Ledger Nano X vs Nano S Plus - Which Should You Actually Buy?

These two models account for most Ledger sales, and the choice between them is refreshingly simple. They are the same wallet. One has Bluetooth and a battery; the other does not and costs about half as much.

Buy the Nano S Plus unless you will genuinely manage crypto from your phone.

The comparison#

Everything in that table that relates to protecting your keys is identical. This is not a security decision; it is a convenience decision.

What actually differs#

Bluetooth#

The Nano X pairs wirelessly with Ledger Live on iOS and Android. The Nano S Plus needs a USB-C cable and, on Android, an OTG-capable phone; on iPhone there is no practical wired option at all.

If you check balances or move funds from a phone, this is the whole ballgame. Friction determines behaviour: a wallet you cannot conveniently reach is a wallet you check less and, eventually, a wallet you leave funds off.

Bluetooth is not a security downgrade. Keys never leave the secure element regardless of transport, and every transaction still requires a physical button press with the details on the device screen. You can also switch the radio off entirely.

Battery#

The Nano X has one; the Nano S Plus draws power from the cable.

Consider this a mild point against the Nano X for deep storage. Lithium cells degrade with age whether used or not. For a device meant to sit untouched in a safe for a decade, having no battery is the more durable design. It is not a serious concern - your wallet is the 24 words, and a dead device is replaced in an afternoon - but it is a real difference.

Storage#

The Nano X has a bit more, and in practice it does not matter. Both hold roughly a hundred small apps, most EVM chains share the Ethereum app, and uninstalling a coin app never deletes funds because keys derive from your recovery phrase. Device storage is scratch space.

Price#

About $70 between them. That $70 buys a steel recovery backup plus change - and a steel backup protects against fire and flood, which destroy far more crypto than attackers do.

Decision guide#

Buy the Nano S Plus if:

• This is your first hardware wallet.
• You use a computer for crypto.
• You are buying to hold rather than to trade.
• You want a second device for a geographically separated backup or a multisig.
• You would rather put the difference into a steel backup.

Buy the Nano X if:

• Your crypto life happens on a phone, especially an iPhone.
• You travel and want access without a laptop.
• The convenience will genuinely make you use self-custody instead of leaving funds on an exchange.

Buy neither if:

• You sign smart-contract transactions regularly. Both share the same small screen, which means blind signing - the mechanism behind most drainer losses. Look at the Flex instead.

The thing neither model fixes#

Both have the same 128x64 monochrome screen, and that is their shared weakness. For sends and receives it is completely adequate: address, amount, chain, all legible.

For DeFi it is not. A contract interaction arrives as encoded call data that a small screen cannot summarise, so you enable blind signing and approve something you cannot read.

If DeFi is your main activity, spending $70 more on a Nano X buys you nothing that matters. Spend it on a Flex, or use a Nano with Rabby rather than MetaMask - Rabby simulates transactions and shows expected balance changes before you sign, which recovers a good chunk of the missing information on your computer screen.

Our recommendation#

For most readers: Nano S Plus, plus a steel backup plate. That combination costs less than a Nano X alone and covers both realistic failure modes - key theft and backup loss - rather than just one.

Upgrade to the Nano X only if mobile access is genuinely how you will use it. Upgrade to the Flex if you sign contracts. Do not upgrade because a more expensive device feels safer; across the Ledger range, it is not.

FAQ#

Is the Nano X more secure than the Nano S Plus?#

No. Both use the same class of certified secure element and the same operating system, and both keep private keys inside the chip. The Nano X adds Bluetooth and a battery, not stronger security.

Is Bluetooth on the Nano X dangerous?#

No. It carries the same unsigned-transaction-in, signature-out traffic as USB, and transactions still require physical approval on the device. It can be disabled in settings if you prefer.

Can the Nano S Plus connect to an iPhone?#

Not practically - there is no Bluetooth and iOS does not offer a usable wired path. For iPhone users the Nano X is the appropriate model.

Does the Nano X hold more coins?#

It has slightly more app storage, but both hold about a hundred apps and neither limits how much crypto you own. Removing an app never deletes funds.

Which Ledger is best for beginners?#

The Nano S Plus. It is the cheapest way to get identical security, and the money saved is better spent on a durable recovery-phrase backup.