Barcodes Vs. RFID and What are the Differences & Benefits?

RFID and Barcode are two different technologies.In many circumstances, RFID offers advantages over traditional bar codes. They have different applications, which sometimes overlap.The big difference between the two is that barcodes are line-of-sight technology.

Radio-Frequency Identification

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is the wireless use of electromagnetic fields to transfer data, for the purposes of automatically identifying and tracking tags attached to objects. The tags contain electronically stored information. An RFID system has readers and tags that communicate with each other by radio waves.

Barcode

A barcode is a visual representation of data that is scanned and interpreted for information. Each barcode contains a certain code which works as a tracking technology for products; and is represented in a sequence of lines or other shapes. A barcode is read by an optical device such as a scanner.

With an RFID system, you could see improvements in your business due to these advantages:

RFID doesn’t need line of sight.

For a barcode to be read, the scanner must be placed directly in front of each label, and both need to be oriented in a very specific position in order to work properly.

An RFID tag is read/write.

A barcode can only be read, and the data can never be changed once it has been printed onto a label. RFID tags can be read, and the data on the tag can be rewritten or modified as needed.


Data is encrypted.
Barcodes are easily counterfeited, and the data itself is always readable. With RFID tags, your data is much more secure as the information has the ability to be encrypted. Also, it’s much more difficult to copy RFID tags recognized in your system.

Benefits of RFID

RFID has many advantages over barcodes, but barcodes have become a standard in many industries for many worthwhile reasons. In years past, implementing a full-scale RFID system was too expensive for small to mid-size companies, but today, the difference in the cost of a new barcode system versus an RFID system may be minimal in certain applications. Also, investing in an RFID system may pay for itself over time due to potential increases in efficiency and decreases in errors.