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Edge vs Mycelium

Comparing
two wallets
Decided by
Editorial rating
Last reviewed
2026-08-26
Edge3.2

Open source mobile wallet that trades the seed phrase for a username and password, and published every detail of the one time it failed.

Mycelium3.7

One of the oldest bitcoin wallets still shipping, strong on Android with deep UTXO control, and an iPhone build nobody has verified.

Verdict: Mycelium

Mycelium rates higher on our rubric: 3.7 against 3.2 for Edge.

Criterion
Editorial rating
Edge
3.2
Mycelium
3.7

Edge and Mycelium, 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.

Edge and Mycelium compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
FactEdgeMycelium
Editorial rating3.23.7 (favoured on this row)
StatusAvailableAvailable
Made byEdgeMycelium
PriceFree downloadFree download
Who holds the keysself-custodial, keys encrypted on your device under your password before any backup leaves itself-custodial, keys generated and held on the phone, recoverable only from a backup you write down
Bitcoin-onlyNoNo
Runs oniOS, AndroidiOS, Android
ScreenNot statedNot stated
ConnectivityNot statedOptional Tor, connection to your own Bitcoin node, NFC, and hardware wallet support for Trezor, Ledger and KeepKey
Released2014 as Airbitz, relaunched as EdgeAndroid on July 1, 2013 and iPhone on December 17, 2014, per WalletScrutiny
Countries on the maker's listNo published listNo published list
Last reviewed2026-08-262026-08-25

Pros and cons, side by side

Edge

What works

  • The source is public at github.com/EdgeApp, and the same key management is sold to other developers as an SDK
  • Username and password login, so a beginner is never handed a seed phrase to lose on day one
  • Backups are encrypted on your device, so Edge holds a blob it cannot read rather than your keys
  • A signed APK is offered for Android, so you are not dependent on Google Play
  • Buying, selling, swapping, gift cards and mobile top-ups are all built in through named partners

What to watch

  • Your password is the single thing protecting the wallet, and passwords are the secret people reuse
  • The logging routine that leaked keys was committed in 2019 and went unnoticed until a user lost money in 2023
  • The 2023 logging bug wrote unencrypted private keys into logs uploaded to Edge's servers, which cost some users real money
  • Encrypted key blobs pass through Edge's infrastructure, unlike wallets that keep everything local
  • Mobile only, hot wallet, no hardware signing and no secure element

Mycelium

What works

  • Shipping on Android since July 1, 2013, one of the longest unbroken runs of any mobile bitcoin wallet
  • Real UTXO control on a phone: unspent output visibility, fee bumping, watch-only and single-address savings accounts
  • Passed all seven of WalletScrutiny's wallet tests, including public source code and an unobfuscated binary
  • Hardware wallet support for Trezor, Ledger and KeepKey, plus spending directly from paper wallets
  • Direct APK download, an Obtainium link and a published signing certificate, so Google Play is not the only way in
  • Optional Tor and your own node, with each third-party service able to be turned off on its own

What to watch

  • The iPhone app trails badly: WalletScrutiny lists 3.22.0.2 for Android against 2.10 for iPhone
  • Mycelium's iOS source repository on GitHub is archived, with no commits since June 2024
  • WalletScrutiny says no iOS build has ever been reproduced, so the reproducibility claim covers Android and not iPhone
  • WalletScrutiny discloses that its own authors have contributed to Mycelium, so its verdict is not fully independent
  • No longer bitcoin only: Ethereum and ERC-20 accounts add code a bitcoin-only wallet does not carry
  • Dated interface, and support runs through a single email address with no live channel

Frequently asked questions

Is Edge or Mycelium better?

Mycelium rates higher on our rubric: 3.7 against 3.2 for Edge. 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 Edge and Mycelium free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Edge is self-custodial, keys encrypted on your device under your password before any backup leaves it; Mycelium is self-custodial, keys generated and held on the phone, recoverable only from a backup you write down.

Is Edge or Mycelium bitcoin-only?

Neither: both support assets beyond bitcoin. Edge: Bitcoin plus Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, XRP, Dogecoin, Dash, Solana and more. Mycelium: Bitcoin first, with Ethereum and ERC-20 accounts in the same app.

The full reviews: Edge and Mycelium, each with its sources, and every wallet we review.

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