NFC cards with no subscription: who pays for the hosting?
What sits behind a 'lifetime' card, the three ways Indian sellers cover the cost, and the questions that tell you what you are really buying.
Every NFC card that opens a profile needs a server behind it, and servers cost money every year. Sellers cover that in one of three ways: a higher one-time card price, a fixed number of included years, or a yearly fee. None of them is a trick. Before you buy, ask what happens to your link if the seller stops, and whether your contacts can leave with you.
The card holds a link. Your profile lives somewhere else.
The chip in an NFC card stores a web address, not your profile. When a phone taps the card, it reads that address and opens it in the browser. Your photo, numbers, services and prices sit on the seller's server at the other end. How NFC business cards work goes through the tap step by step.
That split is why you can change your details after handing a card out: you edit the page, not the chip. It is also why the profile is never a one-time cost for whoever runs it. The server has to answer every tap for as long as your cards are in people's wallets, and hosting, storage and support are paid for every year.
So "no subscription" never means "no hosting cost". It means the seller has decided how that cost gets paid. The next section shows the three ways they do it.
Three ways sellers pay for the hosting
Each one is used by real Indian sellers, quoted from their own sites on 27 September 2026.
You pay once, and the seller covers hosting for as long as they run the service. TapMo sells this as "No Subscription" and "Lifetime Access". 1Card says its profiles have "no subscription and no expiry". Kurmah offers "lifetime validity", and TapSticky says there is "No monthly or yearly subscription".
Suits: a card whose only job is to share your contact details.
The card price includes a set period of the paid plan. ProfileTap's one-time card price includes seven years of its Pro features. You know what you have paid for and until when.
Ask: what the profile does, and costs, once the included years run out.
The card is bought once and the profile is a plan you renew. That is how Beeps Card works: ₹1,699 once for the card, then ₹199 a year on Basic or ₹299 on Pro. IdentiQ also sells yearly plans, alongside a free tier.
Suits: a profile that has to keep doing things after the tap - prices, bookings, enquiries, payments.
Some sellers do not say which model they use. In our price index, three of the ten did not state it on their sites when we checked. That is not a warning sign on its own - it just means you should ask before you pay.
What "lifetime" can and can't promise
A lifetime promise lasts as long as the company making it keeps its servers running. That is true of every hosted profile, ours included: if a seller stops trading, the link on the card stops opening anything. It is not a reason to avoid a one-time card. It is a reason to know what you would do if the link went dark.
Two protections matter more than the word "lifetime".
Can the chip be rewritten? If it can, you can point the same card at a new page yourself, with a free app such as NFC Tools, in about a minute. If the seller locks the chip to their service, the card is only as good as that service.
Can you take your contacts with you? The people who saved your details or sent you an enquiry are the valuable part of any profile. Check that you can export them before you need to.
On Beeps Card, if a plan lapses the profile shows a "not found" page and nothing is deleted - renewing brings it all back. Everyone who used Save to contacts on your profile is recorded, and that list exports as PDF or Excel. What happens if you stop paying covers the rest.
Five questions to ask any seller, in writing
Put them in an email or a WhatsApp message, so the answer is on record. A good seller answers all five without hesitating.
- 01
What happens to my link if you stop trading, or if I stop paying?
You want a specific answer: the page stays up, goes blank, or shows a notice - and for how long.
- 02
Can I export the contacts and enquiries my profile collects?
Ask for the format. A spreadsheet you can open anywhere is worth more than a list you can only read inside their app.
- 03
Can the chip be rewritten, or is it locked to your service?
A rewritable chip means the card outlives any one service. A locked one ties the card to the seller.
- 04
If years are included, what happens when they run out?
Get the price and the feature list for year eight, or year two, before you need it.
- 05
Are features you add later included in what I have paid?
Some sellers add paid tiers over time. Ask whether your plan grows with the product or stays as it is.
What each model costs over one, three and five years
The cheapest NFC card from each seller that publishes both its price and how the profile is paid for, checked 27 September 2026. The Beeps rows are ours.
| Seller | How hosting is paid | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beeps Card, Basic (ours) | How hosting is paidYearly fee, ₹199 | 1 year₹1,898 | 3 years₹2,296 | 5 years₹2,694 |
| Beeps Card, Pro (ours) | How hosting is paidYearly fee, ₹299 | 1 year₹1,998 | 3 years₹2,596 | 5 years₹3,194 |
| 1Card | How hosting is paidHosting built into the card price | 1 year₹500 | 3 years₹500 | 5 years₹500 |
| Kurmah | How hosting is paidHosting built into the card price | 1 year₹499 | 3 years₹499 | 5 years₹499 |
| ProfileTap | How hosting is paid7 years of Pro included | 1 year₹999 | 3 years₹999 | 5 years₹999 |
| TapMo | How hosting is paidHosting built into the card price | 1 year₹999 | 3 years₹999 | 5 years₹999 |
| TapSticky | How hosting is paidHosting built into the card price | 1 year₹499 | 3 years₹499 | 5 years₹499 |
The gap is real. Over five years a Beeps card on Pro costs ₹3,194; the cheapest one-time cards in the table cost under ₹1,000. If your card only shares your name and number, the one-time card is the better buy.
The yearly fee earns its keep when the profile has to do something after the tap - show your prices, take a booking, collect an enquiry with a file attached, or take a UPI payment. One advance collected at a meeting can cover several years of it. Run your own numbers in the NFC card cost calculator.
Subscription questions
Are "lifetime" NFC cards really free forever?
There is no further charge to you for as long as the seller keeps the service running - that is what lifetime means in practice. The chip itself never expires. The page it opens depends on the company hosting it, which is true of every hosted profile, ours included.
Why does Beeps Card charge a yearly fee?
The card is ₹1,699 once. The yearly plan - ₹199 on Basic, ₹299 on Pro - pays for hosting the profile and the parts of it that run every day: a price list, an enquiry form, a booking calendar and, on Pro, UPI payments and analytics. The profile also works with no card at all, from a link or a QR code.
What happens if I stop paying for a Beeps profile?
The profile shows a "not found" page, and so does any card that points at it. Your content is not deleted: renewing brings everything back as it was, and we email you before the plan runs out and again once it has.
Is a card with years included better than a yearly fee?
It depends on the years. Seven included years, as ProfileTap offers, is a long time for one visiting card - many people change jobs, numbers or designations sooner. Compare the total over the years you will really use the card, and ask what the profile does when the included period ends.
Sources: ProfileTap
Sources
Facts about other companies and the wider market come from the pages below, as published by them. Each was read on the date shown. Beeps Card prices come from our own pricing page.
- TapMo, TapMo Smart Business Card. Checked .
- 1Card, NFC Business Cards Price in India: 2026 Price List. Checked .
- Kurmah, NFC Business Card Kochi | NFC Card Price ₹499. Checked .
- TapSticky, FAQ - TapSticky NFC Business Cards & Review Cards. Checked .
- ProfileTap, NFC Business Card India - Tap or Scan to Share. Checked .
- IdentiQ, Pricing Plans - Free, Pro & Enterprise. Checked .
- Kurmah, Products. Checked .
- TapMo, Products. Checked .
- TapSticky, Smart NFC Products, Digital Business Cards & Smart Gifts. Checked .