Edge vs Sparrow Wallet

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

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

Sparrow Wallet4.7Bitcoin-only

The desktop wallet to coordinate hardware signers and multisig from, with a verification tool that also checks other projects' releases.

Verdict: Sparrow Wallet

Sparrow Wallet rates higher on our rubric: 4.7 against 3.2 for Edge.

Criterion: Editorial rating
Edge: 3.2
Sparrow Wallet: 4.7

Edge and Sparrow 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.

Edge and Sparrow Wallet compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	Edge	Sparrow Wallet
Editorial rating	3.2	4.7 (favoured on this row)
Status	Available	Available
Made by	Edge	Sparrow Wallet
Price	Free download	Free download
Who holds the keys	self-custodial, keys encrypted on your device under your password before any backup leaves it	self-custodial, keys in an encrypted file on your own computer or on a hardware signer, with no account anywhere
Bitcoin-only	No	Yes
Runs on	iOS, Android	Windows, macOS, Linux
Screen	Not stated	Not stated
Connectivity	Not stated	Public Electrum servers, your own Electrum server, or Bitcoin Core, with Tor built in
Released	2014 as Airbitz, relaunched as Edge	Not stated
Countries on the maker's list	No published list	No published list
Last reviewed	2026-08-26	2026-08-25

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

Sparrow Wallet

What works

Bitcoin only, open source and free, with no account and no server holding anything of yours
First-class multisig: build a quorum across several hardware signers and keep the descriptor
Works with hardware wallets over USB or fully air-gapped by QR code or SD card, with complete PSBT support
Full coin control and labels on every transaction, input and output, plus a transaction editor that shows the raw bytes
Every release ships a signed manifest, and Sparrow verifies the next download, Bitcoin Core and hardware wallet firmware from inside the app
Connects to your own Electrum server or Bitcoin Core, with Tor built in

What to watch

Desktop only: there is no iOS or Android app
The UTXO detail and the transaction editor are the point, and they are a lot to meet on day one
No built-in way to buy bitcoin, so the coins have to arrive from an exchange or a peer
Effectively a single maintainer, which is a concentration risk whatever the quality of the code

Frequently asked questions

Is Edge or Sparrow Wallet better?

Sparrow Wallet rates higher on our rubric: 4.7 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 Sparrow Wallet 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; Sparrow Wallet is self-custodial, keys in an encrypted file on your own computer or on a hardware signer, with no account anywhere.

Is Edge or Sparrow Wallet bitcoin-only?

Sparrow Wallet is bitcoin-only; Edge supports other assets too. Bitcoin plus Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, XRP, Dogecoin, Dash, Solana and more

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

More comparisons

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