Keycard vs Keycard Shell Keycard Shell leads by 2 points.
Keycard Shell scores 2 points above Keycard, led by rebuildable firmware and maker independence. Keycard ranks #10 and Keycard Shell #6 of 23 published hardware wallets. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.
Keycard67
vs
Keycard Shell69
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #10 and #6 of 23
Keycard Shell scores 2 points above Keycard, led by rebuildable firmware and maker independence.
Keycard #10 of 2367
Keycard Shell #6 of 2369
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termKeycard Shell leads on 2 of 6 published criteria; Keycard on 1. The terms sum to the gap.
TermKeycard ShellKeycardWeightPoints
Rebuildable firmware7/105/106.5+3.4for Keycard Shell+1.7 of 32
Fund-loss record5/1010/102.6−3.4for Keycard−1.8 of 32
Maker independence10/108/102.6+1.4for Keycard Shell+0.7 of 32
Net of the terms+1.3
Reproduced gap+1.3
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below6967+2.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
Keycard ShellScore 69An air-gapped QR signer with a screen around an EAL6+ Keycard — firmware rebuilt and matched, €129Strength: Secure element you can look up — 10/10Watch-out: First shipped in 2025, so it has a short record in buyers' handsKeycardScore 67An EAL6+ certified card with an open applet, €29 — no screen, signed from a phone over NFCStrength: Secure element you can look up — 10/10Watch-out: No screen: you approve what the phone or computer shows, so a compromised host can mislead you
Quick facts
At a glance
3 of 5 rows read the same for both.
FactKeycardKeycard Shell
One-time priceSnapshotKeycard at €29.00 including VAT on https://keycard.tech/products/keycard, read 1 October 2026; the store prices in euros only and publishes no US dollar list price.Keycard Shell (with two Keycards) at €129 including VAT (regular €149) on https://keycard.tech/products/keycard-shell, read 1 October 2026; no US dollar list price is published.
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, EAL6+ certified; partly open source; no air-gapped signing.Secure element, EAL6+ certified; partly open source; air-gapped signing.
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
Keycard
67#10 of 23
Pick it when
Pick Keycard if fund-loss record matters most — it scores 10/10 to Keycard Shell's 5/10 there (weight 11).
Strength
Secure element you can look up — 10/10
Tradeoff
No screen: you approve what the phone or computer shows, so a compromised host can mislead you
Keycard Shell
69#6 of 23
Leads
Pick it when
Pick Keycard Shell if rebuildable firmware matters most — it scores 7/10 to Keycard's 5/10 there (weight 27).
Strength
Secure element you can look up — 10/10
Tradeoff
First shipped in 2025, so it has a short record in buyers' hands
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
Keycard
Choose Keycard if fund-loss record matters most
Fund-loss record: 10/10 against 5/10 for Keycard Shell (weight 11)
KeycardScore 67An EAL6+ certified card with an open applet, €29 — no screen, signed from a phone over NFCStrength: Secure element you can look up — 10/10Watch-out: No screen: you approve what the phone or computer shows, so a compromised host can mislead you
Keycard ShellLeads
Choose Keycard Shell if rebuildable firmware matters most
Rebuildable firmware: 7/10 against 5/10 for Keycard (weight 27)
Maker independence: 10/10 against 8/10 for Keycard (weight 11)
Keycard ShellScore 69An air-gapped QR signer with a screen around an EAL6+ Keycard — firmware rebuilt and matched, €129Strength: Secure element you can look up — 10/10Watch-out: First shipped in 2025, so it has a short record in buyers' hands
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
weight 6.5 of 86Tie
Keycard10/10 out of 10
Keycard Shell10/10 out of 10
Rebuildable firmware
by 2 of 10weight 6.5 of 86Keycard Shell leads
Keycard5/10 out of 10
Keycard Shell7/10 out of 10
Genuine check
weight 2.9 of 86Tie
Keycard7/10 out of 10
Keycard Shell7/10 out of 10
Checkable keys
weight 2.9 of 86Tie
Keycard0/10 out of 10
Keycard Shell0/10 out of 10
Maker independence
by 2 of 10weight 2.6 of 86Keycard Shell leads
Keycard8/10 out of 10
Keycard Shell10/10 out of 10
Fund-loss record
by 5 of 10weight 2.6 of 86Keycard leads
Keycard10/10 out of 10
Keycard Shell5/10 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
Keycard14/20Keycard Shell14/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Keycard16.5/30Keycard Shell17/30
Keycard Shell leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Keycard2.7/10Keycard Shell2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Keycard3.2/8Keycard Shell3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Keycard5.5/18Keycard Shell5.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose Keycard Shell unless the term Keycard leads on is the one you are buying.
Pick Keycard if fund-loss record matters most — it scores 10/10 to Keycard Shell's 5/10 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% (Keycard 10/10, Keycard Shell 10/10)
Scored by Firmware anyone can rebuild and match · 27% (Keycard 5/10, Keycard Shell 7/10)
Scored by Proof the device is genuine and unmodified · 12% (Keycard 7/10, Keycard Shell 7/10)
Scored by Key creation and signing you can check · 12% (Keycard 0/10, Keycard Shell 0/10)
Scored by Sign and recover without the maker · 11% (Keycard 8/10, Keycard Shell 10/10)
Scored by Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss · 11% (Keycard 10/10, Keycard Shell 5/10)
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
Keycard Shell scores 2 points above Keycard, led by rebuildable firmware and maker independence. Published scores, out of 100: Keycard 67 (rank 10 of 23 hardware wallets), Keycard Shell 69 (rank 6 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.
Answer a few quick questions and get one clear recommendation based on how you actually plan to use crypto — with rationale, tradeoffs, and a path to monitor the decision.
No signup·Free first pass · Private·No spam · No account
Not financial advice · Independent · Always do your own research
Not financial advice · For informational purposes only · Always do your own research
