We compare the two current market leaders against the new up-and-coming wallets offering different form factors, useability, and approaches towards the goal of ultimate security with accessibility!
Disclaimer: There may be affiliate links within this article. As a result, using some of these links may support what we do at no cost to you.
Basic Comparison of the Five Hardware Wallets
Further information on each Wallet can be found below.
Ledger Nano X | Safepal S1 | Cool Wallet CoolPro | Ellipal Titan | ||
Device Size | |||||
Platform | PC / Android | PC / iOS Android | Android / iOS | Android / iOS | Android / iOS |
Secure chip | |||||
Air gapped | |||||
Wallet Integration | |||||
Coins/tokens | 1,200 | 1,500 | 30,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
Staking | |||||
Manage/ Display NFTs | via 3rd party app only | Ethereum NFT’s only | Eth +BSC NFT’s | via 3rd party app only | via 3rd party app only |
Having reviewed all of these hardware wallets see our conclusions below.
Summary of our Results
The hardware wallet market is growing at a great pace with projects racing to build integrations with other wallets, directly to dApps, exchanges, market places etc
The trend appears to be towards wallet devices that connect with Android/iOS devices, such as Ellipal Titan, CoolWallet Pro, and the Safepal S1, leaving PC users with significantly less choice.
If you prefer to manage your crypto on a desktop then the Trezor and Ledger wallets are definitely worth a closer look.
A growing number of hardware wallets are being built with onboard cameras to facilitate QR code scanning and encrypted Bluetooth connectivity for managing wallets with mobile devices.
We are yet to see whether these features will become industry standard in the future but they seem the way to go.
If you already have Metamask or another software/browser wallet it will be disappointing to discover that the Ellipal Titan, CoolWallet Pro, and the Safepal S1 wallets do not currently integrate with other third-party wallets at all!
Again, Trezor and Ledger currently have the most to offer in terms of 3rd party wallet integration.
For users who would prefer to buy, sell, exchange, and stake crypto from directly within a completely air-gapped hard wallet, the Ellipal Titan is one of only a few wallets offering this capability.
The hardware wallet industry seems to be a bit behind when it comes to developing devices and apps that can natively display NFTs, which is surprising given the growth in the NFT market and the high value of the top NFT collections.
Now, more than ever NFT owners will be looking to move their NFTs off marketplaces and into secure wallets. Yet some would argue there is little point in having an NFT if you aren’t able to look at it!
It is worth mentioning that whichever hardware wallet you choose you are still ultimately responsible for storing your recovery seed phrase, pincode ( if your device has one), and passphrase for BIP39 enabled devices.
Without these, you will find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recover your crypto but then that is actually the point! Nobody can access your crypto without them!
Trezor Wallets


Ledger Wallets


So now we have covered the two major brands in the Hardware wallet market let us have a look at what the others are up to…
Safepal S1


CoolWallet Pro


Ellipal Titan Wallet


Our Review Criteria:
To help you compare some of the most popular and most advanced Hardware Wallets on the market we felt it was important to focus on:
Security & vulnerabilities – How each device achieves security
Hardware wallet devices can achieve high levels of security in 4 major areas.
- Through secure login processes on the wallet device
- Through the use of secure chips that store your private keys on the device
- Through air-gapping that means the device is never connected to the internet
- Through Tamperproof / Self Destruct Mechanisms that erase your keys in the event of a hack.
Compatibility
The compatibility, or lack of (!) is a significant factor.
Supported platforms:
Does the hardware wallet work across different platforms such as PCs, Android, iOs and other smartphones.
Integrations:
If you already own or plan to use some of the most popular software wallets such as Metamask or Trust wallet it will be important to know if a hardware wallet device will connect easily to help you move your crypto off-line when you want to secure it.
Supported coins
If you are investing in top 10 crypto or finding the next low value moon shot coin, can Hardware wallets store them all?
Nft support
Whilst Nft digital art is still something of a niche, Nft’s in gaming is an area that is likely to grow very significantly. As more and more blockchains support the minting of NFT’s it will be critical to check which format of NFT your wallet device can store.
Staking
If you see yourself as more of a crypto investor rather than a trader then being able to stake your crypto to earn interest is going to be a key way to grow your wealth. What do hardware wallets offer for staking?
Buying a Hardware Wallet – Precautions you should take!
As with any other technology, it is likely that fake versions of hardware wallets may appear on the market so we encourage you to pay very close attention to the authenticity of any hardware wallet you choose to invest in.
- Only buy a hardware wallet directly from the manufacturer and their approved sellers.
- Never buy a second-hand hardware wallet as many users have lost their crypto after realizing the original owner still held the private keys to the wallet.
- Be sure that the foil or security seal on the packaging has not been tampered with when you first receive your new wallet to ensure that you are the first person opening the packaging.
- If you want to be sure that the packaging and seal on your device is legit you can compare it by checking the manufacturers website.
- If you receive a wallet device that appears to have any exterior damage whatsoever you can not be sure that it is safe to use to store your crypto.
If you are using an Android Mobile Wallet, did you get a genuine version? Avoid fakes!
Check our Android Wallets article here.
Whichever hardware wallet you choose it is still necessary to give top priority to recording and storing securely your recovery seed phrase, pincode ( if your device has one), and passphrase for BIP39 enabled devices.
Without these, you will find it extremely difficult if not impossible to recover your crypto!
Our Conclusions
The strongest hardware wallet contenders for us are still the Ledger and Trezor devices.
However, as our portfolio changes it is likely that wallets such as the Ellipal Titan, with air-gapped security and cold-staking, will become more attractive should the device prove itself in the marketplace.
Disclaimer: There may be affiliate links within this article. As a result, using some of these links may support what we do at no cost to you.