-metal NFC tags, which have a ferrite layer that shields the chip. They cost a little more but work reliably.

Should I use NFC tags or QR code stickers?

NFC tags are faster (just tap, no camera) and can be hidden behind cupboard doors or under shelves, but they're around 80p-£1 each and need anti-metal versions for metal surfaces. QR stickers cost 5-10p each, work on any surface including metal, and can be scanned from a distance - but they need to be visible. Many people use both: NFC for daily-access spots like kitchen cupboards, QR labels for boxes in the loft or garage. Items and locations can have both linked at the same time.

Where should I stick NFC tags or QR labels for home inventory?

The best spots are wherever you'd naturally look when wondering what's in something: inside cupboard doors, on the front of storage boxes and bins, on the underside of the shelf above, inside drawers (stick it on the base at the front), on tool boards and workshop walls, and on the outside of loft boxes.

Can I reuse NFC tags if I reorganise?

Yes. NFC tags are reusable indefinitely. If you reorganise a room, just relink the tag to a different location in the app - no need to buy new ones. The tag itself is just a unique identifier; the link to a location lives in the app.

How much do NFC tags and QR stickers cost?

NFC tags are around 80p-£1 each. A typical starter pack of 10-20 NFC stickers costs £8-£15 on Amazon. Pre-printed QR code sticker rolls are much cheaper at around 5-10p per label, with a roll of 100+ costing £6-£10. Weatherproof vinyl QR labels cost a bit more but hold up better outdoors. You can also print your own QR and barcode labels from additem.to on standard Avery label sheets.

Can tapping an NFC tag open the item without opening the app first?

Yes. Turn on Tap to Open for a writable tag and additem.to writes a small link to it. From then on, tapping the tag with your iPhone opens the item or location directly - even when the app is closed or the phone is on the lock screen. Read-only and locked tags still work for in-app scanning; they just can't have Tap to Open enabled.

Can I use barcodes for home inventory?

Yes. additem.to links barcodes to items and locations: scan a product's own barcode, reuse labels from a previous system like Sortly, or generate fresh barcode values in the app and print them on label sheets. Quick Scan reads barcodes alongside QR codes, and custom barcode fields can be filled by scanning with the camera.

NFC Tags & QR Labels for Home Inventory

A quick guide to choosing the right tags for tracking your stuff. No nonsense, just what works.

Why use tags at all?

You don't need NFC tags or QR stickers to use additem.to. The app works perfectly well without them. But if you stick a tag on a shelf, a storage box, or a drawer, you can tap or scan it with your phone to instantly see what's inside or move items around. It turns "open the app, scroll through locations, find the right one" into "tap and go".

Think of it like labelling your boxes when you move house, except the label knows exactly what's in the box and updates itself when you add or remove things.

NFC tags

NFC (Near Field Communication) tags are small, thin stickers with a chip inside. You hold your iPhone near one and it reads the tag instantly. No camera needed, no lining up a shot. Just tap.

Which type to buy

The app reads the tag's unique ID, so any iPhone-compatible NFC tag will work. The most common types you'll find on Amazon are NTAG213, NTAG215, and NTAG216. All three work perfectly. Pick whichever is cheapest or comes in the form factor you want.

A pack of 10-20 typically costs between £8 and £15. Search for "NTAG215 stickers iPhone compatible" on Amazon.

Avoid: Mifare Classic tags. They look similar but aren't compatible with iPhone.

Form factors

NFC tags come in different shapes depending on where you want to put them:

Coin stickers (25mm) - The most popular choice. Peel and stick onto shelves, boxes, cupboard doors, or the inside of drawers. Small enough to be discreet.
Larger stickers (30-40mm) - Easier to tap if you don't want to aim precisely. Good for the inside of cupboard doors or on the side of storage bins.
Key fobs - Clip onto tool bags, camera cases, or anything portable. Handy for items that move around.
Anti-metal tags - Regular NFC stickers don't work well on metal surfaces. These have a ferrite layer that shields the chip. Use them on filing cabinets, toolboxes, metal shelving, and appliances.
Weatherproof / epoxy tags - Coated for outdoor use. Good for sheds, garages, garden storage, and anywhere that gets damp or dirty.
Cards - Credit card sized. Less common for inventory but useful if you want a tag you can slip into a drawer or envelope.

Where to stick them

The best spots are wherever you'd naturally look when wondering "what's in here?":

Inside cupboard doors
On the front of storage boxes and bins
On shelves (the underside of the shelf above works well)
Inside drawers (stick it on the base at the front)
On tool boards, pegboards, and workshop walls
On the outside of loft boxes

Tap to Open: open items with the app closed

By default, additem.to reads a tag's built-in ID and you scan tags from inside the app - which is why any tag works, even locked or read-only ones. If your tags are writable (standard NTAG213/215/216 stickers are), you can go a step further: turn on Tap to Open and the app writes a small link to the tag. From then on, tapping the tag opens that item or location directly - app closed, phone on the lock screen, doesn't matter.

You can enable Tap to Open when you first register a tag or any time afterwards, and disable it again whenever you like. If a tag turns out to be read-only, it still works normally for in-app scanning.

Tips

Buy a small pack first. Get 10 stickers to start with. See how you use them before buying 50.
Metal surfaces need anti-metal tags. Regular stickers on metal will be unreliable or won't work at all.
Tap near the top of your iPhone. The NFC reader is at the top edge of the phone, near the camera. Hold it within a couple of centimetres of the tag.
Tags are reusable. If you reorganise a room, just relink the tag to a different location in the app. No need to buy new ones.
Want tap-from-lock-screen? Buy standard writable NTAG stickers and turn on Tap to Open.

QR code stickers

If you'd rather scan than tap, QR code stickers are a great alternative. You scan them with your phone's camera instead of tapping. They're cheaper than NFC tags, work on any surface including metal, and you can see them from a distance.

Pre-printed QR sticker rolls

The easiest option is buying a roll of pre-printed QR code stickers. Each sticker has a unique QR code already on it. You scan one with the app, link it to an item or location, and you're done.

Search for "unique QR code stickers" or "QR code label roll" on Amazon. Make sure each sticker has a different code - some cheap packs print the same code on every sticker, which won't work for inventory tracking.

Expect to pay around £6-10 for 100+ labels, making them much cheaper per tag than NFC. Weatherproof vinyl versions cost a bit more but hold up better in sheds and garages.

Or print your own from the app

You don't have to buy pre-printed stickers at all. additem.to generates QR codes for your items and locations and prints them as label sheets on standard Avery templates - add labels to the print queue, pick a template, and print at home. Two bonuses over bought rolls: each label carries the item's name and your own text lines, and QR codes the app generates open the item straight from the iPhone Camera, no app-opening needed. See the label printing guide for a walkthrough.

Barcodes

The third option: plain old barcodes. additem.to can link a barcode to any item or location, and Quick Scan reads them alongside QR codes. Three ways people use this:

Product barcodes. Scan the barcode already printed on a product's box or casing and link it to the item. Scanning it later finds the item instantly - and if several identical items share a barcode, the app shows a picker.
Existing labels from another system. Moving from Sortly or a barcode-labelled warehouse? Scan your existing labels and link them to items and locations - no re-labelling needed.
Printed barcode labels. The app generates fresh barcode values (standard EAN-13, in the range reserved for internal use, so they never clash with real products) and prints them on the same Avery label sheets as QR codes.

Custom fields support barcodes too: add a barcode-type field, fill it by scanning with the camera, and Quick Scan will find items by those fields as well.

QR vs NFC - which should you pick?

	NFC tags	QR stickers
How it works	Hold phone near the tag	Point camera at the sticker
Speed	Instant - just tap	Quick - open camera, scan
Metal surfaces	Needs special anti-metal tags	Works on anything
Visibility	Can be hidden (inside doors, under shelves)	Needs to be visible to scan
Cost	Around 80p-£1 each	Around 5-10p each
Durability	Very durable (chip is sealed)	Print can fade over time

You don't have to choose one or the other. Items and locations can each have both an NFC tag and a QR code linked at the same time. Use NFC tags on frequently accessed spots like kitchen cupboards and workshop shelves, and stick QR labels on storage boxes in the loft or garage where you want to see the code from a distance.

Getting started

You don't need to tag everything on day one. A good approach:

Download additem.to and add your rooms and belongings first.
Buy a small pack of NFC stickers or QR labels to try out.
Tag 3-4 locations that you use most - your workshop, kitchen pantry, storage cupboard.
See if you like it. If tapping a shelf to see what's there feels useful, buy more tags and do the rest.

The app is free and works without any tags at all. Tags just make it faster.