Every review, ranked by score

Ledger Nano S Plus

Ledger's July 2020 e-commerce data breach exposed 1M+ email addresses and ~272,000 records with full names, postal addresses and phone numbers, fueling phishing and physical-extortion campaigns (crypto funds themselves were never compromised). In 2023 the optional 'Ledger Recover' seed-backup subscription (splitting an encrypted seed among third-party custodians) drew heavy criticism over the fact that a firmware update could extract seed data, raising trust concerns despite being opt-in.

Ledger Nano X

Shares the closed-source-firmware criticism and the reputational impact of Ledger's 2020 data breach and 2023 Ledger Recover controversy (see Nano S Plus note). Bluetooth is optional and can be disabled.

Trezor Model One

Historically vulnerable to physical/supply-chain attacks that require the device and specialized equipment (mitigated by using a passphrase), a known trade-off of its secure-element-free design. Firmware is fully open-source, which is Trezor's core transparency argument versus Ledger.

Trezor Safe 5

Replaces the discontinued Trezor Model T. The Model T (launched 2018) had a color touchscreen but no dedicated secure element; the current Safe line (Safe 3 / Safe 5) adds an EAL6+ secure element while keeping open-source firmware. Trezor's official lineup as of 2026 is the Safe 3, Safe 5, and flagship Safe 7.

Tangem Wallet

We have a two-card Tangem set in hand. Both cards open the same wallet, the second one being the backup, and by default there is no recovery phrase: lose both cards and the funds are gone. You can choose a seed phrase, but only during the very first setup. That design is the whole trade-off: no words for a burglar or a phishing page to steal, but your backup is now a physical object you have to store somewhere else.