Ledger scores 19 points above SafePal X1, led by secure element, rebuildable firmware, and genuine check. Ledger ranks #12 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.
Ledger63
vs
SXSafePal X144
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #12 and #22 of 23
Ledger scores 19 points above SafePal X1, led by secure element, rebuildable firmware, and genuine check.
Ledger #12 of 2363
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 termLedger leads on 5 of 6 published criteria; SafePal X1 on 0. The terms sum to the gap.
TermLedgerSafePal X1WeightPoints
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 check7/102/102.9+3.7for Ledger+1.9 of 32
Maker independence6/104/102.6+1.4for Ledger+0.7 of 32
Fund-loss record8/107/102.6+0.7for Ledger+0.4 of 32
Net of the terms+19.3
Reproduced gap+19.2
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below6344+19.0
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 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.
FactLedgerSafePal X1
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 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, EAL6+ certified; partly 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?
Ledger
63#12 of 23
Leads
Pick it when
Pick Ledger if secure element matters most — it scores 10/10 to SafePal X1'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
SX
SafePal X1
44#22 of 23
Pick it when
SafePal X1 leads Ledger on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
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?
LedgerLeads
Choose Ledger if secure element matters most
Secure element: 10/10 against 3/10 for SafePal X1 (weight 27)
Rebuildable firmware: 4/10 against 3/10 for SafePal X1 (weight 27)
Genuine check: 7/10 against 2/10 for SafePal X1 (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
SXSafePal X1
SafePal X1 leads Ledger on no published criterion
Choose it only if something outside the published criteria decides for you — your country, a funding rail, or custody.
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 7 of 10weight 6.5 of 86Ledger leads
Ledger10/10 out of 10
SafePal X13/10 out of 10
Rebuildable firmware
by 1 of 10weight 6.5 of 86Ledger leads
Ledger4/10 out of 10
SafePal X13/10 out of 10
Genuine check
by 5 of 10weight 2.9 of 86Ledger leads
Ledger7/10 out of 10
SafePal X12/10 out of 10
Checkable keys
weight 2.9 of 86Tie
Ledger0/10 out of 10
SafePal X10/10 out of 10
Maker independence
by 2 of 10weight 2.6 of 86Ledger leads
Ledger6/10 out of 10
SafePal X14/10 out of 10
Fund-loss record
by 1 of 10weight 2.6 of 86Ledger leads
Ledger8/10 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
Ledger14/20SafePal X114/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Ledger14.8/30SafePal X17.4/30
Ledger leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Ledger2.7/10SafePal X12.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Ledger3.2/8SafePal X13.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Ledger5.5/18SafePal X15.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose Ledger unless the term SafePal X1 leads on is the one you are buying.
SafePal X1 leads Ledger on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
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 X1 3/10)
Scored by Firmware anyone can rebuild and match · 27% (Ledger 4/10, SafePal X1 3/10)
Scored by Proof the device is genuine and unmodified · 12% (Ledger 7/10, SafePal X1 2/10)
Scored by Key creation and signing you can check · 12% (Ledger 0/10, SafePal X1 0/10)
Scored by Sign and recover without the maker · 11% (Ledger 6/10, SafePal X1 4/10)
Scored by Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss · 11% (Ledger 8/10, 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
Ledger scores 19 points above SafePal X1, led by secure element, rebuildable firmware, and genuine check. Published scores, out of 100: Ledger 63 (rank 12 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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