Which crypto wallet to choose?

What is Ledger?

The Ledger project started in 2014. The firm has had great success with its products. Moreover, in 2021, Ledger became the first French unicorn in cryptos, that is to say that its capitalization exceeded one billion dollars.

Currently, Ledger has more than 700 people spread across 8 offices around the world including Paris, Vierzon, London, Portland and Singapore. Currently, Ledger has customers in more than 180 countries and has sold more than 6 million wallets.

There are three Ledger hard wallets:

Introduced in December 2022, the Ledger Stax is not available for purchase on the site at this time. The firm experienced delays and only began delivering its first models from pre-orders from May 2024.

What is Trezor?

Trezor is a product brand launched in August 2014 by the company SatoshiLabs which is based in the Czech Republic. THE Trezor wallets were initially imagined by Stick and Slush. The story begins in 2013 with the creation of the Trezor brand. In 2013, the first cold wallet was developed, it was the Trezor Model one.

With the success of the product and the crypto boom, the Trezor team is working on a second model. A prototype was designed in 2016 then launched in 2018 under the name Model T. Then, in 2021, the team launched a mobile application to manage cryptos from the wallet and in 2022 a peer-to-peer trading application called Vexl. Finally, in 2023, Trezor launches a third wallet, the Safe 3.

There are three Trezor hard wallets:

• Model One;
• Model T;
• Safe3.

Price comparison table between Trezor and Ledger

Ledger or Trezor: Feature Comparison

Discover below a brief comparison of characteristics cold wallets: Trezor vs Ledger.

User experience

The user experience is almost similar between the Trezor and Ledger models. The differences come down to a few details. For example, the Ledger Nano larger dimensions, the spacing between the buttons is therefore better if you have big fingers! On the other hand, the Trezor Model T is the only one to have a color screen which improves readability.

In terms of user interfaces, that of Trezor is less busy than that of Ledger Live. Note, however, that on Trezor, this is not a mobile app but desktop. With its bank card format and large screen, the Ledger Stax is capable of displaying NFTs and potentially has the best user experience.

Finally from the point of view of presentation, Ledger products are slightly more elegant with the presence of brushed stainless steel while Trezor only uses plastic,

Connectivity

The Ledger Nano X (and Stax) scores big points on this criterion since it is the only one to have a Bluetooth connectivity. Other devices use a wired connection, which is less convenient. Also note that the entry-level Trezor model (Model One) only has a micro USB input (and not USB C). All devices (Trezor or Ledger) are supplied with a cable which allows them to be plugged into the USB-A or C socket (depending on the model) of your computer.

Security

As cold wallets, the devices Trezor and Ledger offer a higher level of security than hot wallets. However, they are not immune to all attacks. Connected to an infected computer, wallets can theoretically be contaminated by malware. In practice, this case has never been encountered according to the manufacturers.

Another risk involves the theft of personal data. In this regard, the two manufacturers suffered attacks in 2019 and 2020 which did not have significant consequences. But more recently, Ledger was the subject of a major security incident.

On December 14, 2023, Ledger suffered a phishing attack causing the opening of a critical security vulnerability. A malicious version of the Ledger Connect Kit resulted in an estimated loss of $600,000. Even though the firm reacted quickly (within 40 minutes of discovering the flaw) and promised victims to “compensate” for the loss, this incident caused significant damage to its reputation.

Finally, both brands use recovery sentences between 12 and 24 words. This list allows you to use your wallet in case you have forgotten the pin or want to change it. On the Ledger Nano X model, it is possible to store this list of words since May 2023 on the cloud thanks to the “Recover” function.

This possibility has been strongly criticized by users who perceive it as a risk. Trezor models, on the other hand, use a backup system called Shamir which divides the recovery phrase into several parts.

Compatible cryptocurrencies

According to the figures communicated, the prize goes to Trezor. The latter’s models can handle more than 9,000 cryptocurrencies compared to “only” around 5,500 for those of Ledger. On the other hand, if we look in detail, we see that the Trezor One model is not compatible with a certain number of very well-known cryptos such as Cardano (ADA), XRP (XRP), Monero (XMR) and Tezos (XTZ).

Trezor vs Ledger: user opinions

Ledger reviews on Trustpilot aren’t very positive with an average of 2.2 out of 5 from 1,678 reviews. Trezor reviews on Trustpilot are a bit better with an average of 3.8 out of 5 across 601 reviews. However, this Trezor vs Ledger comparison needs to be qualified.

The number of reviews in both cases is not sufficient to draw conclusions. In addition, users use this type of site more to complain than to congratulate a product or company.

At the level of communitiesthe advantage is clearly to Ledger with 621,000 followers on against 207,000 for Trezor. In addition, Ledger being a French company, its products are subject to greater visibility in France. However, the year 2023 was complicated for Ledger with two major scandals.

The first linked to the Recover cloud recovery function caused a massive exodus at competitor Trezor, which saw its sales jump 900% in one week! The December 2023 phishing attack also had a negative impact on the brand and its products. But the arrival of the new Ledger Stax wallet could be a game-changer.

Our opinion: Which crypto wallet to choose: Ledger or Trezor?

Needless to say, both brands offer very similar products. Those are robust, secure and ergonomic cold wallets. The price levels are also equivalent. Both Trezor and Ledger encountered attacks.

If Trezor has suffered more attacks, those which affected Ledger have caused more discussion, notably the last one in December 2023. You will have understood, there is no clear winner in the Trezor VS Ledger battle. The choice will mainly depend on your preferences.

The comparison could quickly evolve in favor of Ledger thanks to his “secret weapon”, the Stax wallet in the shape of a bank card. On paper, this cold wallet stands out from competing products with better ergonomics and more features.

With a high call price, Ledger Stax intends to inaugurate a new category, that of premium wallets. The first models are just starting to be delivered, so there is no step back from this model yet. If he keeps all his promises, Ledger would score big points facing Trezor.