Mifare Cards are a proprietary high tech card which is basically a type of contactless smart card or proximity card. There are various forms of Mifare cards in use today – here are the chief types.

MIFARE Classic (Standard)
The MIFARE Classic card is essentially just a memory repository device, where the memory is divided into segments and blocks with discreet security mechanisms for access control. They are ASIC based and have defined computational power. Thanks to their dependability and low cost, those cards are widely used for electronic pocketbook, access control, corporate ID cards, public transport or stadium ticketing.
The MIFARE Classic 1K offers 1024 bytes of data storage, split into 16 sectors; each sector is protected by two different keys, called An and B. They can be programmed for operations like reading, writing, augmenting value blocks, etc.. MIFARE Classic 4K offers 4096 bytes divided into forty sectors, of which 32 are identical size as in the 1K with eight additional that are quadruple size sectors. MIFARE Classic mini offers 320 bytes divided into five sectors. For each of these card types, 16 bytes per sector are appropriated for the keys and admission conditions and can not commonly be used for user data. Also, the very first 16 bytes contain the serial number of the card and clear other manufacturer data and are read only. That brings the net storage ability of these cards down to 752 bytes for Classic 1k, 3440 bytes for Classic 4k, and 224 bytes for Mini.
The simplicity of the basic cards means that they are economical, which is largely the explanation for their ascendancy in large-scale deployments, such as the Oyster card.

MIFARE Ultralight
The MIFARE Ultralight has only 512 bits of memory (i.e. 64 bytes), without cryptographic safety. The memory is provided in 16 pages of 4 bytes.
This card is so cheap it is often used for disposable tickets for events such as the Football World Cup 2006.

MIFARE Ultralight C
Introduced at CarteS 2008, MIFARE Ultralight C is part NXP’s low-cost MIFARE offering (disposable ticket). With Triple DES, MIFARE Ultralight C uses a widely adopted benchmark, enabling basic integration in current infrastructures. The integrated Triple DES authentication provides an efficient countermeasure against counterfeit of tickets (ticket cloning).
Key applications for MIFARE Ultralight C are Public Transportation, Event Ticketing, Loyalty and NFC Forum Tag Type 2.

MIFARE DESFire
The MIFARE DESFire is additional NXP microprocessor system, based on a similar core as the MIFARE ProX/SmartMX, with more hardware and software security features than the basic MIFARE Classic chips. It is sold already programmed with a general purpose software (the DESFire operating system) that offers a basic directory structure with files, similar to what is typically found on smart cards. DESFire cards are sold on four styles. One with Triple-DES only and 4Kbyte of storage and three with AES having storage ability of 2, 4 and 8 KB (see DESFire EV1). The AES variants also have additional security characteristics, i.e. CMAC. It is employing a standards compliant (ISO/IEC 14443-4) protocol.[9] The card is established on a 8051 processor with Triple DES and AES crypto accelerator, making really brisk transactions possible.
The maximum read/write distance between card and reader is 10 cm (4 inches), but actual distance depends on the field power generated by the reader and its antenna size.

MIFARE DESFire EV1
(previously called DESFire8)
New evolution of DESFire card, mainly backwards compatible. Available with 2KB, 4 KB and 8KB NV-Memory.
DESFire EV1 was publicly announced in November 2006.

MIFARE Plus
MIFARE Plus is a substitute card for the MIFARE Classic. It provides an easy upgrade of existing infrastructures toward high security. The applicative data management is equal to the MIFARE Classic, nevertheless the security management needs the modification of the installed reader base.
It differs from DESFire EV1 in not being as flexible as the latter.

JorgenTallisford is from Cardpro, one of the worlds largest manufacturer and suppliers of mifare cards and smart cards.