Coldcard scores 4 points above KeepKey, led by secure element and checkable keys. Coldcard ranks #11 and KeepKey #14 of 23 published hardware wallets. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.
CLColdcard66
vs
KeepKey62
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #11 and #14 of 23
Coldcard scores 4 points above KeepKey, led by secure element and checkable keys.
CLColdcard #11 of 2366
KeepKey #14 of 2362
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termColdcard leads on 2 of 6 published criteria; KeepKey on 1. The terms sum to the gap.
TermColdcardKeepKeyWeightPoints
Secure element5/100/106.5+8.4for Coldcard+4.3 of 32
Checkable keys7/104/102.9+2.2for Coldcard+1.2 of 32
Fund-loss record1/1010/102.6−6.2for KeepKey−3.2 of 32
Net of the terms+4.5
Criteria roundingThe criteria block is rounded to whole points before it is spread−0.1
Reproduced gap+4.4
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below6662+4.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
ColdcardScore 66July 2026 seed flaw cost owners funds — fixed in 5.6.0; a Bitcoin-only signer that works from microSDStrength: Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10Watch-out: 30 July 2026: Coinkite reported that firmware before 5.6.0 generated weak seeds (about 72 bits) on Mk4, Mk5 and Q, and that attackers stole funds from weak seeds; update, then move any seed made before 5.6.0 to a new oneKeepKeyScore 62No secure element by design — open firmware rebuilt and matched, and no fund loss since 2015Strength: Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10Watch-out: No secure element: in 2019 Kraken extracted a KeepKey seed in about 15 minutes with the device in hand, through a chip flaw no firmware update can fix; a strong passphrase is the defence
Quick facts
At a glance
3 of 5 rows read the same for both.
FactColdcardKeepKey
One-time priceSnapshotCOLDCARD Mk5 at $219 ("Buy Now $219 USD") on https://coldcard.com/mk5, read 1 October 2026.KeepKey at $59.95 ("Buy Now — $59.95") on https://keepkey.com/product, read 1 October 2026.
Asset coverageEditorial——
Region fitSnapshotus, europe, globalus, europe, global
Custody modelEditorialSelf-custody: the keys stay on the deviceSelf-custody: the keys stay on the device
Security postureSnapshotSecure element, no listed certificate; fully open source; air-gapped signing; a device-level flaw cost owners funds.No secure element; fully open source; no air-gapped signing.
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
CL
Coldcard
66#11 of 23
Leads
Pick it when
Pick Coldcard if secure element matters most — it scores 5/10 to KeepKey's 0/10 there (weight 27).
Strength
Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10
Tradeoff
30 July 2026: Coinkite reported that firmware before 5.6.0 generated weak seeds (about 72 bits) on Mk4, Mk5 and Q, and that attackers stole funds from weak seeds; update, then move any seed made before 5.6.0 to a new one
KeepKey
62#14 of 23
Pick it when
Pick KeepKey if fund-loss record matters most — it scores 10/10 to Coldcard's 1/10 there (weight 11).
Strength
Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10
Tradeoff
No secure element: in 2019 Kraken extracted a KeepKey seed in about 15 minutes with the device in hand, through a chip flaw no firmware update can fix; a strong passphrase is the defence
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
CLColdcardLeads
Choose Coldcard if secure element matters most
Secure element: 5/10 against 0/10 for KeepKey (weight 27)
Checkable keys: 7/10 against 4/10 for KeepKey (weight 12)
ColdcardScore 66July 2026 seed flaw cost owners funds — fixed in 5.6.0; a Bitcoin-only signer that works from microSDStrength: Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10Watch-out: 30 July 2026: Coinkite reported that firmware before 5.6.0 generated weak seeds (about 72 bits) on Mk4, Mk5 and Q, and that attackers stole funds from weak seeds; update, then move any seed made before 5.6.0 to a new one
KeepKey
Choose KeepKey if fund-loss record matters most
Fund-loss record: 10/10 against 1/10 for Coldcard (weight 11)
KeepKeyScore 62No secure element by design — open firmware rebuilt and matched, and no fund loss since 2015Strength: Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10Watch-out: No secure element: in 2019 Kraken extracted a KeepKey seed in about 15 minutes with the device in hand, through a chip flaw no firmware update can fix; a strong passphrase is the defence
Criterion by criterion
Scorecard
Published criteria · weight in points of 8612 of 12 cells scored. Strength is read from the evidence file; the weight is the published one. Methodology
Secure element
by 5 of 10weight 6.5 of 86Coldcard leads
Coldcard5/10 out of 10
KeepKey0/10 out of 10
Rebuildable firmware
weight 6.5 of 86Tie
Coldcard10/10 out of 10
KeepKey10/10 out of 10
Genuine check
weight 2.9 of 86Tie
Coldcard5/10 out of 10
KeepKey5/10 out of 10
Checkable keys
by 3 of 10weight 2.9 of 86Coldcard leads
Coldcard7/10 out of 10
KeepKey4/10 out of 10
Maker independence
weight 2.6 of 86Tie
Coldcard10/10 out of 10
KeepKey10/10 out of 10
Fund-loss record
by 9 of 10weight 2.6 of 86KeepKey leads
Coldcard1/10 out of 10
KeepKey10/10 out of 10
Score dimensions
weights sum to 86
The published score is five dimensions, each weighted for the category. "Published criteria" is the criteria block above; the other four are the engine's own terms — availability, friction, trust record, measured data. Each bar is one side's points out of that dimension's maximum; the weight beside the name is its points of the 86-point weighted total. The published criteria above can fill 24 of the block’s 30. A weight marked “constant here” belongs to a dimension every ranked product in the category holds at the same value: it still counts in the total, and it orders nothing here.
Availabilityweight 20 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard14/20KeepKey14/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Coldcard16.1/30KeepKey14.4/30
Coldcard leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard2.7/10KeepKey2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard3.2/8KeepKey3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard5.5/18KeepKey5.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose Coldcard unless the term KeepKey leads on is the one you are buying.
Pick KeepKey if fund-loss record matters most — it scores 10/10 to Coldcard's 1/10 there (weight 11).
The published order weighs every criterion the same way for everyone. To weigh them your way, run .
From the published order
Next best action
If this isn't your case
Other matchups worth comparing
How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
Key failure: your own keys are made, shown or recovered unsafely.
Scored by Secure element you can look up · 27% (Coldcard 5/10, KeepKey 0/10)
Scored by Firmware anyone can rebuild and match · 27% (Coldcard 10/10, KeepKey 10/10)
Scored by Proof the device is genuine and unmodified · 12% (Coldcard 5/10, KeepKey 5/10)
Scored by Key creation and signing you can check · 12% (Coldcard 7/10, KeepKey 4/10)
Scored by Sign and recover without the maker · 11% (Coldcard 10/10, KeepKey 10/10)
Scored by Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss · 11% (Coldcard 1/10, KeepKey 10/10)
Every failure family that applies to this category is scored, except Information failure, which the provider pages show as a fact.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Coldcard scores 4 points above KeepKey, led by secure element and checkable keys. Published scores, out of 100: Coldcard 66 (rank 11 of 23 hardware wallets), KeepKey 62 (rank 14 of 23).
Reviewed means both products compared here was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
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