Bitcoin Core vs Electrum

Comparing: two wallets
Decided by: Editorial rating
Last reviewed: 2026-08-25

The reference implementation, and the only wallet here that checks the rules itself instead of trusting somebody else's server.

Electrum4.4Bitcoin-only

The oldest bitcoin wallet still in active development, and the one whose users are hunted by a fake-update scam running since December 2018.

Verdict: Bitcoin Core

Bitcoin Core rates higher on our rubric: 4.7 against 4.4 for Electrum.

Criterion: Editorial rating
Bitcoin Core: 4.7
Electrum: 4.4

Bitcoin Core and Electrum, 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.

Bitcoin Core and Electrum compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	Bitcoin Core	Electrum
Editorial rating	4.7 (favoured on this row)	4.4
Status	Available	Available
Made by	Bitcoin Core project	Electrum Technologies GmbH
Price	Free download	Free download
Who holds the keys	self-custodial, keys in a wallet file on a machine that validates every block for itself	self-custodial, keys generated and encrypted on your own machine, with transactions checked by SPV
Bitcoin-only	Yes	Yes
Runs on	Windows, macOS, Linux	Android, Windows, macOS, Linux
Screen	Not stated	Not stated
Connectivity	Validates every block itself over the peer-to-peer network, so no third-party server learns your addresses	Connects to public Electrum servers or one you run yourself, verifying your transactions by SPV
Released	January 2009, as the original bitcoin client	November 2011, written by Thomas Voegtlin
Countries on the maker's list	No published list	No published list
Last reviewed	2026-08-25	2026-08-25

Pros and cons, side by side

Bitcoin Core

What works

Validates every rule for itself, so your balance does not depend on someone else's server being honest
Bitcoin only, with the keys in a wallet file on your own machine and no account anywhere
Every vulnerability the project has fixed is published, dated and classified on its own advisory page
Free and open source, maintained by a large contributor base rather than by a company
Doubles as the private backend for friendlier wallets such as Sparrow
Pruned mode still validates every block while keeping a far smaller amount of data on disk

What to watch

The first sync downloads and verifies the whole chain, which costs hours and a lot of disk space
Desktop or server only: there is no phone app
A plain wallet interface with no fiat on-ramp, no price display and no hand holding
Running an old version leaves you exposed to bugs the advisory page has already described

Electrum

What works

Continuously maintained since November 2011, which nothing else on this list can claim
Lightweight: it checks your transactions by SPV instead of downloading the whole chain
Reproducible builds, signed by several independent builders, with signatures published next to every download
Hardware wallet support for Ledger, Trezor and KeepKey, plus multisig and watch-only cold storage
MIT licensed, and anyone can run the server software it talks to, so no company controls the network
An official Android build on both Google Play and F-Droid

What to watch

Users are the target of a fake-update scam that ZDNet traced to more than 22 million dollars of thefts by October 2020
The interface assumes you already know what a change address and a derivation path are
Windows builds are often flagged by antivirus heuristics, which the project says it cannot do anything about
No iOS version, and no built-in way to buy bitcoin
Two-factor signing runs through a third party, Trustedcoin, rather than the wallet alone

Frequently asked questions

Is Bitcoin Core or Electrum better?

Bitcoin Core rates higher on our rubric: 4.7 against 4.4 for Electrum. 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 Bitcoin Core and Electrum free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Bitcoin Core is self-custodial, keys in a wallet file on a machine that validates every block for itself; Electrum is self-custodial, keys generated and encrypted on your own machine, with transactions checked by SPV.

Is Bitcoin Core or Electrum bitcoin-only?

Both are bitcoin-only: neither supports another coin, which is a deliberate design choice for a smaller codebase.

The full reviews: Bitcoin Core and Electrum, each with its sources, and every wallet we review.

More comparisons

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