{"id":35,"date":"2026-08-30T11:48:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T11:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getbitcoin.guide\/articles\/ledger-nano-s-plus-review\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T09:27:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T09:27:51","slug":"ledger-nano-s-plus-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getbitcoin.guide\/articles\/ledger-nano-s-plus-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Ledger Nano S Plus: The Cheaper Wallet, and Why It Wins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Nano S Plus is the cheaper hardware wallet in the range. It drops Bluetooth and the battery, has less storage for applications, and keeps the part that matters, which is a secure element holding your keys and a screen you verify transactions on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For most people this is the right purchase, and the reasoning is worth spelling out because the instinct to buy the more expensive model is strong and usually wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you are actually paying more for<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Feature<\/th>Cheaper model<\/th>More expensive model<\/th>Does it affect security?<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Secure element<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>This is the security<\/td><\/tr>
On device verification screen<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>This is the other half of it<\/td><\/tr>
Bluetooth<\/td>No<\/td>Yes<\/td>Adds surface, does not expose keys<\/td><\/tr>
Battery<\/td>No<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td><\/tr>
App storage<\/td>Less<\/td>More<\/td>No, keys derive from the phrase<\/td><\/tr>
Recovery phrase standard<\/td>Same<\/td>Same<\/td>Recoverable on either, or elsewhere<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The two rows that constitute the security model are identical. Everything the extra money buys is convenience, and one of those conveniences is a radio, which is a small addition to attack surface rather than a subtraction. The same holds at the top of the range, where the Ledger Stax and its bigger screen<\/a> share a secure element part number with this device. The one current exception is the Nano X, whose older chip shows up in our table of all five Ledger devices with their chips and prices<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The specifics, from Ledger’s own product page<\/a> on 6 September 2026: the Nano S Plus is USB-C only, has no battery, and carries an ST33K1M5 secure element certified to Common Criteria EAL6+. That is the same chip family and the same certification level as the models above it in the range. Ledger does not render a price to an automated reader, and review sites quoting one earn a commission on the link, so take the figure from the store itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One point of genuine confusion worth clearing up: this is not the original Ledger Nano S. That device was retired and no longer receives firmware or application updates. The S Plus is a different, current product, and the two get mixed up constantly in secondhand listings, which is one more reason not to buy one there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who genuinely needs the more expensive one<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

People who will actually sign from a phone regularly and without a cable. That is a real use case and if it is yours the extra cost is justified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you sign from a computer, which most people do, you would be paying for Bluetooth you never enable. the Bluetooth model<\/a> covers that model in detail if you are weighing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hardware
No radio is not a limitation if you sign from a computer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Where the saved money should go<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is the actually useful part of the comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most common way people lose self custodied bitcoin is not a broken device. It is a recovery phrase that was written on the card in the box and stored in a drawer, then lost, damaged, thrown out during a move, or found by someone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n