Aqua vs Coinbase Wallet

Comparing: two wallets
Decided by: Editorial rating
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26

A self-custodial Bitcoin, Liquid and Tether USDt wallet built for people who need cheap dollars on a phone, not only bitcoin.

Coinbase Wallet3.1

Coinbase's self-custody wallet is now Base App, and the product has moved its center of gravity to Base.

Verdict: Aqua

Aqua rates higher on our rubric: 3.6 against 3.1 for Coinbase Wallet.

Criterion: Editorial rating
Aqua: 3.6
Coinbase Wallet: 3.1

Aqua and Coinbase Wallet, fact by fact

Every row is from the two reviews as of their review dates, with sources on each. A check marks the side a decidable criterion favours; rows without one are information, not a score.

Aqua and Coinbase Wallet compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	Aqua	Coinbase Wallet
Editorial rating	3.6 (favoured on this row)	3.1
Status	Available	Available
Made by	JAN3	Coinbase
Price	Free download	Free download
Who holds the keys	self-custodial, with the seed stored on your device in Keychain on iOS or EncryptedSharedPreferences on Android	self-custodial, keys held on your device, unlike the custodial Coinbase.com exchange account
Bitcoin-only	No	No
Runs on	iOS, Android	iOS, Android
Screen	Not stated	Not stated
Connectivity	On-chain bitcoin, the Liquid Network, and Lightning through submarine swaps rather than channels of its own	Not stated
Released	2024, by JAN3	2018, relaunched under the Base App name
Countries on the maker's list	No published list	No published list
Last reviewed	2026-08-25	2026-08-26

Pros and cons, side by side

Aqua

What works

Self-custodial, with the seed kept in the phone's own secure storage and no documents required to open a wallet
Bitcoin, Liquid and Tether USDt in one app, which is the point for anyone who is paid or saves in dollars
Aqua's own figures put a $100 USDt transfer at three cents over Liquid against eight dollars over Ethereum
Network fees on USDt can be paid in USDt, so there is no separate gas token to hold
Replace-by-fee support, so a stuck transaction can be bumped instead of waited out
Client source published on GitHub, and Aqua says it collects no personal data or transaction logs

What to watch

Not bitcoin only: a large part of the app is about stablecoins
Liquid balances are secured by the Liquid federation rather than by bitcoin's own mining
Lightning runs through third-party submarine swaps rather than channels Aqua manages
USDt transfers over Tron or Ethereum depend on SideShift's liquidity, as Aqua's own FAQ says
In-app bitcoin purchases are run by outside providers, so the country rules and the support queue are theirs
A prepaid card and lending are advertised as coming rather than shipped

Coinbase Wallet

What works

Genuinely self-custodial and separate from the custodial Coinbase.com exchange account
Backed by a large listed company with a real security team and a bug bounty
Apple Pay deposits and a familiar trading interface for people already using Coinbase
Holds bitcoin alongside Ethereum, Solana and Base assets in one app

What to watch

The product has been rebranded as Base App, so most reviews and guides describe an app that no longer looks like this
Built around Base and trading rather than around bitcoin, with no Lightning and no coin control
coinbase.com/legal/wallet now returns a 404, so there is no wallet-specific terms document to read
A hot wallet on a phone, with no secure element
The May 2025 support contractor breach put real customer names and addresses in criminal hands, which fuels convincing impersonation

Frequently asked questions

Is Aqua or Coinbase Wallet better?

Aqua rates higher on our rubric: 3.6 against 3.1 for Coinbase Wallet. The rating follows the product rubric published on our about page; the rows above set custody, price and platforms side by side so you can check it.

Are Aqua and Coinbase Wallet free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Aqua is self-custodial, with the seed stored on your device in Keychain on iOS or EncryptedSharedPreferences on Android; Coinbase Wallet is self-custodial, keys held on your device, unlike the custodial Coinbase.com exchange account.

Is Aqua or Coinbase Wallet bitcoin-only?

Neither: both support assets beyond bitcoin. Aqua: Multi-asset: bitcoin on chain, Liquid bitcoin, and Tether USDt on Liquid and several other chains. Coinbase Wallet: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Base network assets, per the app's own sign-in page.

The full reviews: Aqua and Coinbase Wallet, each with its sources, and every wallet we review.

More comparisons

Every other head-to-head Aqua or Coinbase Wallet appears in.