YubiKey vs Google Titan vs SoloKeys: what hardware 2FA actually costs

Thirty dollars versus seventy-nine. That's Google Titan against a YubiKey 5, and the gap is bigger than it looks because it isn't really the same product at two prices — it's two different bets on what "hardware security key" means.

YubiKey 5-series keys support essentially every protocol that exists — FIDO2, U2F, OTP, PIV, OpenPGP, smart card — in one physical device. That breadth is why security teams standardize on them: one key works across a huge range of services and login methods, including some older systems that only speak OTP, not modern passkeys. Google Titan is narrower and newer — it stores up to 250 discoverable passkey credentials versus roughly 25 on a YubiKey 5, and it integrates tightly with Google's own Advanced Protection Program, but it doesn't try to be everything to everyone.

SoloKeys sits at the budget, open-source end: FIDO2 only, a lower price point, and — the actual selling point for the people who buy it — publicly published hardware schematics and firmware source code you can audit yourself rather than trust blindly.

| | Price | Protocol support | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Titan | ~$30 | FIDO2/passkeys, deep Google integration | Google account, most passkey credentials |
| YubiKey 5 | ~$79 | FIDO2, U2F, OTP, PIV, OpenPGP, smart card | broadest compatibility, mixed environments |
| SoloKeys | lower, open-source | FIDO2 only | auditable firmware, budget buyers |

You need **two** keys regardless of which brand you pick — one as your daily driver, one stored somewhere safe as a backup, because losing your only hardware key to a login you can't otherwise recover from is a real and common failure mode. Budget for the pair, not a single unit, when you compare these prices.

If you're locked into the Google ecosystem and want the simplest setup, Titan at $30 for a pair is the cheapest sane option. If you need one key that works everywhere — work laptop, personal accounts, an old system that still wants OTP — pay the YubiKey premium. If open firmware you can inspect matters more to you than brand recognition, SoloKeys is worth the look.