Guests hold their phone to a tag on the table and open your menu in the browser, with no app and no camera. It takes a free Scanly menu and a sticker that costs cents.
Free plan, no card. Tags are sold separately by any NFC shop.
The basics
What is an NFC menu?
An NFC menu is a digital menu that opens when a guest holds a phone to a small NFC tag, usually a sticker or a table stand. The tag stores a link to the menu. It needs no battery, and the phone powers it during the read.
On iPhone XS and later, and on Android phones with NFC switched on, the phone reads the tag without any app and shows a link to open. One more tap on that notification opens the menu. The menu itself is an ordinary web page, so there's nothing to install.
NFC or QR code?
Both open the same menu. The difference is how a guest gets there, and we recommend having both.
| Compared | NFC tag | QR code |
|---|---|---|
| What the guest does | Holds the unlocked phone to the tag, then taps the notification | Opens the camera, aims, then taps the link |
| Which phones | Most modern phones, if NFC is on; iPhone from XS without extra steps | Almost any smartphone with a camera |
| On the table | A sticker or stand; can be hidden in a table card | Needs a printed code that stays visible and clean |
| Cost | About $0.25–0.35 per sticker in packs of 100 | Only the printing |
| If the menu changes | Nothing to redo while the link stays the same | Nothing to redo while the link stays the same |
| Tampering | Lock the tag so it can't be rewritten; check that no sticker is added on top | Check that no fake sticker is added on top |
Our advice: print a QR code on every table card and add an NFC tag where it helps, such as tables with little light, bars and hotel rooms. Some guests will never use NFC, and QR is the safe fallback.
Step by step
How to make an NFC menu
Make the menu
Photograph your paper menu. Scanly builds a digital one with its own permanent address, for free.
Buy tags
NTAG213 stickers are enough for a menu link. Use on-metal tags for metal tables.
Write the link
On Android, write tags in Chrome from your Scanly dashboard. On iPhone, use a free app such as NFC Tools.
Place and test
Stick the tag where a phone naturally rests, add a small “Tap for menu” sign, and test with an iPhone and an Android.
Getting NFC tags right
Add a visible sign. A hidden tag does nothing if guests don't know it's there, so put a small icon and a few words on the table, and keep a QR code next to it.
Metal blocks NFC. On a metal table use on-metal tags, and test each spot. Phones read a tag within a few centimetres, and the reader's position differs by model, usually near the top on an iPhone.
Lock tags once they're final, because an unlocked tag can be rewritten by anyone nearby. Locking is permanent, which is safe as long as the link never changes, and Scanly menu addresses don't. Your tags keep working while you edit dishes and prices.