Privacy.com vs X1 Card
Two virtual cards people weigh up side by side. We put Privacy.com and X1 Card on the same rows so the difference is easy to see.
Privacy.com issues on Visa · Mastercard and X1 Card on Visa; verification is ID only at Privacy.com versus ID + proof at X1 Card.
Privacy.com is the more cost-effective option for everyday spending and travel thanks to its free virtual cards, no monthly fee. X1 Card still clears the same checkouts in our tests, so match the table to the services you actually pay for.
The two, compared
| Field | Privacy.com | X1 Card |
|---|---|---|
| Card network | Visa, Mastercard | Visa |
| Card type | Fintech Wallet | Fintech Wallet |
| KYC | ID only | ID + proof |
| Card issuance fee | Free | Free (metal card) |
| Monthly fee | Free (Personal free; Plus $5 / Pro $10 / Premium $25 per mo) | No annual fee |
| Top-up fee | — | — |
| FX fee | 3% foreign (min $0.50); $0 on Pro/Premium | 0% |
| Crypto funding | No | No |
| AI tool support | ChatGPT / Claude / Midjourney | — |
| Risk level | Low | Low |
| Our rating | 9.2 | 8.5 |
| User reviews | 74 | 77 |
| Best for | All-rounder · Ad spend | App Store / Play · Free issuance |
A green left edge marks the side that holds the advantage on that row, where the data gives one.
The short version of the matchup
- Multi-task users get more from Privacy.com — it clears more of the checkouts we run through our test suite.
- Privacy.com has the lighter onboarding; X1 Card will want more documents from you.
- In our scoring, Privacy.com finished ahead of X1 Card — not by a mile, but enough to tilt a tiebreak.
Side by side
Run the numbers against your own usage. Privacy.com runs free to create plus no top-up fee per top-up; X1 Card runs free plus no top-up fee. For one or two subscriptions the first column wins; for the rows where it leads in the table, the second does.
Questions people ask
That depends on what you spend on. Privacy.com scores 9.2/10 against X1 Card's 8.5/10 in our tests, but the two split on fees, KYC and crypto funding. Read the table above, then match it to the checkouts you actually run.
Privacy.com is the cheaper card to run. Both Privacy.com and X1 Card issue virtual cards for free; Privacy.com converts currency at 3% versus 0%.
Privacy.com asks for ID only at signup; X1 Card asks for ID + proof. If a light sign-up is the priority, the one with the lower KYC label is the faster route.
Both show up in 5 of the same test scenarios, including Etsy, Sephora US, Nike US. They overlap on a good share of checkouts, so the choice between them matters most on those pages. Where one is accepted and the other is not usually comes down to the billing country and 3-D Secure handling.
Where both show up
Privacy.com and X1 Card both landed in our top picks for 5 checkouts. Grouped by category so you can jump straight to the one you actually pay for:
🛍️ Cross-border Shopping 3
🎮 Gaming 2
Their BIN ranges
Cards issued in 🇺🇸 US — the country guides group every range we track from there.
What our charge log shows
Every count here is a real charge attempt we placed on that range, renewals included, with the gateway response recorded. Weeks tracked is how long the range has been in the programme: