Crypto hardware wallet comparison KeepKey vs Trezor Safe 3
Our impressions
KeepKey
Trezor Safe 3
- Has a great community and (d)app ecosystem
- Small form factor and very portable
- Excellent value at an affordable price point
- Phenomenally intuitive and efficient on-device recovery, PIN and seedphrase entry
- Outdated microUSB port
- Needs constant USB connection
- Requires constant USB connection to operate
The product has a nice build quality and finish, a solid (d)app ecosystem, and a great community. The product launched in 2015 and it shows its age, compared to newer hardware wallet products. Most notably it has no secure element, a microUSB port, and limits itself to a single button for on-device input.
That being said, we would still prefer it over any software wallet, though.
Finally the first line of Trezor products incorporating a secure element has arrived. In our opinion it easily takes the lead in the current Trezor product lineup – in terms of security and portability. Even with the launch of the newer Trezor Safe 5 it’s easily our price/performance winner.
Even though the device uses only two buttons for input, like the Model One did, and does not offer a touch-screen, like the Model T and Safe 5, its on-device recovery, PIN and seedphrase entry are phenomenal. Trezor really did something truly special with the way they handle user input despite the minimalist form factor. At less than half the price of the Trezor Safe 5 it is an easy recommendation.
Read more about the new generation of Trezor Safe 3 products.
Disclaimer: Our impressions are based on a compilation of factors tailored to the average user’s perspective. It is also important to note that whether a feature is a “pro” or “con” can depend on your situation and preferences. What may be an advantage in one scenario could be a challenge in another, and vice versa. Therefore, while reviewing these points, it’s essential to consider your unique requirements and circumstances when making decisions. This list aims to provide an idea of what to anticipate, but it is not the ultimate guide to determining whether something will work for you or not.
Key features
KeepKey
Trezor Safe 3
2015
2023
Supports multiple coins
Supports 7.000+ assets on 340+ blockchains
Supports multiple coins, Bitcoin-only mode available
- BTC, ETH, LTC, XLM , DOGE, DASH, ZEC, NEM,
- and a thousand others. See a full list at trezor.io/coins
- Firmware
- Companion software
- Firmware
- Companion software
- BIP-39 (Mnemonic phrase)
- Passphrase
- BIP-39 (Mnemonic phrase)
- SLIP-39 (Shamir backup)
- Passphrase
- On device PIN entry
after 3 wrong PIN entries an increasing timeout is applied for each wrong PIN (we stopped testing at 256 seconds around wrong PIN #8 or so)
- Secure element
- On device PIN entry
- Factory reset with wrong PIN
- Factory reset with decoy PIN
- On device passphrase entry
- On device recovery
Secure Element protected Certified Chip EAL6+
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Android
on Linux make sure to add udev rules
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Android
- iOS
- ChromeOS
iOS view only, ChromeOS is not officially supported, but it should work via Google chrome WebUSB protocol.
- FIDO U2F
- FIDO2 Webauthn
- SSH
can be used in conjunction with the companion app to store TOTP secrets and generate codes for TOTP based 2FA
Technical specifications
KeepKey
Trezor Safe 3
94 mm x 38.4 mm x 12.2 mm
3.7 in x 1.51 in x 0.48 in
59 mm x 32 mm x 7.4 mm
2.32 in x 1.26 in x 0.29 in
52 g
1.83 oz
14 g
0.49 oz
- Monochrome
- OLED
256×64 pixels
- Monochrome
- OLED
Monochrome display
128 x 64 px
- micro USB
- USB-C
180MHz embedded ARM processor (Cortex M4)
CE and RoHS certifications
Airplane and X-ray safe
Black plastics and Anodized Aluminum
Robust plastics
Available in black and multiple colors