NFC vs QR code: which is better for reviews and loyalty?
For reviews and loyalty, NFC and QR do the same job: open one link on the customer's phone. NFC is faster (a tap, no camera) and feels premium; QR works on any phone and on anything you can print, including far away or on a screen. The honest answer is to use both, and with Piqlo a tap and a scan point at the very same editable link, so you never pick a side.
What each one is
A QR code is a printed square your customer scans with their phone camera. NFC (near-field communication) is a tiny chip your customer taps with the top of their phone, the same technology behind contactless payments. Both end the same way: a web link opens. The difference is purely how the phone gets that link, by reading a picture or by touching a chip.
Speed and feel
NFC wins on speed and polish. There is no camera to open and no code to line up: the customer taps and the page is there, usually in under a second. At a staffed counter, where someone can hand a card over and say "tap here," that single motion feels modern and gets a high response. It is the experience people associate with paying by phone, and that familiarity does a lot of the selling.
Reach and flexibility
QR wins on reach. It scans on essentially any phone with a camera, with nothing to enable first, and it works on anything you can print: a sticker, a receipt, a table tent, a window, a poster across the room, or a slide on a screen. You can read a QR from a distance, which a tap can never do. The code needs no chip and no battery, so it costs nothing to add to artwork you are already printing.
Cost
A QR code is free: it is just ink, so you can add one to every card, receipt and poster at no extra cost. NFC needs a physical tag, but those are cheap, and Piqlo is bring-your-own-tag, so you can point any inexpensive NFC sticker at your link rather than buying branded hardware. Our guide to writing your card to an NFC tag walks through it with a tag you can buy for pocket change.
Why you do not have to choose
In Piqlo, the QR code and the NFC tag are interchangeable carriers for the same smart link (piqlo.co/r/CODE). A tap and a scan resolve to the identical editable destination and feed the same analytics, so you are not running two systems or maintaining two links. Edit the destination once and every printed code and every tag you handed out updates at the same time. That is true whether it is a loyalty stamp card or a Google review card.
Which to start with
Start with the printed QR. It costs nothing, reaches every customer, and you can put it everywhere today. Once it is working, add a tap tag at the counter for the premium, hand-it-over moment with regulars. Because both point at the same link in Piqlo, adding the tag later changes nothing about what you already printed; it just gives you a second, faster way in.
FAQ
Is NFC better than a QR code?
Neither is strictly better; they open the same link. NFC is faster and feels premium because it is a tap with no camera, while a QR code works on any phone and on anything you can print. The best setup uses both.
Do NFC cards work on every phone?
Most modern phones can read NFC, but a few older or budget phones cannot, and the user sometimes has to enable it. A printed QR code works on essentially any phone with a camera, which is why pairing the two covers everyone.
Can one card be both NFC and QR?
Yes. With Piqlo the NFC tap and the printed QR point at the same editable link, so a single card or sticker can carry both and you manage one destination for the two.