Foundation Passport vs SafePal S1

Comparing: two wallets
Decided by: Editorial rating
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26

Bitcoin-only hardware from a US company, now sold as the $349 Passport Prime: keys, two factor codes, security keys and encrypted storage in one device.

SafePal S13.5

Budget air-gapped signer with no USB data, WiFi, Bluetooth or NFC: every transaction crosses as a scanned QR code.

Verdict: Foundation Passport

Foundation Passport rates higher on our rubric: 4.3 against 3.5 for SafePal S1.

Criterion: Editorial rating
Foundation Passport: 4.3
SafePal S1: 3.5

Foundation Passport and SafePal S1, fact by fact

Every row is from the two reviews as of their review dates, with sources on each. A check marks the side a decidable criterion favours; rows without one are information, not a score.

Foundation Passport and SafePal S1 compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	Foundation Passport	SafePal S1
Editorial rating	4.3 (favoured on this row)	3.5
Status	Available	Available
Made by	Foundation Devices	SafePal
Price	$349	Not published
Who holds the keys	self-custodial, keys held on dedicated hardware and isolated from sandboxed apps by the KeyOS microkernel	self-custodial, keys held offline on a device with no USB data, WiFi, Bluetooth or NFC connection
Bitcoin-only	Yes	No
Runs on	iOS, Android	iOS, Android
Screen	Not stated	Small color screen with a camera for reading QR codes
Connectivity	QuantumLink encrypted Bluetooth through a dedicated chip, plus NFC and USB for security key use; setup and updates run through the Envoy app	QR codes only: no USB data, WiFi, Bluetooth or NFC
Released	Not stated	Not stated
Countries on the maker's list	No published list	No published list
Last reviewed	2026-08-26	2026-08-25

Pros and cons, side by side

Foundation Passport

What works

Bitcoin only, with open source apps and a published independent audit quote
KeyOS sandboxes apps so a compromised app cannot reach the master keys
Bluetooth runs through a dedicated chip rather than the processor holding your secrets
Envoy is distributed on F-Droid as well as the App Store and Google Play
Assembled in the USA, which matters if supply chain provenance is part of your threat model

What to watch

$349 is well above most bitcoin-only signers
Passport Core, the cheaper earlier model, has been discontinued
No reachable country list: the terms name a Shipping Policy that is not published anywhere, and Foundation may refuse an order over export or sanctions concerns
A smaller company with a shorter public track record than Ledger, Trezor or Coinkite

SafePal S1

What works

No USB data, WiFi, Bluetooth or NFC: the only channel in or out is a QR code on a camera
SafePal's budget cold storage line, positioned below the newer Bluetooth X1
Broad asset support with swap, buy and DeFi features for people who hold more than bitcoin
SafePal accepted an outside security report from Kraken Security Labs and shipped a fix

What to watch

Not bitcoin-only, and the companion app is a broad crypto app rather than a focused signer
The February 2021 Kraken disclosure showed the firmware update check could be downgraded without the user noticing
Verification happens on a small screen, which makes careful address checking slower
SafePal publishes no shipping country policy, pointing at a reseller network instead

Frequently asked questions

Is Foundation Passport or SafePal S1 better?

Foundation Passport rates higher on our rubric: 4.3 against 3.5 for SafePal S1. The rating follows the product rubric published on our about page; the rows above set custody, price and platforms side by side so you can check it.

Is Foundation Passport or SafePal S1 bitcoin-only?

Foundation Passport is bitcoin-only; SafePal S1 supports other assets too. Multi-asset: bitcoin among a long list of chains and tokens, managed through the SafePal app

The full reviews: Foundation Passport and SafePal S1, each with its sources, and every wallet we review.

More comparisons

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