Standard vs. Premium: how to tell which one you need
We get some version of this question a lot, should I use Casa’s Premium or Standard plan?
Both plans are self-custodial and you hold your keys on either one, with Casa holding a single key. Regardless of paid tier, sovereign recovery and inheritance are always available.
What separates the two plans comes down to three things:
1. How fast you can complete a transaction when you're missing a key
2. How much redundancy your vault has
3. How much hands-on security guidance you get from Casa along the way
Who each plan is for
Over the years, we have observed three reasons that motivate people to upgrade from Standard to Premium:
- Size of stack. Bitcoiners who choose Premium are generally wholecoiners or larger, holding around one bitcoin or more.
- Key usage. More keys can sound like more to manage, but the redundancy of more keys works in your favor. Each extra key means more room for one of them to be lost, damaged, or compromised without costing you anything, so you worry less about any single key.
- Extra protections and support. Both plans include the same additional Social Engineering protections, Whitelisting, Suspicious Account Activity detection, and Phone Call Detection. Premium adds Guardian Mode, drops the Casa Key's wait from 7 days to 2, swaps written verification questions for a live video call, and includes a full onboarding security kit.
Standard is the right solution for plenty of people in that a 3-key vault solves the core problem of removing a single point of failure for their bitcoin. For many users, the added security, functionality, and features Premium offers are a better solution.
Signing and account security
A multisig vault needs a quorum of keys to move funds. On Casa’s Standard membership, you get a 3-key vault, which means you need two keys to sign, either two of your own keys or the Casa Key and one of your own. As a Premium member you can choose to have both a 5-key and 3-key vault.
On both plans, Casa holds one key of your vault that can provide a signature whenever needed once you pass a verification check. Casa does not KYC and has two different ways to verify you depending on your membership tier.
On Standard, verification runs through written security questions you set, with a 7-day wait before Casa adds the signature. With Premium, on both 3-key and 5-key vaults, verification happens over a live video call with our Client Services team and the wait before the Casa Key signs decreases to 2 days. For clients that want to utilize the Casa key and move funds regularly, that is the difference that has the biggest impact.
If you travel with one hardware wallet and your phone, you will have two signatures out of the three required in a 5-key vault. The Casa Key can act as your 3rd key and sign transactions instead of sending you to a 3rd location for your other keys.
Additional Security protections
This year, we launched four new security protections. Standard clients can access three of those features, while Premium members and Private clients have access to all four, including Guardian Mode. When enabled, Guardian Mode requires that every transaction from a vault needs a verification video call with the Casa team and a signature from the Casa Key. Premium members and Private Clients can enable it on any vault, and disabling it runs through the same video call, then a 48-hour wait, so it can't be turned off and acted on immediately. You still hold the majority of keys in your vault either way, and sovereign recovery stays available with Guardian Mode on.
Vault redundancy
Multisig solves the single point of failure problem. You need a majority of keys, not just one, to move funds. Standard vaults require 2 of 3 keys for that majority. Premium members have access to 3 of 5 key vaults and can spread their keys across more hardware vendors and more locations, for meaningfully more redundancy.
Spreading your keys across hardware vendors is important when setting up a vault. Faulty firmware updates, manufacturer vulnerabilities and supply chain issues are potential points of failure. If each key in your vault comes from a different vendor, no single vendor issue can completely compromise your vault.
While five keys is more to manage than three, it unlocks more vendors and more places to put your keys. Standard's 3-key vault has fewer devices to track, fewer locations to manage, and for most holdings, that's often the more practical setup. If you want to keep your 3-key vault but take advantage of Premium’s support options, some users prefer this.
Ongoing guidance and support
Vault security is an ongoing process, not a one-time setup, and we treat it that way. We've seen prospective members open a configuration nobody's reviewed in years and find it no longer matches how they live. Premium's client advisory team access exists for that, with reviews roughly every 6 months from people who already know how your vault is built and can answer security questions as they come up.
If you are interested in a dedicated advisor, Private Client goes further with a dedicated advisor and a 24-hour line. On either plan, our security best practices guide covers the habits that matter most between reviews.
Inheritance and succession
Casa’s Standard membership already includes inheritance, one recipient per vault, no KYC required, available worldwide. Premium adds a shared account where two members can have equal access to the same vault today, not access that begins after you die. See Shared Accounts for eligibility, verification, and learn more.
What is included: hardware and setup
The Premium security kit includes two hardware wallets, two Yubikeys, four tamper-evident bags, four Faraday bags, and a guided onboarding video setup. It also includes periodic check-ins regarding the day-to-day running of your multi-key vault, covering seed storage and key placement rather than just the hardware alone. Premium members have access to unlimited video support calls and receive one free device replacement a year.
Standard membership doesn't include a security kit or any of the hardware extras, and for many members that's the point, you bring your own hardware, and keep control over what you're running.
Which plan should I choose?
Casa’s Standard and Premium memberships are optimized for different life scenarios and both are a great next step for people moving from a single-signature wallet. The difference between Casa’s Standard and Premium vaults is faster recovery, more key redundancy, access to video support, and additional security features like Guardian Mode. A Standard 3-key vault is a complete, permanent setup for plenty of members, one they never need to move past. If your stack, life, or risk tolerances change, upgrading to Premium later is always available.