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Head-to-head · Hardware Wallets

Coldcard vs SafePal X1 Coldcard leads by 22 points.

Coldcard scores 22 points above SafePal X1, led by rebuildable firmware, secure element, and checkable keys. Coldcard ranks #11 and SafePal X1 #22 of 23 published hardware wallets. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.

Coldcard66
SafePal X144
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #11 and #22 of 23
Methodology v2026.10.18Ranking snapshot Evidence verified through 6 published criteria5 score dimensions Receipt #cc-VS-COLDCARD-VS-SAFEPAL-X1-fead9bc7
Published verdictRanking snapshot 3 November 2026

Coldcard leads by 22 points

Coldcard scores 22 points above SafePal X1, led by rebuildable firmware, secure element, and checkable keys.

Coldcard #11 of 2366
SafePal X1 #22 of 2344
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 5 of 6 published criteria; SafePal X1 on 1. The terms sum to the gap.
TermColdcardSafePal X1WeightPoints
Rebuildable firmware10/103/106.5+11.8for Coldcard+6.0 of 32
Secure element5/103/106.5+3.4for Coldcard+1.7 of 32
Checkable keys7/100/102.9+5.2for Coldcard+2.7 of 32
Genuine check5/102/102.9+2.2for Coldcard+1.2 of 32
Maker independence10/104/102.6+4.1for Coldcard+2.1 of 32
Fund-loss record1/107/102.6−4.1for SafePal X1−2.1 of 32
Net of the terms+22.7
Reproduced gap+22.6
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below6644+22.0

Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.

Quick facts

At a glance

2 of 5 rows read the same for both.
FactColdcardSafePal X1
One-time priceSnapshotCOLDCARD Mk5 at $219 ("Buy Now $219 USD") on https://coldcard.com/mk5, read 1 October 2026.SafePal X1 at $69.99, VAT and duty excluded, on https://www.safepal.com/en/store, read 2 October 2026.
Asset coverageEditorial——
Region fitSnapshotus, europe, globalglobal
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.Secure element, no listed certificate; partly open source; no air-gapped signing.
From the published criteria

Which should you pick?

Coldcard

66#11 of 23
Leads
Pick it when
Pick Coldcard if rebuildable firmware matters most — it scores 10/10 to SafePal X1's 3/10 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

SafePal X1

44#22 of 23
Pick it when
Pick SafePal X1 if fund-loss record matters most — it scores 7/10 to Coldcard's 1/10 there (weight 11).
Strength
Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss — 7/10
Tradeoff
It signs over Bluetooth through the SafePal App and does no QR-code scanning, so it cannot sign air-gapped, whatever its '100% air-gapped signing' label says
Self-identify in 10 seconds

Which one is actually for you?

ColdcardLeads

Choose Coldcard if secure element matters most

  • Secure element: 5/10 against 3/10 for SafePal X1 (weight 27)
  • Rebuildable firmware: 10/10 against 3/10 for SafePal X1 (weight 27)
  • Genuine check: 5/10 against 2/10 for SafePal X1 (weight 12)
SafePal X1

Choose SafePal X1 if fund-loss record matters most

  • Fund-loss record: 7/10 against 1/10 for Coldcard (weight 11)
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 2 of 10weight 6.5 of 86Coldcard leads
Coldcard5 out of 10
SafePal X13 out of 10

Rebuildable firmware

by 7 of 10weight 6.5 of 86Coldcard leads
Coldcard10 out of 10
SafePal X13 out of 10

Genuine check

by 3 of 10weight 2.9 of 86Coldcard leads
Coldcard5 out of 10
SafePal X12 out of 10

Checkable keys

by 7 of 10weight 2.9 of 86Coldcard leads
Coldcard7 out of 10
SafePal X10 out of 10

Maker independence

by 6 of 10weight 2.6 of 86Coldcard leads
Coldcard10 out of 10
SafePal X14 out of 10

Fund-loss record

by 6 of 10weight 2.6 of 86SafePal X1 leads
Coldcard1 out of 10
SafePal X17 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
Coldcard14/20SafePal X114/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Coldcard16.1/30SafePal X17.4/30
Coldcard leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard2.7/10SafePal X12.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard3.2/8SafePal X13.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard5.5/18SafePal X15.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order

Choose Coldcard unless the term SafePal X1 leads on is the one you are buying.

Pick SafePal X1 if fund-loss record matters most — it scores 7/10 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, SafePal X1 3/10)
    Scored by Firmware anyone can rebuild and match · 27% (Coldcard 10/10, SafePal X1 3/10)
    Scored by Proof the device is genuine and unmodified · 12% (Coldcard 5/10, SafePal X1 2/10)
    Scored by Key creation and signing you can check · 12% (Coldcard 7/10, SafePal X1 0/10)
    Scored by Sign and recover without the maker · 11% (Coldcard 10/10, SafePal X1 4/10)
    Scored by Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss · 11% (Coldcard 1/10, SafePal X1 7/10)
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 22 points above SafePal X1, led by rebuildable firmware, secure element, and checkable keys. Published scores, out of 100: Coldcard 66 (rank 11 of 23 hardware wallets), SafePal X1 44 (rank 22 of 23).

Related pages

Go deeper

Trust & process
Individual reviews
Other comparisons
Written and reviewed by Founder
Reviewed Next review by Methodology v2026.10.18
How this page is reviewed

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.

Accountable for this review: Mathias Siemonsmeier, Founder.

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