A crypto hardware wallet is a must for anyone that has significant amounts of money invested in cryptocurrency, as it will dramatically increase the security of your crypto holdings.
If you’re in the market for a new crypto hardware wallet and can’t decide between buying an Arculus or a Ledger wallet, we’ll help you make the right choice with our comprehensive Arculus vs. Ledger comparison.
Arculus vs. Ledger at a glance
Before we take a closer look at Arculus and Ledger wallets and how they compare to each other, let’s quickly go through some of their most defining features.
Arculus Ledger Price $99
$79 (Nano S Plus)
$149 (Nano X)
$279 (Stax)
Connectivity NFC USB, Bluetooth (only Nano X and Stax) Screen No Yes (all models) Secure Element Yes (EAL6+) Yes (EAL5+ for Nano X, EAL6+ for Nano S Plus and Stax) Open source? No No
Arculus overview
Arculus is a crypto hardware wallet that has the form factor of a premium credit card. The wallet communicates with other devices, most often a smartphone, through NFC (near-field communication).
The basic workflow of making a transaction with Arculus is that the user opens the Arculus app on their smartphone, enters the details of the transaction, and then taps the Arculus card to their phone to approve the transaction.
In terms of security, Arculus implements a “3-factor authentication” design. In order for any transaction to be approved, the user must provide biometric verification on their phone, enter a six-digit PIN code, and tap the card against their smartphone. In addition, the secure element in the Arculus wallet is EAL6+ certified, which is a very high rating.
Get an Arculus Wallet
Arculus supports a solid selection of cryptocurrencies, and can be used to store and transact with leading cryptos such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and Cardano. In addition, the wallet supports custom tokens issued on the Ethereum, BNB Chain and Polygon blockchains.
If you’re wondering whether Arculus supports your cryptocurrency of choice, we recommend you refer to the full list of supported coins on the official Arculus website.
Currently, Arculus wallets are available in black and silver colorways and are selling for $99 from the manufacturer’s website. Here, we should note that the company does offer a 25% military discount.
If you’re wondering what happens if you lose your Arculus wallet, the process is the same as with any other hardware wallet. When you’re setting up your wallet, you will have to write down and securely store a seed phrase that will allow you to access your funds even if you lose your hardware wallet.
The EAL6+ secure element in the Arculus wallet means that even if someone else were to have physical possession of your Arculus, it would be extremely difficult to extract your private keys from it. Still, if you lose your Arculus wallet does or it gets stolen, it’s essential that you transfer your funds to another crypto wallet which is under your control to be 100% sure nobody else will be able to access your crypto.
Ledger overview
Ledger’s crypto hardware wallets natively support over 500 cryptocurrencies, which can be expanded to over 5,500 cryptocurrencies if we also include external services that have integrated support for Ledger.
Ledger’s devices can connect to desktop computers, laptops and mobile devices via USB (the Ledger Nano X model also supports Bluetooth).
The company provides their own wallet software called Ledger Live, but you can also use your Ledger hardware wallet to securely authorize transactions on a host of third-party software wallets. This allows users to easily access DeFi platforms and decentralized applications while keeping their crypto safe in cold storage.
Ledger's hardware wallets are superb in terms of security. Both come with the Secure Element component that stores private keys, so they can’t be tampered with. The Secure Element prevents any side-channel attacks, fault attacks, software attacks, and other types of exploits from getting access to your private keys to extract sensitive data.
Get a Ledger Wallet
In addition, the Secure Element that ships with Ledger walleets has an EAL 5+ (Evaluation Assurance Level) certification, the highest level of EAL certification available.
The operating system that powers Ledger wallets is called BOLOS, which allows applications to run independently, and ensures that transactions are confirmed with physical buttons on your Ledger device.
For an added layer of security, Ledger wallets require users to set up a PIN code, which needs to be entered to unlock the device. The PIN can be anywhere from 4 to 8 digits long.
The devices generate a 24-word recovery phrase, which can be used to recover access to your crypto assets in case the device is lost. The recovery phrase can be stored on the paper recovery sheet included in the box.
Ledger offers three different models – Ledger Nano S Plus ($79), Ledger Nano X ($149) and Ledger Stax ($279). Of the two, the Nano S Plus and the Nano X are the most popular options. If you want to learn more how these two devices stack up against each other, take a look at our Ledger Nano X vs S Plus comparison article.
Who should choose an Arculus wallet?
In comparison to Ledger’s devices, the main benefits of Arculus are its excellent portability and convenience. The Arculus wallet is worth it if the following describes you:
Portability and convenience is very important to you
You’re a mobile-first cryptocurrency user and make transactions often
You don’t want to worry about charging your hardware wallet
Who should choose a Ledger wallet?
Ledger wallets are an excellent choice for most cryptocurrency users, as they have an great security track record and strong compatibility with various cryptocurrencies and third-party cryptocurrency wallet applications. A Ledger wallet is worth it if the following describes you:
You primarily use cryptocurrencies on your desktop computer or laptop
You want a wallet that supports a very diverse range of cryptocurrencies
You are looking for the best price-to-performance ratio
You want strong compatibility with third-party software wallets and DApps
If you primarily use cryptocurrencies with your mobile device, we recommend you choose the Ledger Nano X over the Ledger Nano S Plus. This is because the Nano X can connect via Bluetooth, which is much more convenient than having to carry around a USB cable to use with your Nano S Plus.
Hardware wallets manufactured by Ledger are widely regarded as the safest and most reliable way to store Bitcoin and other crypto assets. As long as the seed phrase storage is handled with care, there's no way that any malicious actor or software could endanger the safety of your crypto.
Buy a Ledger Hardware Wallet
Hardware wallets without a screen have a risk you might not be aware of
Card-shaped hardware wallets such as Arculus, which don’t have a screen, have a security risk related to blind signing. When you’re making a transaction with a wallet such as Arculus, you have to trust that the app on your smartphone is displaying the correct information about the transaction you’re about to approve.
In theory, malware could manipulate the information presented on your smartphone app to trick you into approving a transaction that you don’t want to approve.
Meanwhile, Ledger devices have a built-in screen that you can use to verify the details of the transaction that you are approving. This means that even if the device your Ledger Live or other wallet software is installed on were to be compromised, you would still be able to see on your Ledger device that the transaction being presented to you is not the transaction that you want to approve.
While using an Arculus wallet will still significantly improve the security of your cryptocurrency compared to using a hot wallet, we think it’s important to understand that hardware wallets without a screen have certain risks.
Arculus vs. Ledger – Our verdict
Overall, we believe that Ledger is a better choice than Arculus for most cryptocurrency users.
If you’re primarily a desktop user, we believe that choosing the Ledger Nano S Plus over Arculus is a no-brainer. Not only is the Ledger Nano S Plus cheaper than Arculus, but it also supports a larger number of different cryptocurrencies and has a screen that you can use to double-check the transaction you’re about to approve.
The discussion becomes more interesting for mobile-first users. The Nano S Plus has no wireless connectivity, which means you’d need to carry around a USB cable in order to use it with your smartphone. Therefore, most mobile-first users who want a Ledger device are likely to choose the more expensive Ledger Nano X ($149), which has Bluetooth connectivity.
Arculus has the advantage over the Ledger Nano X when it comes to affordability. However, we would still recommend the Ledger Nano X over Arculus since it supports a larger number of cryptocurrencies, has a screen and much better compatibility with third-party cryptocurrency wallet applications.
Even though the Arculus hardware wallet is not inherently a bad product, it’s positioned awkwardly mostly due to its $99 price point, which doesn’t make much sense when compared to alternatives that are available on the market.
If you want a crypto hardware wallet with a card form factor, it might be worth considering Tangem instead of Arculus. Tangem wallets offer very similar functionality to Arculus but are priced much more competitively. You can buy a set of two Tangem wallets (using one as a backup) for $54.90, while the price of a single Arculus wallet is $99.
In addition to choosing a wallet, it’s also important to consider how you’re going to back up your seed phrase. A sturdy seed phrase backup solution will ensure that your seed phrase will remain safe no matter what – for more information, take a look at our list of the best metal crypto wallets for seed phrase storage.