BlueWallet vs Phoenix

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

BlueWallet4.2Bitcoin-only

Bitcoin-only phone wallet with real coin control and multisig vaults, whose Lightning side is custodial unless you run the server yourself.

Phoenix4.0Bitcoin-only

A real Lightning node on your phone from the team behind Eclair, with a published fee table and a privacy tradeoff ACINQ states outright.

Verdict: BlueWallet

BlueWallet rates higher on our rubric: 4.2 against 4.0 for Phoenix.

Criterion: Editorial rating
BlueWallet: 4.2
Phoenix: 4.0

BlueWallet and Phoenix, 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.

BlueWallet and Phoenix compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	BlueWallet	Phoenix
Editorial rating	4.2 (favoured on this row)	4.0
Status	Available	Available
Made by	BlueWallet	ACINQ
Price	Free download	Free download
Who holds the keys	self-custodial on-chain, while a Lightning balance is only as self-custodial as the LNDHub server behind it	self-custodial, a real Lightning node running on your phone behind a 12 word seed
Bitcoin-only	Yes	Yes
Runs on	iOS, Android	iOS, Android
Screen	Not stated	Not stated
Connectivity	Talks to public Electrum servers or one you run; Lightning needs an LNDHub server, yours or someone else's	Lightning only, connecting to ACINQ's nodes, with the option to watch the chain through your own Electrum server
Released	BlueWallet dates itself to the 2017 fork wars; the iOS and Android apps followed	December 2019, alongside ACINQ's Eclair node implementation
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

BlueWallet

What works

Bitcoin only, open source and free, from the App Store, Google Play or a direct download
Genuine coin control: label and freeze individual coins, batch sends, and speed up or cancel with RBF and CPFP
Signs for Coldcard, Passport, Jade, Keystone and other PSBT hardware wallets, and runs watch-only so keys never touch the phone
Multisig vaults for larger holdings, documented step by step by the project
Connects to your own Electrum server, so you do not have to hand your addresses to a stranger's
Plausible deniability storage for a forced-disclosure situation

What to watch

A Lightning wallet here is an account on an LNDHub server, and whoever runs it can move those funds
Running your own LNDHub means a VPS or a home node, which is far past what most phone users will do
Lightning funds are not covered by the on-chain recovery phrase and need a separate backup
A hot wallet on a phone, so device malware or an unlocked screen reaches what the app can spend

Phoenix

What works

A real self-custodial Lightning node on the phone, not an account on somebody's server
Fees published as a table on ACINQ's own site: 0.4% plus 4 sat to send, free to receive when you have liquidity
Standard BIP39 seed on a BIP84 path, recoverable in Electrum if ACINQ ever disappeared
Built by ACINQ, which develops the Eclair implementation and runs a large routing node
Rotating taproot receive addresses, with swaps that look like ordinary transactions on chain

What to watch

ACINQ's own FAQ says Phoenix offers no privacy advantage over a custodial wallet and that ACINQ knows the destination and amount of payments
Receiving without enough inbound liquidity costs 1% plus mining fees, and a new channel costs 1,000 sat
No on-chain balance, which makes it a spending wallet rather than somewhere to park savings
Recovering from a force close takes roughly 720 blocks, about five days
Wake-up notifications rely on Google services, so GrapheneOS users need the sandboxed Play Services app
Was off US app stores from May 3, 2024 until some point in 2025, which is why some reviews still call it unavailable there

Frequently asked questions

Is BlueWallet or Phoenix better?

BlueWallet rates higher on our rubric: 4.2 against 4.0 for Phoenix. 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 BlueWallet and Phoenix free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: BlueWallet is self-custodial on-chain, while a Lightning balance is only as self-custodial as the LNDHub server behind it; Phoenix is self-custodial, a real Lightning node running on your phone behind a 12 word seed.

Is BlueWallet or Phoenix bitcoin-only?

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

The full reviews: BlueWallet and Phoenix, each with its sources, and every wallet we review.

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