NFC and QR codes don't do the same job
A QR code is an image. The guest opens the camera, frames the black-and-white square, then taps the notification. An NFC plate is a chip bonded to a rigid support: they hold their phone within 4 cm and the page opens instantly.
The real gap is two or three seconds. That's not nothing over a 90-cover lunch service, but it isn't what should decide your choice. The criterion that matters is the percentage of guests who actually land on your menu first time.
How an NFC-enabled menu works
The chip doesn't store your menu. It holds a URL, a few hundred bytes at most. The phone powers the chip by induction, reads the link, then loads the page from the internet. No battery, no maintenance, no subscription tied to the support itself.
Which NFC chip to choose for your digital menu
Three references cover almost every use case in hospitality. The choice comes down to available memory and read distance.
- NTAG213: 144 bytes, enough for a short URL, around €0.30 a unit in volume.
- NTAG215: 504 bytes, the standard for a custom plate with a logo.
- NTAG216: 888 bytes, useful if you encode several options in the same chip.
Go for a chip on an anti-metal backing if you're mounting it on a zinc table or a metal stand. Without that layer, reads become hit and miss.
How to program an NFC chip
It's simpler than it sounds. A free app like NFC Tools does the job: pick the Write function, choose the URL record, paste the link to your menu and hold the chip against the phone. Allow thirty seconds per plate.
Then lock the chip as read-only. Without that lock, any guest with the right app can rewrite the link and redirect your tables to a page of their choosing.
Compatibility is where it gets expensive
Every recent phone reads NFC, but not under the same conditions. On iPhone, background reading has worked since the iPhone XS on iOS 14; on older models, guests have to go through the control centre. On Android, the NFC chip is sometimes switched off by default in the settings.
The result in the dining room: a share of your guests can't reach the menu without help from a server. A QR code only needs a working camera.
On a 40-cover terrace, one owner described the same scene to us three times a service: the guest puts their phone on the plate, nothing happens, and the server comes back to explain. Printing a QR code just underneath fixed it without changing any hardware.
Comparison: NFC or QR code, line by line
| Criterion | Printed QR code | NFC plate |
|---|---|---|
| Compatible phones | Around 100% | Around 85% in real conditions |
| Time to reach the page | 5 to 8 seconds | 2 to 3 seconds |
| Cost per table | €0.10 to €2 (table tent) | €2 to €8 depending on the support |
| Lifespan | Paper or acrylic wears out | Over 10 years, water resistant |
| Changing the URL | Reprint, unless the QR is dynamic | Rewrite the chip |
| Reading from a distance | Yes, even from the next table | No, contact is all but required |
Which technology for which room
Bistro, brasserie, fast turnover
The QR code is still the most effective. It costs a few cents, can be replaced in an afternoon and works for everyone. A cardboard table tent swapped out each quarter is plenty.
Fine dining and hotels
Here the NFC plate wins on presentation. A brass or engraved wooden plate, customised in your colours, sits far better on a white tablecloth than a printed square. It's also a good support for a digital restaurant menu browsed over aperitifs.
Fast food, food courts, takeaway
The two work together. A plate on the counter for ordering, a QR code on the packaging to collect Google reviews after the meal.
What really matters is the page at the end of the link
QR or NFC, the guest lands on the same page. That's what makes the difference to the experience and to the average check. A menu that reads well on mobile, with high-definition photos and real descriptions, sells better than a PDF you have to pinch and zoom.
Your guests can also find information there that print never carries: allergens dish by dish, sourcing, translations. You update a price or mark an item as sold out in real time, and the change shows on every table immediately, with nothing to reprint.
That counts for more than the choice of support. If you're still weighing up whether it's worth it, our article on the reasons to digitise your menu sets out the benefits in numbers.
Our recommendation: start with QR, add NFC later
Roll out the QR code across every table first. It's the cheapest option, it works on every device, and you can build on it easily. A dynamic QR code lets you change the URL without touching a single printed support.
Then add NFC plates in the high-value spots: the bar, the host stand, the best tables. You give a more modern way in where it gets noticed, without losing the guests whose phones can't keep up.
This mixed approach rarely costs more than €150 for a 30-table room. It lets you offer consistent service, whatever smartphone lands on the tablecloth.