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Electrum vs Sparrow Wallet

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

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 4.4 for Electrum.

Criterion
Editorial rating
Electrum
4.4
Sparrow Wallet
4.7

Electrum 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.

Electrum and Sparrow Wallet compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
FactElectrumSparrow Wallet
Editorial rating4.44.7 (favoured on this row)
StatusAvailableAvailable
Made byElectrum Technologies GmbHSparrow Wallet
PriceFree downloadFree download
Who holds the keysself-custodial, keys generated and encrypted on your own machine, with transactions checked by SPVself-custodial, keys in an encrypted file on your own computer or on a hardware signer, with no account anywhere
Bitcoin-onlyYesYes
Runs onAndroid, Windows, macOS, LinuxWindows, macOS, Linux
ScreenNot statedNot stated
ConnectivityConnects to public Electrum servers or one you run yourself, verifying your transactions by SPVPublic Electrum servers, your own Electrum server, or Bitcoin Core, with Tor built in
ReleasedNovember 2011, written by Thomas VoegtlinNot stated
Countries on the maker's listNo published listNo published list
Last reviewed2026-08-252026-08-25

Pros and cons, side by side

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

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 Electrum or Sparrow Wallet better?

Sparrow Wallet 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 Electrum and Sparrow Wallet free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Electrum is self-custodial, keys generated and encrypted on your own machine, with transactions checked by SPV; Sparrow Wallet is self-custodial, keys in an encrypted file on your own computer or on a hardware signer, with no account anywhere.

Is Electrum or Sparrow Wallet bitcoin-only?

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

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

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