Ledger Nano S Plus review

Buy the Ledger Nano S Plus if you want the cheapest current Ledger and you always have a computer or an Android phone within reach. At $59 it is the least expensive device Ledger sells, and it carries the same ST33K1M5 secure element, certified to CC EAL6+, as the $399 Stax. The catch is the cable. There is no Bluetooth, and Ledger's own system requirements list Windows 10 or 11, macOS, Ubuntu LTS and Android 10 or later, with no iOS anywhere on the page. If you own an iPhone and no desktop, buy the Nano X instead.

Ledger released the Nano S Plus in 2022 to replace the original Nano S, and the upgrade that matters is storage. The old Nano S fit only a few coin apps at a time, so a mixed portfolio meant constantly deleting one asset to make room for another. The screen doubled too, from 128 x 32 to 128 x 64 pixels, though it is still a 1.1 inch monochrome OLED driven by two buttons, so verifying a long receiving address takes several steps.

Security is the same story as every current Ledger. Keys are generated inside a certified secure element and never leave it, every transaction is approved by pressing both buttons, and the firmware is closed source, which is the main reason people choose Trezor or BitBox instead. Two brand level incidents are worth knowing before you buy: Ledger's e-commerce customer database was breached in 2020, and its Connect Kit library was compromised in December 2023. Neither reached a device, but the first is why Ledger owners still get phishing mail that knows their address.