The 8 Best Magnetic strip readers (2023 reviews)

Here, we present reader that manages to win our hearts. It's the etekjoy magnetic strip reader and it's widely considered as one of all-around great reader you can buy. Staff love this mag swiper when adding new POS Cards to employee profiles on a desktop user interface POS program. It can read card bi-directionally, has intelligent lights to alert if card data is read correctly. This reader only works for standard magnetic stripe cards, like magnetic credit card. It can read data from magnetic stripe only.

This device can record data from the card and paste there in the program. It can read driver's licenses that have mag strips. These are all plug and play as well, with no issues with working right off the bat. It writes what it reads from the card to a basic notepad text file.

Why We Like This:

Portable and works exactly as intended
Very handy little item for anyone who processes large volumes of gift cards
Very lightweight device that does the job flawlessly
Small enough to store for travel and easy to clean

Best with other PC apps: It OSAYDE Magnetic strip Reader

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Not everyone likes to purchase reader for their daily usage, but the it osayde magnetic strip reader would be an anomoly. This is a read only device, not one that would be used to write to a card. It is small, with a hand size and very light weight. The bottom has 2 mounting holes for M3 screws. The reader can use multiple stripe tracks, so you can use this for credit cards, loyalty cards, and state identification cards. If you have a program that accepts swipes, this works just fine.

It is a plug-and-play, it starts working immediately after plugging in the usb. The unit is adequate, you plug it into a USB port and it behaves as a keyboard. It is not a "stand alone"system, it is part of other system and works as a keyboard input terminal. It is easy to store when not in use and easy to travel with, if needed.

Why We Like This:

Easy to use, just plug it in and it works
Easy to use, which is just as well
Works right out of the box with no setup required
Installed as a standard usb keyboard

Best with PC: Magtek Magnetic strip Reader

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The magtek magnetic strip reader is capable of outshining several other reader featured in this list in overall features for the price point. This reader just reads the card, and you need software on your computer to do something with the data that is read. It must be connected to a computer to read a card. The device sends all card track data to the host it is connected to, and the host must break it apart.

This is essentially a 'dumb' input device and has no processing capability. The reader only works with the stripe facing away from the indicator light. It must be conected to a PC or a terminal via USB. This reader doesn't require any software to set it up. It does work with a Mac, as long as you have a standard USB port. It works on drivers licenses and state ID cards.

Why We Like This:

Low cost solution and very effective
Great if you can work with encryption
Very good credit card scanner for any office

Best For business: Ajfwm Magnetic strip Reader

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Ajfwm makes beautiful and great reader with classic and smartly choosen materials. This mag strip card reader also has boot self. It is designed to offer a card reading solution for iso 7811/12/13/14 formats. It can read card bi-directionally, has intelligent lights to alert if card data is read correctly. It is used for reading and transmitting magnetic card information. It is compatible with PC android, window xp, windows vista/7, windows10, mac or many other usb capable operating systems.

It is a USB emulation keyboard interface that does not need any driver or software. It can be widely used in banking system, membership card information management in hotel, ktv, restaurant and more. The reader has three tracks that enable it to perform triple duty in your business, accepting payments, collecting data, restricting access, verifying identity, and using it to log time.

Why We Like This:

Reliable for over 1, 000, 000 card swipes
Good investment for long term

Best For POS: Yosoo Magnetic strip Reader

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Next on the list, we've got yet another reader that manages to win our hearts. It's the yosoo magnetic strip reader and it's widely considered as reader that has the most suitable features. The configurable options and versatile interfaces make the Value Line Series of Magnetic Stripe readers ideal for POS, Banking, Loyalty, Access Control, Student ID and other applications. This product reads cards with magnetic stripe and barcodes. It adds a semicolon in front of the card number, and other extra characters. It can be used in industry and commerce, telecommunications, taxation, banking, insurance, health care and a variety of charges, stored value, query management system.

The Mult Mode USB interface one USB reader handles multiple USB modes, no need to have a separate unit for RS232, Keyboard, and HID interfaces. It is easy to install and works out really well. It is small enough to fit into most tight spaces yet not so small to impact card readability.

Why We Like This:

Reads high and low coercivity magnetic stripe cards
Good investment for long term

Best For computer: Zerone Magnetic strip Reader

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Zerone makes beautiful and great reader with classic and smartly choosen materials. This mag strip card reader also has boot self. It can work on txt, word, excel, pos systems or any keyboard type. It can read card bi-directionally, has intelligent lights to alert if card data is read correctly. The reader acts as a keyboard, so you shouldn't need any software to use it.

The magstripe reader reads iso7811, aamva & most other card data formats. It can be widely used in banking system, membership card information management in hotel, ktv, restaurant and more. These have small electricity consumption and strong interference resistance.

Why We Like This:

Highly sensitive precise and stable card reading
Keyboard emulation output can be connected to pc or other terminal devices
Linefeed and the buzzer sound on/ off by themselves

Best For heavy duty work: Senami care Magnetic strip Reader

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The senami care magnetic strip reader is satisfactory and appropriate and fits well with your daily purpose. It is a three track magnetic tape reader, dedicated to reading and transmitting card information. It complies with ISO or ANSL technical standards, and supports two-way scanning. It uses F2F decoder and date transmission.

Why We Like This:

Not only simulation of the keyboard output, but also plug and play without drivers
Long life of the head, suitable for heavy load jobs
Low power without external power, powered directly by the usb port of the pc
Unique design, low error rate, and support two-way scanning during use

Best with Windows: Ejoyous Magnetic strip Reader

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The ejoyous magnetic strip reader is satisfactory and appropriate and fits well with your daily usage. Credit cards swiper can be updated in two ways, with efficient card reader speed and efficient card reader speed.

Why We Like This:

Magnetic card stripe reader for placing cards thickness
Usb interface, plug and play, no need to install drivers
Delivers what they promise