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Ngrave Zero vs Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)

Ngrave Zero offers full desktop support. Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) features seedless design, IP69K water resistance, NFC connectivity — and costs $328 less.

2 wallets
Screen vs Screenless
Open-source vs Closed
USB vs NFC
Quick Verdict Updated 2026
Ngrave Zero
Ngrave Zero
Ngrave
61 /100
Average
Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)
Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)
Best overall
79 /100
Good
Open-formula rating 40+ criteria analyzed Last updated June 2026 No sponsored rankings

Key Takeaways

  • Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) wins in security (97/100)
  • Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) wins in ease of use (86/100)
  • Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) is more affordable ($69.9)
  • Both support 15+ cryptocurrencies
  • Best for beginners: Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) (easier setup)

Ngrave Zero vs Tangem Wallet (3 Cards): Key Differences

Both Ngrave Zero and Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) can keep your crypto safe — the real question is which one fits the way you actually use it. We've put both through our open-formula scoring on 40+ criteria: Ngrave Zero (Ngrave) lands at 61/100, Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) (Tangem) at 79/100. The $328 gap between $398 and $69.9 isn't arbitrary — these are two different bets on what matters in a hardware wallet, and the right pick depends on which bet you'd take.

Winner by Category

Which wallet leads in each area

Security
Ngrave Zero73/100
Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)97/100
Ease of Use
Ngrave Zero71/100
Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)86/100
Price
Ngrave Zero$398
Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)$69.9
Coin Support
Ngrave Zero15+
Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)85+
Privacy
Ngrave Zero34/100
Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)53/100
Beginner Friendly
Ngrave Zero71/100
Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)86/100
Comparing:
Ngrave Zero
Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)

Comparison Table

Key specifications for your decision

Ngrave Zero vs Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) — Common
Criteria
Ngrave Zero
Ngrave Zero
Ngrave
$398
View Best Price
Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)
Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)
Tangem
$69.9
View Best Price
Overall Rating
61/10079/100
Security
73/10097/100
Usability
71/10086/100
Price
$398$69.9

EAL Certification (Evaluation Assurance Level) from Common Criteria rates the security of hardware components, like secure chips in crypto hardware wallets. Higher levels, such as EAL5+ or EAL6+, indicate stronger resistance to attacks.

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YesYes

Open Source Firmware refers to firmware in hardware devices, like wallets, where the source code is publicly available, allowing transparency, auditability, and customization.

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NoYes

Bluetooth Connectivity enables wireless communication between devices, like hardware wallets and smartphones, using Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for secure data transfer.

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NoNo
USB
NoNo
Networks
15+85+

A passphrase is an additional security layer for cryptocurrency wallets, acting as a 25th word in the BIP39 seed phrase, protecting access to hidden wallets.

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YesYes

A touchscreen display is a screen that allows users to interact with a device by touching the surface, commonly used in hardware wallets for easy navigation and transaction confirmation.

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LCD Capacitive Touchscreen (480x800, 600 Cd/M²)None

Recovery is the process of restoring access to a cryptocurrency wallet using its seed phrase or mnemonic backup if the original wallet is lost or inaccessible.

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24-word seedMulti-card
Setup Time
~20 min~3 min

IP Rating refers to the level of protection a device has against dust and water, often used for hardware wallets to indicate their durability in various environments.

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IP55IP69K

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Our Verdict: Ngrave Zero or Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)?

Choose Ngrave Zero if...

  • You want on-device transaction verification via a built-in screen
  • You trust third-party audits (Common Criteria EAL7 certification of integrated ProvenCore TEE (Prove & Run)) over open-source review
  • You are comfortable managing a seed phrase
  • You need full desktop support (Windows, macOS, Linux)

Skip Ngrave Zero if...

  • × Open-source firmware is non-negotiable for you
  • × Budget is tight — you'd be better served by a cheaper option in this comparison
  • × You want wireless NFC connection — no cables

Choose Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) if...

  • You prefer a compact, screenless form factor
  • You want verifiable, open-source firmware and software
  • You prefer seedless backup via multiple linked cards
  • You want wireless NFC connectivity — no cables needed

Skip Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) if...

  • × You want to verify transactions on the wallet's own screen
  • × You manage crypto from a desktop (no Windows, macOS, or Linux app)

Our pick for most users

Based on the overall rating, Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) scores 79/100 and offers the best balance of security, usability, and value in this comparison.

View Best Price — Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)

Bottom line: Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) is our pick — it leads on both security and ease of use, and the overall score reflects that. If budget is real, Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) comes in $328 cheaper without giving up the basics.

Price: Ngrave Zero vs Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)

Ngrave Zero costs $398, while Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) is priced at $69.9 — a $328 difference. The extra cost of Ngrave Zero gets you a -18-point higher overall rating. For budget buyers, Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) offers solid security at a lower price point.

Who Should Pick Which Wallet

Recommendations based on real-world use cases

Ngrave Zero

$398
Water resistanceBuilt-in batteryAndroid supportiOS support
Pros
  • +Fully air-gapped — QR-only signing with no USB data, Bluetooth, NFC or WiFi
  • +EAL7-certified ProvenCore operating system, the highest assurance tier for a device OS
  • +Biometric fingerprint sensor plus an 8-digit PIN, with tamper-triggered auto-wipe
  • +Proprietary Perfect Key generation and the steel GRAPHENE backup ecosystem
Cons
  • Closed-source firmware that fails WalletScrutiny reproducibility checks
  • Premium price ($398, and more with the GRAPHENE backup)
  • No built-in WalletConnect; dApp access relies on MetaMask/Rabby
  • QR-only workflow is slower than USB or Bluetooth signing

Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)

$69.9
AffordableGreat priceWater resistanceWalletConnect support
Pros
  • +Samsung S3D350A EAL6+ secure element — highest consumer-grade certification
  • +3-card redundancy: access survives loss of any 2 cards simultaneously
  • +IP69K water resistance — survives high-pressure water jets
  • +No seed phrase exposure by default — private keys never leave the chip
Cons
  • Closed-source firmware — no reproducible builds or independent code audit possible
  • No display on card — transaction details verified only on paired smartphone screen
  • Desktop OS incompatible — no Linux, Windows, or macOS support
  • No Shamir Secret Sharing — multi-card backup is proprietary, not standard SLIP39

Pre-Purchase Checklist

Important points to verify regardless of your choice

All wallets ship from official manufacturer stores with full warranty.

Ngrave Zero vs Tangem Wallet (3 Cards): Frequently Asked Questions

Answers about Ngrave Zero vs Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)

Is Ngrave Zero better than Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)?
On the numbers, Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) comes out ahead — 79/100 vs 61/100 — but 'better' isn't quite the right frame. Ngrave Zero offers a different feature set, which matters more for some buyers than overall score does. If overall rating is what you actually weigh first, take Tangem Wallet (3 Cards). If specific features is the constraint that shapes your decision, Ngrave Zero is the smarter buy. Either way, both are real hardware wallets — neither is a mistake.
How much do Ngrave Zero and Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) cost?
Ngrave Zero costs $398, Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) costs $69.9. These are list prices for the standard edition from official manufacturer stores. A few things worth knowing: hardware wallet prices barely move during the year, so 'waiting for a sale' rarely pays off — Black Friday is the one exception, with 10–20% off being typical. Avoid third-party listings even if they're cheaper; the supply chain risk on a tampered device wipes out any savings the first time you load funds. And don't buy a 'used' hardware wallet, ever — even if it claims to be reset.
Does Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) work without a seed phrase — and is that safe?
Yes — and we'd argue it's a meaningful security upgrade for most users, not a downgrade. Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) replaces the 12/24-word seed phrase with two or three linked NFC cards. Each card holds an encrypted copy of the private key inside its secure element; the key never leaves the chip in plaintext, ever. The trade-off: stolen or photographed seed phrases are the single most common cause of crypto theft we see, and Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) sidesteps that whole class of attack. The catch: you must keep at least one spare card in a separate physical location, or you lose the backup advantage entirely.
What happens if I lose all my Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) cards?
Funds are unrecoverable. There's no seed phrase to fall back on, no recovery service, no manufacturer override — that's the explicit design trade-off. The mitigation is the multi-card set: every card you receive is a complete, independent backup of the same wallet. Realistic plan: keep one card on you, one at home in a safe, and one with a trusted person or in a bank deposit box. Lose any two and you're still fine. Lose all of them and the coins are gone forever.
Which wallet is better for DeFi and Web3: Ngrave Zero or Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)?
Ngrave Zero — and the gap is bigger than the spec sheets make it look. Ngrave Zero has WalletConnect built in, which means you sign DeFi transactions directly from a hardware wallet without exposing keys to a hot wallet. Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) can technically work with DeFi via third-party software, but every extra step is one more place an attacker can intercept the transaction you're approving. If you're going to be clicking 'Sign' on smart contracts more than once a month, the difference compounds fast.
Ngrave Zero vs Tangem Wallet (3 Cards): which has better backup options?
Ngrave Zero uses a standard 24-word seed phrase. Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) uses multiple linked NFC cards as encrypted backups (no seed phrase). Both work — but they reflect different ideas about what 'backup' should be. The seed phrase approach (BIP-39) is the open industry standard: portable across most wallets, well-documented, and recoverable on any compatible device. The downside is well-known too — it's a piece of paper that's a single photograph or careless moment away from disaster. Card-based backups can't be photographed and don't write themselves down, but they're proprietary, which means you trust one manufacturer to stay in business and keep the format alive. Pick based on which failure mode worries you more.
Is Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) more secure than Ngrave Zero because it's open-source?
Not automatically — and this is a more nuanced question than the marketing suggests. Open-source (Tangem Wallet (3 Cards)) lets anyone (researchers, hobbyists, paranoid users) read the firmware and verify there are no backdoors. That's the strongest possible trust signal. Ngrave Zero keeps source code private but compensates with paid third-party audits from Common Criteria EAL7 certification of integrated ProvenCore TEE (Prove & Run) and certifications like CC EAL5+/EAL6+ on the secure element. Open-source is the more transparent posture; audited closed-source can still be cryptographically airtight. Our honest take: if open-source is the deciding factor for you philosophically, pick Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) — but don't dismiss Ngrave Zero as 'less secure' purely on that basis.
Is Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) safe to use without a screen?
It can be — depending on your threat model. Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) shows transaction details on your phone or computer, which is the same screen that could be compromised by malware. The classic attack: malware swaps the destination address right before you sign, and you'd never know. Ngrave Zero lets you verify the actual address and amount on the hardware wallet itself, a screen the host computer can't touch. For day-to-day transactions under a few thousand dollars, the convenience of Tangem Wallet (3 Cards) is fine. For larger transfers, the on-device screen on Ngrave Zero is the kind of thing you only miss once.

Made your decision?

Check out full reviews or find the best price from official vendors.

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