KeepKey scores 18 points above SafePal X1, led by rebuildable firmware, checkable keys, and genuine check. KeepKey ranks #14 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.
KeepKey62
vs
SXSafePal X144
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #14 and #22 of 23
KeepKey scores 18 points above SafePal X1, led by rebuildable firmware, checkable keys, and genuine check.
KeepKey #14 of 2362
SXSafePal 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 termKeepKey leads on 5 of 6 published criteria; SafePal X1 on 1. The terms sum to the gap.
TermKeepKeySafePal X1WeightPoints
Rebuildable firmware10/103/106.5+11.8for KeepKey+6.0 of 32
Secure element0/103/106.5−5.1for SafePal X1−2.6 of 32
Checkable keys4/100/102.9+3.0for KeepKey+1.5 of 32
Genuine check5/102/102.9+2.2for KeepKey+1.2 of 32
Maker independence10/104/102.6+4.1for KeepKey+2.1 of 32
Fund-loss record10/107/102.6+2.1for KeepKey+1.1 of 32
Net of the terms+18.2
Reproduced gap+18.2
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below6244+18.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
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 defenceSafePal X1Score 44A Bluetooth signer with a 12-button keypad at $69.99 — an unnamed secure element and partly published codeStrength: Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss — 7/10Watch-out: 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
Quick facts
At a glance
2 of 5 rows read the same for both.
FactKeepKeySafePal X1
One-time priceSnapshotKeepKey at $59.95 ("Buy Now — $59.95") on https://keepkey.com/product, 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 postureSnapshotNo secure element; fully open source; no air-gapped signing.Secure element, no listed certificate; partly open source; no air-gapped signing.
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
KeepKey
62#14 of 23
Leads
Pick it when
Pick KeepKey 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
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
SX
SafePal X1
44#22 of 23
Pick it when
Pick SafePal X1 if secure element matters most — it scores 3/10 to KeepKey's 0/10 there (weight 27).
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?
KeepKeyLeads
Choose KeepKey if rebuildable firmware matters most
Rebuildable firmware: 10/10 against 3/10 for SafePal X1 (weight 27)
Genuine check: 5/10 against 2/10 for SafePal X1 (weight 12)
Checkable keys: 4/10 against 0/10 for SafePal X1 (weight 12)
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
SXSafePal X1
Choose SafePal X1 if secure element matters most
Secure element: 3/10 against 0/10 for KeepKey (weight 27)
SafePal X1Score 44A Bluetooth signer with a 12-button keypad at $69.99 — an unnamed secure element and partly published codeStrength: Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss — 7/10Watch-out: 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
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 3 of 10weight 6.5 of 86SafePal X1 leads
KeepKey0/10 out of 10
SafePal X13/10 out of 10
Rebuildable firmware
by 7 of 10weight 6.5 of 86KeepKey leads
KeepKey10/10 out of 10
SafePal X13/10 out of 10
Genuine check
by 3 of 10weight 2.9 of 86KeepKey leads
KeepKey5/10 out of 10
SafePal X12/10 out of 10
Checkable keys
by 4 of 10weight 2.9 of 86KeepKey leads
KeepKey4/10 out of 10
SafePal X10/10 out of 10
Maker independence
by 6 of 10weight 2.6 of 86KeepKey leads
KeepKey10/10 out of 10
SafePal X14/10 out of 10
Fund-loss record
by 3 of 10weight 2.6 of 86KeepKey leads
KeepKey10/10 out of 10
SafePal X17/10 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
KeepKey14/20SafePal X114/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
KeepKey14.4/30SafePal X17.4/30
KeepKey leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
KeepKey2.7/10SafePal X12.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
KeepKey3.2/8SafePal X13.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
KeepKey5.5/18SafePal X15.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose KeepKey unless the term SafePal X1 leads on is the one you are buying.
Pick SafePal X1 if secure element matters most — it scores 3/10 to KeepKey's 0/10 there (weight 27).
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% (KeepKey 0/10, SafePal X1 3/10)
Scored by Firmware anyone can rebuild and match · 27% (KeepKey 10/10, SafePal X1 3/10)
Scored by Proof the device is genuine and unmodified · 12% (KeepKey 5/10, SafePal X1 2/10)
Scored by Key creation and signing you can check · 12% (KeepKey 4/10, SafePal X1 0/10)
Scored by Sign and recover without the maker · 11% (KeepKey 10/10, SafePal X1 4/10)
Scored by Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss · 11% (KeepKey 10/10, 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
KeepKey scores 18 points above SafePal X1, led by rebuildable firmware, checkable keys, and genuine check. Published scores, out of 100: KeepKey 62 (rank 14 of 23 hardware wallets), SafePal X1 44 (rank 22 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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