Keystone scores 3 points above Keycard, led by rebuildable firmware, checkable keys, and maker independence. Keystone ranks #5 and Keycard #10 of 23 published hardware wallets. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.
Keystone70
vs
Keycard67
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #5 and #10 of 23
Keystone scores 3 points above Keycard, led by rebuildable firmware, checkable keys, and maker independence.
Keystone #5 of 2370
Keycard #10 of 2367
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termKeystone leads on 3 of 6 published criteria; Keycard on 3. The terms sum to the gap.
TermKeystoneKeycardWeightPoints
Rebuildable firmware10/105/106.5+8.4for Keystone+4.3 of 32
Secure element5/1010/106.5−8.4for Keycard−4.3 of 32
Checkable keys7/100/102.9+5.2for Keystone+2.7 of 32
Genuine check5/107/102.9−1.5for Keycard−0.8 of 32
Fund-loss record7/1010/102.6−2.1for Keycard−1.1 of 32
Maker independence10/108/102.6+1.4for Keystone+0.7 of 32
Net of the terms+3.1
Criteria roundingThe criteria block is rounded to whole points before it is spread+0.1
Reproduced gap+3.1
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below7067+3.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
KeystoneScore 70Air-gapped QR and microSD signing — firmware rebuilt and matched by independent reviewersStrength: Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10Watch-out: None of its three secure-element parts (ATECC608B, DS28S60, MAX32520) holds a listed certificateKeycardScore 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.
FactKeystoneKeycard
One-time priceSnapshotKeystone 3 Pro at $149.00 on https://shop.keyst.one/products/keystone-3-pro, read 1 October 2026.Keycard 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.
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; firmware open source; air-gapped signing.Secure element, EAL6+ certified; partly open source; no air-gapped signing.
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
Keystone
70#5 of 23
Leads
Pick it when
Pick Keystone if rebuildable firmware matters most — it scores 10/10 to Keycard's 5/10 there (weight 27).
Strength
Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10
Tradeoff
None of its three secure-element parts (ATECC608B, DS28S60, MAX32520) holds a listed certificate
Keycard
67#10 of 23
Pick it when
Pick Keycard if secure element matters most — it scores 10/10 to Keystone's 5/10 there (weight 27).
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
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
KeystoneLeads
Choose Keystone if rebuildable firmware matters most
Rebuildable firmware: 10/10 against 5/10 for Keycard (weight 27)
Checkable keys: 7/10 against 0/10 for Keycard (weight 12)
Maker independence: 10/10 against 8/10 for Keycard (weight 11)
KeystoneScore 70Air-gapped QR and microSD signing — firmware rebuilt and matched by independent reviewersStrength: Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10Watch-out: None of its three secure-element parts (ATECC608B, DS28S60, MAX32520) holds a listed certificate
Keycard
Choose Keycard if secure element matters most
Secure element: 10/10 against 5/10 for Keystone (weight 27)
Genuine check: 7/10 against 5/10 for Keystone (weight 12)
Fund-loss record: 10/10 against 7/10 for Keystone (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
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 86Keycard leads
Keystone5/10 out of 10
Keycard10/10 out of 10
Rebuildable firmware
by 5 of 10weight 6.5 of 86Keystone leads
Keystone10/10 out of 10
Keycard5/10 out of 10
Genuine check
by 2 of 10weight 2.9 of 86Keycard leads
Keystone5/10 out of 10
Keycard7/10 out of 10
Checkable keys
by 7 of 10weight 2.9 of 86Keystone leads
Keystone7/10 out of 10
Keycard0/10 out of 10
Maker independence
by 2 of 10weight 2.6 of 86Keystone leads
Keystone10/10 out of 10
Keycard8/10 out of 10
Fund-loss record
by 3 of 10weight 2.6 of 86Keycard leads
Keystone7/10 out of 10
Keycard10/10 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
Keystone14/20Keycard14/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Keystone17.7/30Keycard16.5/30
Keystone leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Keystone2.7/10Keycard2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Keystone3.2/8Keycard3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Keystone5.5/18Keycard5.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose Keystone unless the term Keycard leads on is the one you are buying.
Pick Keycard if secure element matters most — it scores 10/10 to Keystone's 5/10 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% (Keystone 5/10, Keycard 10/10)
Scored by Firmware anyone can rebuild and match · 27% (Keystone 10/10, Keycard 5/10)
Scored by Proof the device is genuine and unmodified · 12% (Keystone 5/10, Keycard 7/10)
Scored by Key creation and signing you can check · 12% (Keystone 7/10, Keycard 0/10)
Scored by Sign and recover without the maker · 11% (Keystone 10/10, Keycard 8/10)
Scored by Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss · 11% (Keystone 7/10, Keycard 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
Keystone scores 3 points above Keycard, led by rebuildable firmware, checkable keys, and maker independence. Published scores, out of 100: Keystone 70 (rank 5 of 23 hardware wallets), Keycard 67 (rank 10 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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