Unlike mobile wallets and desktop wallets that keep your private keys on an internet-connected device, hardware wallets store your private key in a secure offline environment.
Hardware wallets have been designed in such a way that it’s impossible for anyone access your private keys, because they never leave the device.
Remember, “Not Your Keys, Not Your Bitcoin”.
If you’re serious about crypto investment or own a substantial amount of Bitcoin (BTC), you should have at least one Bitcoin hardware wallet. It helps you to store your digital assets securely while giving you convenient access to your funds.
Even if your hardware got stolen, damaged or lost, you can always retrieve your crypto coins in a new wallet with a secret recovery phrase.
But not all hardware wallets are built the same. Each have their pros and cons.
The two most popular hardware wallets on the market are Trezor and Ledger.
In this Trezor vs Ledger review, we’ll compare these two popular hardware wallets in terms of coin support, price, security, ease of use, size, display screen, durability, and app compatibility.
It’s worth nothing that Trezor and Ledger both introduced their first generation hardware wallet with standard features back in 2014: Trezor One and Ledger Nano S.
Now, both companies have a newer, premium-priced wallet with more advanced features: Trezor Model T and Ledger Nano X.
To make a fair comparison, we’ll compare the original wallet against each other and likewise for the premium wallet, where applicable.
Is a Hardware Wallet Necessary?
Both Trezor and Ledger are Hardware wallets.
A hardware wallet is basically a physical electronic device for storing your private keys securely.
This means that you’ll need the device in your hand, physically verify the transaction, in order to send a transaction.
It’s perhaps the best and most secure storage option because…
- You own your private key.
- The private key is generated inside the device and kept completely offline, reduce your risk of being hacked.
- Even if you plug your hardware wallet into a computer or mobile device infected malware and viruses, there will be no risk of having your private keys compromised.
- If your hardware wallet falls in the wrong hands, your coins will be safe. Because your device is protected by a PIN.
- Transactions are verified on the device itself, instead of computer monitor.
As long as you have the 24-word recovery phrases, you can recover your keys and bitcoins even if your device is stolen or damaged. And thus, making it an effective and secure way to store your bitcoin and other digital currencies in the long run.
Now that you understand the importance of using Hardware wallet to secure your Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, let’s take a closer look at the Trezor vs. Ledger comparison to help you make educated decision in choosing the right wallet for your needs.
| Ledger Nano S (First generation) | Trezor One (Gold Standard) | Ledger Nano X (Premium) | Trezor Model T (Premium) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 2 buttons + 1 screen | Monochrome display + 2 buttons | 2 buttons + 1 screen | Full color touchscreen |
| Price | $59 | $55 | $115 | $169 |
| Free Shipping | ✓ | x | ✓ | x |
| Released Date | 2016 | 2014 | 2019 | 2018 |
| Go to Ledger | Go to Trezor | Go to Ledger | Go to Trezor |
Trezor vs. Ledger: Overviews
Trezor Wallet
Trezor Model T (Left) and Trezor One (Right)
Founded in 2014, Trezor was the world’s first Bitcoin/Crypto hardware wallet that offers secure cold storage for a wide variety of coins.
With Trezor, you have full control over your private keys, making it a safe place to manage, store and trade your cryptocurrencies.
Trezor One, the first generation, has two physical buttons and a screen while the Trezor Model T, released in 2018, comes with a touchscreen.
Ledger Wallet
Ledger Nano X (Left) and Ledger Nano S (Right)
Ledger is a leading crypto company who has been manufacturing crypto hardware wallet since 2014.
They just released the newest hardware wallet called Ledger Nano X in 2019.
It’s actually an improved version of the previous model, Ledger Nano S.
What makes Nano X special is its Bluetooth connectivity. This Bluetooth feature allows you to safely transaction anywhere, anytime with your mobile phone or computer, without using USB cable.
With that said, all transactions are signed with the Ledger, both Nano X and Nano S, making it more secure than using any exchange wallets, web wallets and software-based wallets.
Both Trezor and Ledger are easy to setup and use, suitable for all, especially for first-timer.
Trezor vs. Ledger: Security
Security is an essential aspect of selecting the right hardware wallet for securing your crypto.
Designed with security in mind, both Trezor and Ledger are a very safe way to store your Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. They ensure your funds are held offline.
To date, there have been no verifiable incidents of Bitcoin stolen from the two devices.
When it comes to security, both Trezor and Ledger offer:
- PIN protected: To access the device you need to enter a PIN, on the screen.
- Back-up phrase: In the event of loss or theft of your device, you can use the seed phrase to restore your wallet on a new device.
….but that’s where the similarity stops.
Ledger integrates a certified secure chip to make sure your private key is cryptographically secure, while Trezor doesn’t.
Rather, Trezor use a passphrase entry, an advanced feature to protect your accounts. Once you enable this feature, you’ll need to enter a secret phrase in addition to your numeric PIN every time you connect your device.
This means that even if somebody compromised your recovery seed, they would not be able to access your accounts unless they knew the passphrase as well.
This is because Trezor doesn’t want to depend on blind trust in a third party. Trezor aims to build a truly open hardware wallet without needing to trust the chip vendor.
What’s more, Trezor is open source. It means that anyone is welcome to study, modify, distribute, and build on top of the software.
And Trezor believe that you shouldn’t be required to trust anyone, not even the company itself and you should be able to verify everything.
On the other hand, Ledger is not fully open source. You cannot confirm what source code and type of firmware is used in a Ledger wallet.
Don’t trust, verify.
A word of cautious: By design, both hardware wallets have an extremely secure operating system. But make sure you only buy a brand-new hardware wallet directly from the official store (Trezor or Ledger).
Don’t buy from a third party just to save a couple of bucks. You might lose your hard-earned money if you’re device is tempered. In Jan 2018, a man lost $34,000 worth of cryptocurrency from its hardware wallet because the middleman whom he bought from has tempered the device. It’s an expensive lesson that I hope no one would repeat it.
Original Trezor One holographic seal (above) in contrast with fake holographic seal (below). Image credit: Trezor Blog
Winner: Trezor
Trezor vs. Ledger: Price
While most Bitcoin wallets are free, hardware wallet comes with a price. Depends on the model you choose, it may cost you anywhere from $55 to $170.
But it’ll be a small price to pay for peace of mind and better security.
The first generation, Ledger Nano S and Trezor One cost almost the same.
Ledger Nano S is priced at $59 while Trezor One sells for $55.
On the other hand, the premium models Ledger Nano X and Trezor Model T come at a higher price.
$169 for Trezor T and $119 for Ledger Nano X. Ledger Nano X has a clear price advantage over Trezor, that’s $50 cheaper.
If you want to access the full color touch screen, Shamir backup, more supported coins, and advanced security, you may consider paying extra for the upgrade to get the Trezor Model T.
In general, Ledger offers a better price than Trezor. Not only that, Ledger also offers free shipping on all orders regardless of your location. This make the deal even more attractive since you’ll need to pay for shipping costs if you purchase Trezor.
Winner: Ledger
Trezor vs. Ledger: Display Screen
Never underestimate the importance of your hardware wallet’s display screen.
When you setup your hardware wallet for the first time, the screen will show you the recovery phrase for your private key. (if you write down the wrong recovery phrase, you will risk losing your entire crypto assets for good.)
Also, a clear display screen will let you review and confirm outgoing transactions, making sure that you’re sending the right amount of coins to the correct address. Remember, Bitcoin transactions are irreversible, an error would result in loss of funds.
Both Trezor and Ledger wallet have a display screen. This means that you can enter recovery passphrase directly on device itself, without exposing secret phrase to your computer.
The Trezor T has a large touch screen that comes with full color display. While Trezor One has a large and clear OLED screen.
It’s definitely easier to navigate, use and verify transactions with a big, clear screen. This way, you can see the entire address at once when you verify an address.
On the contrary, the Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X both have a small OLED screen.
Winner: Trezor
Trezor vs. Ledger: Cryptocurrency Support
At present, Trezor supports 1389 crypto assets while Ledger supports 26 popular crypto coins and over 1250 ERC-20 tokens.
At first glance, both hardware wallets allow you to safely send, receive and store a wide range of cryptocurrencies.
However, there are some clear distinctions that give Ledger the edge over Trezor:
- Trezor One has limited coin support: While both Ledger Nano X and Nano S support the same amount of assets, Trezor One doesn’t support some major crypto such as Ripple, EOS, Monero, Tezos, Cardana and Ontology. To manage these crypto, you’ll need to purchase the Trezor Model T which costs $114 more than the Trezor One.
- Native support for Ethereum, Ethereum Classic and ERC20 tokens: Ledger has full native support for ETH. On the other hand, Trezor only offer a native interface for Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and ERC20 tokens in the beta version of Trezor Wallet, and we are still waiting on that finished product. Although you can use Trezor third-party integrations, such as MyEtherWallet, MyCrypto and MetaMask, they’re hot wallets, so your private information can be compromised.
Winner: Ledger
Trezor vs. Ledger: Ease of Use
Trezor and Ledger are both beginner-friendly. It’s very easy to use with simple, clear layout.
The original model, Trezor One and Ledger Nano S both have a two-button navigation system, in which you’re able to press the physical buttons to make a transaction.
A notable feature of the premium Trezor Model T is its large color touchscreen, giving you an intuitive and convenient interface to verify and approve all operations.
With the screen with touch capability, Trezor Model T allows you to enter all confidential data, such as PIN and recovery seed, exclusively on the device itself.
Unlike other popular hardware wallets, the Ledger Nano X does not need to be connected to any other device in order to send payments. Instead, wallet users use the Bluetooth pairing to connect with smartphone/desktop to sign transactions. Although this handy feature lets you easily manage crypto on the go, I’d prefer to connect it via USB, since Bluetooth connection can be hacked.
Winner: Trezor
Trezor vs. Ledger: Size
The Trezor and Ledger hardware wallets are lightweight and small enough to fit in your pocket.
The Trezor is bigger than the Ledger.
Wallet Size Weight
Trezor One
60x30x6mm 12 g
Trezor Model T
64x39x10 mm 22 g
Ledger Nano S 56.95x17.4x 9.1mm 16.2 g
Ledger Nano X 72x 18.6x11.75mm 34 g
The Ledger has a USB flash drive–
While the Trezor looked like a mini-computer with a large and clear OLED screen. Trezor Model T does not have any buttons on the device, Trezor One has two navigation buttons.
While the size and weight do not have any impact on the performance of the device, the Ledger can be easier to carry arround because of its small Flash Drive style.
Winner: Ledger
Trezor vs. Ledger: Durability
Durability is another important security feature for hardware wallets.
Private keys are what give you ownership of your cryptocurrency, and the keys are stored within a hardware wallet. So, you will want to make sure your hardware wallet is strong enough to withstand physical pressure and protect against any damage.
The Trezor wallet, including the premium Trezor Model T is made from plastic.
While the Ledger wallet comes with a foldable, high-grade brushed stainless-steel casing to protect its plastic body and screen from physical damage.
Ledger wallet: The swivel cover will keep your screen covered when not in use, and minimize damage to the screen in the event of an accident.
Although Trezor has thick and compact plastic casing which is pretty strong, Ledger has an advantage because of its stainless-steel swivel cover.
However, you can buy a wallet case with Trezor for extra strength and durability. The genuine leather will protect your Trezor from dust and physical damage. Alternatively, you can get a limited edition of Trezor One Metallic which is handmade from high-quality anodized aluminum.
Winner: Ledger
Trezor vs. Ledger: App Compatibility
In addition to Trezor and Ledger native interface, you can use your hardware wallet with many other independent crypto wallets, online services and apps.
If you’re just using the native apps offered by the Trezor and Ledger to store your crypto, then you can skip this app compatibility comparison.
However, you’d like to extend the functionality of your hardware wallet, such as use Exodus to exchange cryptocurrency directly from your Trezor or use MyEtherWallet to manage your Ethereum, then app compatibility is an important feature to consider when choosing a wallet.
The following table shows a list of third-party app compatibility for Trezor vs. Ledger.
App Trezor Ledger
Electrum ✓ ✓
MyEtherWallet ✓ ✓
GreenBits ✓ ✓
Copay ✓ ✓
Mycelium ✓ ✓
MyCrypto ✓ ✓
Exodus ✓ x
MultiBit HD ✓ x
MetaMask ✓ ✓
One thing great is that these third-party services do not hold any private keys. They just display balances and help you to access funds and manage transactions.
While both the hardware wallets are compatible with many popular apps, you should pick the one that support the apps you want. You can check out the complete list of supported apps that you can use with Ledger and Trezor here.
Winner: Tie
Trezor vs. Ledger: Who Wins?
| Comparison | Trezor | Ledger |
|---|---|---|
| Security | 🥇Open-source, hardened, transparent security | Certified secure chip |
| Price | $59/$169 | 🥇$55/$119 |
| Display Screen | 🥇Big screen | Small screen |
| Cryptocurrency Support | 1389 | 🥇1500 |
| Ease of Use | 🥇Intuitive and convenient interface | two-button navigation |
| Size | mini-computer with a large and clear screen | 🥇USB flash drive–sized |
| Durability | Plastic casing | 🥇Stainless-steel swivel cover |
| App Compatibility | Tie | Tie |
| Visit Website | Visit Website |
Considering the factor of security, display screen, ease of use, Trezor is the winner.
For price, cryptocurrency support, size and durability, Ledger wins.
When it comes to managing your crypto assets, Security should be your No.1 priority. As you can see, Trezor provides strong, better than banking-grade security.
And thus, Trezor is the true winner here.
By now, you should know which hardware wallet is best for you.
No matter which hardware wallet you choose, Trezor or Ledger, it’s always a better choice than using web wallets or exchange wallets.
Over to You
Trezor or Ledger?
Which hardware wallet would you use and why? Tell me in the comment!
I’ve handpicked a few guides for you to read next:
- How to Invest in Bitcoin: The Ultimate Guide for Beginners 2020
- 10+ Bitcoin Security Tips For Beginners
- How to Setup a Ledger Nano S Hardware Wallet: Step-by-step guide for beginners
- 10 Best Bitcoin Wallets You Should Use to Protect Your Crypto Investment
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