Trezor and Ledger have been the two leading manufacturers of crypto hardware wallets since 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Some differences between the wallets these companies have brought to market include cost, ease of use and the number of supported digital assets.
We've compared Trezor head to head with Ledger to help you decide which is best for your cold storage needs.
Disclaimer: This page is not financial advice or an endorsement of digital assets, providers or services. Digital assets are volatile and risky, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. Potential regulations or policies can affect their availability and services provided. Talk with a financial professional before making a decision. Finder or the author may own cryptocurrency discussed on this page.
Plastic casing; lightweight; shaped like a rectangle with a triangle below it; two buttons on front of facade
Plastic casing; lightweight; shaped like a rectangle with a triangle below it (and larger than Model One); touch screen
Stainless steel swivel outer shell and plastic casing; hearty weight; shaped like a flash drive; two buttons at top
Stainless steel swivel outer shell and plastic casing; hearty weight; shaped like a flash drive; two buttons at top
Aluminum and plastic; embedded magnets for stackability; shaped like 5 credit cards stacked on top of one another
Display
128×64px OLED screen
128 x 64px OLED screen
240×240px LCD touch screen
128 × 64px OLED screen
672 x 400px; 3.7in curved electronic ink (e-ink) touch screen
Battery
❌ Must be plugged in to function
❌ Must be plugged in to function
❌ Must be plugged in to function
✅ Can function without being plugged in
✅ Can function without being plugged in
All Trezor and Ledger devices connect via USB, but only the Ledger Nano X and the Ledger Stax connect via Bluetooth and have internal batteries.
Ledger devices also feel a bit more hearty than Trezor devices. This is largely due to the stainless steel swivel cover on the Ledger S Plus and the Ledger Nano X as well as the fact that the Ledger Stax is made with aluminum.
The Ledger Nano X, Nano S Plus and Trezor Model One all feature two buttons for scrolling and enabling yes-no decision-making. The Trezor Model T and the Ledger Stax have touch screens, but the touch screen for the Ledger Stax is larger and of a higher quality than the Trezor Model T's.
Winner: Ledger
Thanks to the hardy stainless steel incorporated into the design of all Ledger devices and the Ledger Stax's superior touch screen, Ledger is the winner in this category.
Trezor Suite does not provide native support to view or manage NFTs.
Connect your Trezor wallet to a Web3 wallet (
MetaMask, for example) to view your NFTs on the Ethereum network
Ledger Live provides native support to view and manage NFTs on the
Ethereum and
Polygon blockchains.
Connect your Ledger device to a Web3 wallet to view and manage NFTs stored on other blockchains.
All Ledger devices support a broader range of coins and tokens than either Trezor device.
You can store your NFTs' private keys on major blockchains on any Trezor or Ledger device.
But Ledger Live — the software for Ledger hardware wallets — provides better native support for NFT management than Trezor Suite, the native software for Trezor hardware wallets.
Winner: Ledger
Ledger's wallets were the clear winner in this category because of their broad coin, token and NFT support.
Designed with open-source code, which can be audited
Designed with open-source code, which can be audited; offers Shamir backup system
Designed with closed-source code, which cannot be audited
In 2020, Kraken Security Labs identified a security flaw in Trezor wallets, and Trezor has since changed the architecture of its wallets to remedy this.
No such vulnerability has ever been discovered in a Ledger wallet, nor has a Ledger wallet ever been successfully hacked. With that said, because Trezor hardware wallets are designed with open-source code and Ledger wallets are designed with closed-source code, it's easier for people or institutions to find a flaw in Trezor wallets.
Thanks to the Secure Element chip that Ledger uses in its wallets — the same chip used in credit cards and passports — Ledger has one of the best security track records of any hardware wallet maker on the market today.
Trezor hardware wallets are CE-certified. CE stands for "Conformite Europeenne" — French for European Conformity — and certifies that a product meets the consumer safety and environmental health standards.
Ledger hardware wallets have CC EAL 5+ certification. One of the main factors to consider for EAL (Evaluation Assurance Level) certification is whether a device can be penetrated in a hack. CC EAL 5+ is the highest level of security against penetration tests.
The Trezor Model T offers the Shamir backup system, which allows you to generate up to 16 recovery seed phrases instead of a single recovery seed phrase.
Using the Shamir backup system, you set a threshold for the number of seed phrases required to recover a wallet. This reduces the risk associated with losing access to your crypto wallet if you lose a single recovery seed phrase.
Winner: Draw
While no Ledger wallet has ever been hacked, Trezor's Shamir backup system offers a dimension of security that no Ledger wallet offers.
Trezor vs. Ledger: Built-in software
Trezor Suite
Ledger Live
User interface
Clean; intuitive; good portfolio overview
Clean; intuitive; good portfolio overview
Staking
No staking cryptos via Trezor Suite; sync Trezor wallet with a Web3 wallet to stake cryptos
Stake a handful of cryptos via Ledger Live; sync Ledger wallet with a Web3 wallet to stake cryptos
Ledger Live allows you to stake a handful of crypto assets through the app's native interface, which Trezor Suite doesn't support. But both Trezor and Ledger devices can be connected to third-party Web3 wallets if you do want to stake your assets.
The built-in swaps on both Trezor Suite and Ledger Live are
powered by Changelly. Through the built-in swap function, you can trade over [150] crypto coins and tokens.
Ledger Live allows you to borrow and lend your crypto through the Compound protocol, while Trezor Suite has no equivalent feature.
Both Trezor Suite and Ledger Live have mobile app versions, but only the Ledger Nano X is compatible with the Ledger Live mobile app.
Winner: Ledger
Ledger was the winner in this category because of its staking and lending options via Ledger Live and the Nano X and Stax's compatibility with the Ledger Live mobile app.
3.7in curved electronic ink (e-ink) touch screen; 672 x 400px
Software interface
Clean; intuitive; easy to use
Device must be connected to use
128x64px screen
Nano S Plus must be connected to use, while Nano X and Stax can utilise Bluetooth to engage with mobile version
If you prefer a touch screen to interact with the hardware wallet itself, the Trezor Model T is the way to go.
If you prefer physical buttons, the Trezor Model One, the Ledger Nano S Plus and the Ledger Nano X are all good options. Of the three devices, the Nano X has the most space between its two buttons.
To wirelessly manage your crypto on the go, the Ledger Nano X's Bluetooth capability provides the most convenient option of the bunch.
Winner: Ledger
Ledger won this category because the Stax's touch screen is more advanced than the Trezor Model T's touch screen and the Ledger Nano X and the Ledger Stax both have Bluetooth capability.
The Trezor Model One and the Nano S Plus have comparable prices, but the Nano S Plus offers a broader range of features and a higher level of security than the Model One.
The Model T and the Ledger Stax — the top-tier models from Trezor and Ledger — both offer a full suite of features. They both have a touch screen, but the Ledger Stax's touch screen is more advanced and the wallet is Bluetooth-enabled.
Of these 5 devices, the Nano S Plus offers the most bang for your buck. For the moderate price of US$79, the Nano S Plus has most of Nano X's and the Ledger Stax's functionality and a great deal more features than Trezor's wallet that's comparable in price: the Model One.
Winner: Ledger
Ledger was the winner in this category because of how much value the Nano S Plus offers at such a fair price point.
Traffic and company profile data sourced from Similarweb and accurate as of January 2023.
Final verdict
Both Trezor and Ledger make industry-leading hardware wallets for storing the private keys to your crypto safely offline.
Either wallet maker can offer you a legitimate and secure product, so which you choose will come down to your budget and cold storage needs. But in this comparison, it was hard to overlook Ledger's strengths; it took out 6/7 of our categories and tied in one.
Winner: Ledger
A summary of why we chose Ledger as our overall winner:
Ledger wallets support more crypto coins and tokens than Trezor wallets
Ledger wallets — in conjunction with Ledger Live — make it easier to manage NFTs
Ledger wallets offer more features for their price points
The Ledger Nano X and Stax are Bluetooth enabled and compatible with iOS
Ledger offers a higher level of security with the Secure Element chip
The Ledger Stax offers the most advanced touch screen of any hardware wallet yet
Safe storage for your assets is one of the most crucial parts to owning crypto, so make sure you've researched the
best crypto wallets on the market and considered some
hardware wallet alternatives before deciding which is best for you.
Methodology: Trezor vs. Ledger
We compared Trezor and Ledger hardware wallets based on a broad range of criteria. These criteria included the physical and software features, supported digital assets and NFTs and price. We also looked at how easy these devices are to use, how they engage with Web3 dapps and the level of security that they provide.
The prices and information used in this comparison are accurate as of January 2023.
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and involve significant risks – they are highly volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information. You should also verify the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory requirements) and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.
Whether products shown are available to you is subject to individual provider sole approval and discretion in accordance with the eligibility criteria and T&Cs on the provider website.
Frank Corva is a cryptocurrency writer and analyst for digital assets at Finder. Frank has turned his hobby of studying and writing about crypto into a career with a mission of educating the world about this burgeoning sector of finance. He worked in Ghana and Venezuela before earning a degree in applied linguistics at Teachers College, Columbia University. He also taught writing and entertainment business courses in Japan and worked with UNICEF in Namibia before returning to the US to teach at universities in New York City. Earlier in his career, he spent years working as a publicist and graphic designer for record labels like Warner Music Group and Triple Crown Records. During that time, he was also a music journalist whose writing and photography was in published in Alternative Press, Spin and other outlets.
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