For most people who network more than a handful of times a year, yes — but not for everyone, and not for the reasons the ads give. Here is the honest case, the real downsides, and why you can settle it for yourself at no cost.
Whether a digital business card is "worth it" depends entirely on how often you hand out your details and what happens afterwards. A digital business card is a web page with your contact details, links and booking that opens on someone's phone — by NFC tap, QR code or a shared link. It earns its keep in three concrete ways: you never reprint when your number, title or company changes; the person you meet lands in a contact list instead of a pocket you never check; and one reusable card replaces every box of paper you would have thrown away. Where it does not earn its keep, we say so below. The reason you do not have to guess is that with Anexus Connect the Basic plan is free forever — so the honest way to answer "is it worth it" is to make a profile, use it at your next few meetings while keeping paper in your pocket, and see for yourself. The risk to try is zero.
The value is not the novelty of a tap — it is that the card is reusable and always current. Change jobs, change your number, add a new booking link, and the card already in someone's wallet starts pointing at the updated version; you never reprint and never hand out a card with a line crossed out. For anyone whose details move even once a year, that alone usually covers the cost.
The second half of the value is what happens after the handshake. A paper card ends the moment it goes in a pocket, and most never get typed into anything. A digital card can open a short capture form so the other person's details land in a contact list with a note and a reminder — which is the difference between a stack of cards on a desk in March and a follow-up that actually happened.
A digital card leans on a phone at the exact moment you meet. If someone's battery is dead, their phone is across the room, or they are simply a committed paper person, the exchange is clumsier than pulling a card from your wallet. Older or less tech-comfortable contacts sometimes open the profile and still do not save it. And a screen has none of the keepsake weight of a well-made paper card — some people genuinely prefer the object.
There is also a category of card that earns the bad reputation: apps that make the person you meet download something before they can see your details, or that lock every useful feature behind a subscription. That friction is real and worth avoiding. Anexus opens in any phone's browser with no app for the recipient, and the card carries both an NFC chip and a scannable QR code so an older phone is not an excuse — but the general warning stands: not every digital card is built this way, so check before you buy.
It is clearly worth it if you network with any regularity: sales and field reps, trades and real estate, recruiters, founders, anyone working events, and teams who want one consistent, updatable card across everyone. The more people you meet and the more your details change, the faster it pays off.
It is honestly a weaker fit if you hand out your details twice a year, if the people you deal with are mostly offline, or if you simply want a beautiful paper keepsake and nothing more. Even then there is no harm in a free profile as a backup link in your email signature — but we would rather tell you it is optional than pretend everyone needs one.
Put a number on it. A paper run is printed, runs out, and is reprinted every time a detail changes — and each reprint is money spent on a card that still cannot tell you who you met. One Anexus card is a single purchase paired with a profile you edit for free whenever you like, so the "always current" part never costs you again.
The larger return is the leads you were already losing. Most of the cost of networking is not the cards — it is the conversations that go nowhere because nobody wrote the contact down. Capture plus a reminder turns those into follow-ups, and on PRO you can push them straight into a CRM. That is usually where a worth-it answer comes from: not the tap, the follow-up.
You do not have to decide in the abstract. With Anexus Connect the Basic plan is free forever — a live profile, QR and link sharing, contact capture and a mini CRM, at no cost and with no credit card. Make one, keep your paper cards in your pocket as a backup, and run both at your next handful of meetings.
If it saves you a reprint and lands you one follow-up you would otherwise have lost, you have your answer. If it does not fit how you work, you have spent nothing finding out. PRO — about $6.99 CAD a month or $59.99 a year — is there only if you later want AI follow-ups, deeper analytics and CRM sync, and it is entirely optional. A physical NFC card is a separate one-time purchase, engraved in Ontario and shipped tracked across Canada, for whenever you want the in-person tap.
Change your number, title or links and the card already in someone's wallet points at the updated version. You never reprint and never cross out a line — the single biggest reason paper quietly wastes money.
Point a card anywhereA tap or scan can open a short form so the other person's details land in a mini CRM with a note and a reminder. That is the follow-up a pocketed paper card never gets.
See the mini CRMYour profile opens in any phone's browser — iPhone or Android, no app and no account on their end. The card carries both an NFC chip and a QR code, so an older phone is never an excuse.
What a digital card isThe honest way to learn if it is worth it is to try it at no cost. Basic is free forever: a live profile, QR and link sharing, contact capture and a mini CRM, with no credit card.
See what's freeGoing digital first costs nothing, so hardware stays a choice. A laser-engraved metal card is a one-time $59.99 CAD, engraved in Ontario and shipped tracked across Canada, for whenever you want the in-person tap.
See the cardsFor most people who hand out their details more than a handful of times a year, yes: the card is reusable, stays current without a reprint, and captures the contact so the follow-up happens. For someone who networks twice a year or deals mostly with offline contacts, the honest answer is "probably not essential." Because the Basic plan is free forever, you can find out for yourself without betting anything on the question.
The real ones: it depends on a phone at the moment you meet, so a dead battery or a committed paper person makes the exchange clumsier; some less tech-comfortable contacts open the profile but do not save it; and a screen lacks the keepsake feel of a good paper card. The avoidable downside is apps that make the recipient download something or lock everything behind a paywall — Anexus needs no app for the person you meet and keeps Basic free forever.
It can still work, because there is nothing for them to install. Your profile opens in a normal phone browser, and the card carries both an NFC chip and a printed QR code, so whichever their phone prefers works. They can save you as a normal phone contact in one step. For a crowd that is genuinely mostly offline, though, paper may still be the simpler tool — and you can keep both.
It is not really either-or. Paper is a fixed snapshot that runs out and cannot tell you who you met; a digital card is reusable, edits itself when your details change, and can capture the other person into a contact list. Most people who switch keep a few paper cards for the person who insists on one and let the digital card do the updating, sharing and follow-up. Starting digital costs nothing, so there is little reason not to run both for a while.
With Anexus Connect the Basic plan is free forever: a live profile, QR and link sharing, contact capture and a mini CRM, with no credit card. PRO is about $6.99 CAD a month or $59.99 a year for AI follow-ups, deeper analytics and CRM sync, and it is optional. A physical NFC card is a separate one-time purchase — a laser-engraved metal card is $59.99 CAD, engraved in Ontario and shipped across Canada.