Ledger scores 21 points above Tangem, led by secure element, rebuildable firmware, and maker independence. Ledger ranks #12 and Tangem #23 of 23 published hardware wallets. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.
Ledger63
vs
Tangem42
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #12 and #23 of 23
Ledger scores 21 points above Tangem, led by secure element, rebuildable firmware, and maker independence.
Ledger #12 of 2363
Tangem #23 of 2342
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; Tangem on 0. The terms sum to the gap.
TermLedgerTangemWeightPoints
Secure element10/103/106.5+11.8for Ledger+6.0 of 32
Rebuildable firmware4/100/106.5+6.7for Ledger+3.5 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+20.6
Criteria roundingThe criteria block is rounded to whole points before it is spread−0.1
Reproduced gap+20.5
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below6342+21.0
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 makerTangemScore 42Tap-to-phone NFC cards — closed firmware, and a 2026 laser attack it cannot patchStrength: Proof the device is genuine and unmodified — 7/10Watch-out: In July 2026 Ledger Donjon reset the card password with a laser fault and signed transactions; it affects every card in circulation and cannot be patched
Quick facts
At a glance
3 of 5 rows read the same for both.
FactLedgerTangem
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).Tangem Wallet 2 Cards set at $59.90 on https://tangem.com/en/pricing/, read 1 October 2026.
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; closed 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 Tangem'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
Tangem
42#23 of 23
Pick it when
Tangem 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
Proof the device is genuine and unmodified — 7/10
Tradeoff
In July 2026 Ledger Donjon reset the card password with a laser fault and signed transactions; it affects every card in circulation and cannot be patched
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 Tangem (weight 27)
Rebuildable firmware: 4/10 against 0/10 for Tangem (weight 27)
Maker independence: 6/10 against 4/10 for Tangem (weight 11)
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
Tangem
Tangem 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.
TangemScore 42Tap-to-phone NFC cards — closed firmware, and a 2026 laser attack it cannot patchStrength: Proof the device is genuine and unmodified — 7/10Watch-out: In July 2026 Ledger Donjon reset the card password with a laser fault and signed transactions; it affects every card in circulation and cannot be patched
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
Tangem3/10 out of 10
Rebuildable firmware
by 4 of 10weight 6.5 of 86Ledger leads
Ledger4/10 out of 10
Tangem0/10 out of 10
Genuine check
weight 2.9 of 86Tie
Ledger7/10 out of 10
Tangem7/10 out of 10
Checkable keys
weight 2.9 of 86Tie
Ledger0/10 out of 10
Tangem0/10 out of 10
Maker independence
by 2 of 10weight 2.6 of 86Ledger leads
Ledger6/10 out of 10
Tangem4/10 out of 10
Fund-loss record
by 1 of 10weight 2.6 of 86Ledger leads
Ledger8/10 out of 10
Tangem7/10 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
Ledger14/20Tangem14/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Ledger14.8/30Tangem6.9/30
Ledger leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Ledger2.7/10Tangem2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Ledger3.2/8Tangem3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Ledger5.5/18Tangem5.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose Ledger unless the term Tangem leads on is the one you are buying.
Tangem 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, Tangem 3/10)
Scored by Firmware anyone can rebuild and match · 27% (Ledger 4/10, Tangem 0/10)
Scored by Proof the device is genuine and unmodified · 12% (Ledger 7/10, Tangem 7/10)
Scored by Key creation and signing you can check · 12% (Ledger 0/10, Tangem 0/10)
Scored by Sign and recover without the maker · 11% (Ledger 6/10, Tangem 4/10)
Scored by Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss · 11% (Ledger 8/10, Tangem 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 21 points above Tangem, led by secure element, rebuildable firmware, and maker independence. Published scores, out of 100: Ledger 63 (rank 12 of 23 hardware wallets), Tangem 42 (rank 23 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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