Ledger scores 15 points above SafePal S1, led by secure element, rebuildable firmware, and genuine check. Ledger ranks #12 and SafePal S1 #19 of 23 published hardware wallets. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.
Ledger63
vs
SafePal S148
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #12 and #19 of 23
Ledger scores 15 points above SafePal S1, led by secure element, rebuildable firmware, and genuine check.
Ledger #12 of 2363
SafePal S1 #19 of 2348
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termLedger leads on 4 of 6 published criteria; SafePal S1 on 1. The terms sum to the gap.
TermLedgerSafePal S1WeightPoints
Secure element10/103/106.5+11.8for Ledger+6.0 of 32
Rebuildable firmware4/103/106.5+1.7for Ledger+0.9 of 32
Genuine check7/105/102.9+1.5for Ledger+0.8 of 32
Maker independence6/104/102.6+1.4for Ledger+0.7 of 32
Fund-loss record8/1010/102.6−1.4for SafePal S1−0.7 of 32
Net of the terms+15.0
Criteria roundingThe criteria block is rounded to whole points before it is spread+0.1
Reproduced gap+15.1
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below6348+15.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
LedgerScore 63Certified chip you can look up, closed operating system — $69, USB-C onlyStrength: Secure element you can look up — 10/10Watch-out: Installing or updating a signing app needs Ledger's live HSM servers (developer sideloading of an app you compile yourself aside), so a new or reset Nano S Plus cannot be readied to sign the normal way without the makerSafePal S1Score 48Air-gapped by QR at $49.99 — the cheapest air-gapped signer here, with an unnamed secure elementStrength: Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss — 10/10Watch-out: Its secure element is claimed at EAL5+ on one SafePal page and EAL6+ on another, with no part number
Quick facts
At a glance
2 of 5 rows read the same for both.
FactLedgerSafePal S1
One-time priceSnapshotLedger Nano S Plus: the Offer on https://shop.ledger.com/products/ledger-nano-s-plus reads "price":"69","priceCurrency":"USD", read 1 October 2026. The same page shows a visitor in Germany "€59" (read 28 October 2026).SafePal S1 at $49.99, VAT and duty excluded, on https://www.safepal.com/en/store, read 1 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, EAL6+ certified; partly open source; no air-gapped signing.Secure element, no listed certificate; partly open source; air-gapped signing.
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
Ledger
63#12 of 23
Leads
Pick it when
Pick Ledger if secure element matters most — it scores 10/10 to SafePal S1's 3/10 there (weight 27).
Strength
Secure element you can look up — 10/10
Tradeoff
Installing or updating a signing app needs Ledger's live HSM servers (developer sideloading of an app you compile yourself aside), so a new or reset Nano S Plus cannot be readied to sign the normal way without the maker
SafePal S1
48#19 of 23
Pick it when
Pick SafePal S1 if fund-loss record matters most — it scores 10/10 to Ledger's 8/10 there (weight 11).
Strength
Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss — 10/10
Tradeoff
Its secure element is claimed at EAL5+ on one SafePal page and EAL6+ on another, with no part number
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
LedgerLeads
Choose Ledger if secure element matters most
Secure element: 10/10 against 3/10 for SafePal S1 (weight 27)
Rebuildable firmware: 4/10 against 3/10 for SafePal S1 (weight 27)
Genuine check: 7/10 against 5/10 for SafePal S1 (weight 12)
LedgerScore 63Certified chip you can look up, closed operating system — $69, USB-C onlyStrength: Secure element you can look up — 10/10Watch-out: Installing or updating a signing app needs Ledger's live HSM servers (developer sideloading of an app you compile yourself aside), so a new or reset Nano S Plus cannot be readied to sign the normal way without the maker
SafePal S1
Choose SafePal S1 if fund-loss record matters most
Fund-loss record: 10/10 against 8/10 for Ledger (weight 11)
SafePal S1Score 48Air-gapped by QR at $49.99 — the cheapest air-gapped signer here, with an unnamed secure elementStrength: Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss — 10/10Watch-out: Its secure element is claimed at EAL5+ on one SafePal page and EAL6+ on another, with no part number
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 7 of 10weight 6.5 of 86Ledger leads
Ledger10/10 out of 10
SafePal S13/10 out of 10
Rebuildable firmware
by 1 of 10weight 6.5 of 86Ledger leads
Ledger4/10 out of 10
SafePal S13/10 out of 10
Genuine check
by 2 of 10weight 2.9 of 86Ledger leads
Ledger7/10 out of 10
SafePal S15/10 out of 10
Checkable keys
weight 2.9 of 86Tie
Ledger0/10 out of 10
SafePal S10/10 out of 10
Maker independence
by 2 of 10weight 2.6 of 86Ledger leads
Ledger6/10 out of 10
SafePal S14/10 out of 10
Fund-loss record
by 2 of 10weight 2.6 of 86SafePal S1 leads
Ledger8/10 out of 10
SafePal S110/10 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
Ledger14/20SafePal S114/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Ledger14.8/30SafePal S19/30
Ledger leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Ledger2.7/10SafePal S12.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Ledger3.2/8SafePal S13.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Ledger5.5/18SafePal S15.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose Ledger unless the term SafePal S1 leads on is the one you are buying.
Pick SafePal S1 if fund-loss record matters most — it scores 10/10 to Ledger's 8/10 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% (Ledger 10/10, SafePal S1 3/10)
Scored by Firmware anyone can rebuild and match · 27% (Ledger 4/10, SafePal S1 3/10)
Scored by Proof the device is genuine and unmodified · 12% (Ledger 7/10, SafePal S1 5/10)
Scored by Key creation and signing you can check · 12% (Ledger 0/10, SafePal S1 0/10)
Scored by Sign and recover without the maker · 11% (Ledger 6/10, SafePal S1 4/10)
Scored by Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss · 11% (Ledger 8/10, SafePal S1 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
Ledger scores 15 points above SafePal S1, led by secure element, rebuildable firmware, and genuine check. Published scores, out of 100: Ledger 63 (rank 12 of 23 hardware wallets), SafePal S1 48 (rank 19 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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