For all those who are just entering the crypto space, the primary task is to buy their desired cryptocurrency. Thanks to Changelly this issue can be addressed with ease, as Changelly allows you to buy over 150 top cryptocurrencies. But the next question is where to store your crypto, considering all the fraud that is flooding crypto market day by day.
In this article, we will review the safest way of cryptocurrency storage – by using hardware wallets, such as Trezor and Ledger. These two pioneers deserved the trust of the global crypto community. Hence, the one thing left is to decide which one to choose. Let’s inspect Trezor and Ledger strong and weak points to make an informed decision. But before diving into wallet comparison let’s figure out what a hardware wallet is, and why it is considered to be the best way to keep your coins safe.
Table of Contents
What Is a Hardware Wallet
A hardware wallet is a physical device that is used to store cryptocurrency. The main purpose of such wallets is to secure your private key by keeping it offline and not letting anyone have access to them, unlike software wallets.
Even if you keep your private keys in the safest place on the Earth, it can be stolen by hackers anyway while the transaction is executed on the blockchain. The uniqueness of a hardware device lies in the fact that no one, no single soul or robot has access to private keys, not even the wallet owner! All transactions are signed inside the wallet, and then the coins are sent to a web or software extension of your hardware device. This provides 100% security of crypto savings.
Pros vs. Cons
So you’ve decided to get yourself a hardware crypto wallet. What factors can make you doubt? Firstly, the price. Unlike software wallets which are available free of charge, the prices for hardware devices vary from $50 to $500. Holy crypto, what a price! As soon as you start to doubt ask yourself one more time “Am I ready to lose all my coins and tokens just because I saved money on secure cold storage?” If your answer is No, keep reading.
The other difficulty may occur at the stage of installation, as it may take more time and effort in comparison with software wallets. Again, remember that you will need to set it up once, but your coins will be effectively protected forever.
Now as we’ve passed through the general aspects, it’s time to compare Trezor and Ledger and make a final choice!
What Is Ledger Nano Wallet
Ledger hardware wallet is a product of the Ledger company based in France. Ledger is one of the leading cryptocurrency companies with a focus on secure assets’ storage. The harmonious combination of a passionate team, decentralized technologies, and innovative yet professional vision make Ledger deserve users’ trust.
The Ledger wallet was released in 2014 by fintech experts with experience in the field of network security, cryptocurrencies, and entrepreneurship.
From the very beginning, Ledger team aimed at creating secure solutions for blockchain applications. Now they have more than 80 employees in Paris, Vierzon and San Francisco.
The first Ledger hardware wallet appeared at the end of 2014. It has since been refined and the wallet’s latest version is called Ledger Nano S and sold over 1 million devices worldwide.
What Is Trezor Hardware Wallet
Trezor was the first-ever cryptocurrency wallet for cold storage. It was released back in 2014 by the Czech company, SatoshiLabs, headed by the CEO Marek Palatinus.
So, Trezor was the first who started fighting against hackers, viruses and third-party fraud. The main idea that has been leading the Trezor team was to provide a safe and secure offline instrument for keeping valuable crypto assets.
Trezor wallet has earned an excellent reputation since its launch and continues to improve every day. There are more and more new features, as well as support for new coins. This helps to meet the growing demand for cryptocurrencies. To find out more about SatoshiLabs and its product line, visit their website.
Trezor vs. Ledger Nano X
Physical Characteristics
While the Trezor basic model is made of plastic (the steel models are hugely more expensive), the Ledger Nano S is made of stainless steel. This makes Ledger look more stylish and provides a higher level of protection from mechanical damage.
Beyond this, both the Ledger and Trezor wallets use PIN protection to prevent unauthorized access and feature a built-in screen to show your recovery phrase, allowing this to be backed up offline.
Both devices are equipped with a built-in screen to display the recovery phrase and have two buttons to manipulate with the software applications. But in the case with Ledger, these buttons are placed too close to each other, which makes it more complicated to press one button instead of two. So if you have big hands Trezor may be easier for you to use.
Both devices are pretty small, but Ledger is smaller. Plus Ledger Nano S has a small slot so you can hang the gadget around your neck or attach it to a keyring. Here are the wallets’ dimensions: Trezor – 59 mm x 30 mm x 6 mm, Ledger – 98 mm x 18 mm x 9 mm.
Installation
As we’ve already mentioned setting up a hardware wallet may be slightly more complicated than setting up a software wallet. However, there are great teams behind these wallets, who continually simplify the installation process for the end-user. Let’s watch instead of reading this time. The first video tutorial shows how to install Ledger Nano S:
The process of Trezor installations is easy thanks to MetaMask. Below is a short video tutorial on how to set up Trezor in few easy steps
Supported Currencies
Another major factor to consider is the number of supported coins. Both Ledger and Trezor support the most popular coins including all the ERC tokens based on Ethereum blockchain. Here’s a comparing spreadsheet for your convenience:
| Supported coins | Trezor | Ledger |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Ethereum (ETH) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| XRP (XRP) | ➖ | ✔️ |
| Litecoin (LTC) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Bcash (BCH) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| EOS (EOS) | ➖ | ✔️ |
| Binance Coin (BNB) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Bcash SV (BSV) | ➖ | ➖ |
| Tether (USDT) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Stellar (XLM) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Cardano (ADA) | ➖ | ✔️ |
| TRON (TRX) | ➖ | ✔️ |
| Monero (XMR) | ➖ | ✔️ |
| Dash (DASH) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Cosmos (ATOM) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| IOTA (IOTA) | ➖ | ✔️ |
| NEO (NEO) | ➖ | ✔️ |
| Ethereum Classic (ETC) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Zcash (ZEC) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
The table shows that Ledger is the absolute winner in regard to the supported currencies. The most popular cryptocurrency that Trezor One does not support, but does the Ledger Nano S, is XRP. The more modern Trezor Model T solves this problem. Jump to their website to see which coins are supported in both Trezor wallet models.
Unlike Trezor, Ledger Nano S provides full software support for most coins, including Ethereum-based tokens. This means that you will not need to use MyEtherWallet for storing ETH and ERC-20 tokens.
Looks like Ledger wins in this buttle.
Compatible Wallets
Now let’s figure out which software wallet applications can be connected to Trezor and Ledger. The table below illustrates which popular wallet apps are compatible with the two hardware wallets:
| The wallet app | Trezor | Ledger Nano S |
| MyEtherWallet | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Mycelium | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Electrum | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| GreenBits | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Copay | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| MyTrezor | ✔️ | ➖ |
| Ledger Chrome | ➖ | ✔️ |
As you can see, both wallets are compatible with the most popular applications. So let’s move further and compare the wallets’ price.
Wallet Price
The last but not the least factor is the wallet price. So what is the price difference between Trezor and Ledger Nano S? Let’s see.
The price of the Trezor wallet in the official Trezor store is about $110. While Amazon offers the same device at a lower price of $105.
Talking about Ledger, the price of Nano S in the wallet official store is about $ 115. Again, you can also buy it on Amazon for a cheaper price of $100.
As you can see, the price characteristics are not too different. Hence, consider paying attention to the other comparing factors mentioned above.
Final Word
If you’ve read this article till the bottom line, then now you know all the main aspects of the two leading hardware crypto wallets, namely its physical characteristics, supported coins, the set-up processes, compatible apps, and the price. The overview clearly illustrates that both wallets are developing at the same pace and are pretty much equal feature-wise. By saying that we mean that both Trezor and Ledger deserve to be purchased. So, when making the final decision, just make sure that the chosen wallet supports your coins. We hope that this article was helpful. Tell us what your favorite hardware wallet is in the comments, and have a nice swap!
