KeepKey scores 14 points above SafePal S1, led by rebuildable firmware, checkable keys, and maker independence. SafePal S1 ranks #19 and KeepKey #14 of 23 published hardware wallets. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.
SafePal S148
vs
KeepKey62
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #19 and #14 of 23
KeepKey scores 14 points above SafePal S1, led by rebuildable firmware, checkable keys, and maker independence.
SafePal S1 #19 of 2348
KeepKey #14 of 2362
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termKeepKey leads on 3 of 6 published criteria; SafePal S1 on 1. The terms sum to the gap.
TermKeepKeySafePal S1WeightPoints
Rebuildable firmware10/103/106.5+11.8for KeepKey+6.0 of 32
Secure element0/103/106.5−5.1for SafePal S1−2.6 of 32
Checkable keys4/100/102.9+3.0for KeepKey+1.5 of 32
Maker independence10/104/102.6+4.1for KeepKey+2.1 of 32
Net of the terms+13.9
Criteria roundingThe criteria block is rounded to whole points before it is spread+0.2
Reproduced gap+14.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
KeepKeyScore 62No secure element by design — open firmware rebuilt and matched, and no fund loss since 2015Strength: Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10Watch-out: No secure element: in 2019 Kraken extracted a KeepKey seed in about 15 minutes with the device in hand, through a chip flaw no firmware update can fix; a strong passphrase is the defenceSafePal 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.
FactSafePal S1KeepKey
One-time priceSnapshotSafePal S1 at $49.99, VAT and duty excluded, on https://www.safepal.com/en/store, read 1 October 2026.KeepKey at $59.95 ("Buy Now — $59.95") on https://keepkey.com/product, read 1 October 2026.
Asset coverageEditorial——
Region fitSnapshotglobalus, europe, global
Custody modelEditorialSelf-custody: the keys stay on the deviceSelf-custody: the keys stay on the device
Security postureSnapshotSecure element, no listed certificate; partly open source; air-gapped signing.No secure element; fully open source; no air-gapped signing.
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
SafePal S1
48#19 of 23
Pick it when
Pick SafePal S1 if secure element matters most — it scores 3/10 to KeepKey's 0/10 there (weight 27).
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
KeepKey
62#14 of 23
Leads
Pick it when
Pick KeepKey if rebuildable firmware matters most — it scores 10/10 to SafePal S1's 3/10 there (weight 27).
Strength
Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10
Tradeoff
No secure element: in 2019 Kraken extracted a KeepKey seed in about 15 minutes with the device in hand, through a chip flaw no firmware update can fix; a strong passphrase is the defence
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
SafePal S1
Choose SafePal S1 if secure element matters most
Secure element: 3/10 against 0/10 for KeepKey (weight 27)
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
KeepKeyLeads
Choose KeepKey if rebuildable firmware matters most
Rebuildable firmware: 10/10 against 3/10 for SafePal S1 (weight 27)
Checkable keys: 4/10 against 0/10 for SafePal S1 (weight 12)
Maker independence: 10/10 against 4/10 for SafePal S1 (weight 11)
KeepKeyScore 62No secure element by design — open firmware rebuilt and matched, and no fund loss since 2015Strength: Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10Watch-out: No secure element: in 2019 Kraken extracted a KeepKey seed in about 15 minutes with the device in hand, through a chip flaw no firmware update can fix; a strong passphrase is the defence
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 3 of 10weight 6.5 of 86SafePal S1 leads
SafePal S13/10 out of 10
KeepKey0/10 out of 10
Rebuildable firmware
by 7 of 10weight 6.5 of 86KeepKey leads
SafePal S13/10 out of 10
KeepKey10/10 out of 10
Genuine check
weight 2.9 of 86Tie
SafePal S15/10 out of 10
KeepKey5/10 out of 10
Checkable keys
by 4 of 10weight 2.9 of 86KeepKey leads
SafePal S10/10 out of 10
KeepKey4/10 out of 10
Maker independence
by 6 of 10weight 2.6 of 86KeepKey leads
SafePal S14/10 out of 10
KeepKey10/10 out of 10
Fund-loss record
weight 2.6 of 86Tie
SafePal S110/10 out of 10
KeepKey10/10 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
SafePal S114/20KeepKey14/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
SafePal S19/30KeepKey14.4/30
KeepKey leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
SafePal S12.7/10KeepKey2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
SafePal S13.2/8KeepKey3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
SafePal S15.5/18KeepKey5.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose KeepKey unless the term SafePal S1 leads on is the one you are buying.
Pick SafePal S1 if secure element matters most — it scores 3/10 to KeepKey's 0/10 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% (SafePal S1 3/10, KeepKey 0/10)
Scored by Firmware anyone can rebuild and match · 27% (SafePal S1 3/10, KeepKey 10/10)
Scored by Proof the device is genuine and unmodified · 12% (SafePal S1 5/10, KeepKey 5/10)
Scored by Key creation and signing you can check · 12% (SafePal S1 0/10, KeepKey 4/10)
Scored by Sign and recover without the maker · 11% (SafePal S1 4/10, KeepKey 10/10)
Scored by Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss · 11% (SafePal S1 10/10, KeepKey 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
KeepKey scores 14 points above SafePal S1, led by rebuildable firmware, checkable keys, and maker independence. Published scores, out of 100: SafePal S1 48 (rank 19 of 23 hardware wallets), KeepKey 62 (rank 14 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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