Guarda Wallet vs Sparrow Wallet

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

A capable multi-platform wallet whose 2020 domain hijack exposed the real weakness: a login flow built on uploading your backup.

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 3.0 for Guarda Wallet.

Criterion: Editorial rating
Guarda Wallet: 3.0
Sparrow Wallet: 4.7

Guarda Wallet 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.

Guarda Wallet and Sparrow Wallet compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	Guarda Wallet	Sparrow Wallet
Editorial rating	3.0	4.7 (favoured on this row)
Status	Available	Available
Made by	Guarda	Sparrow Wallet
Price	Free download	Free download
Who holds the keys	self-custodial, keys generated on your device and encrypted under a password you choose	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, Browser extension	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	2017	Not stated
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

Guarda Wallet

What works

Guarda's CEO published a dated, detailed account of the 2020 attack, including the registrar's own logs
Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, a web app and a Chrome extension
Keys are generated locally and encrypted under your own password, and Guarda never holds them
Staking on 14 networks, multisig support and 24/7 live support, per Guarda's own site
Buying built in with cards and Apple Pay across a wide asset range

What to watch

The web and extension flow involves uploading your backup file, which is precisely what the 2020 phishing page was built to collect
The 2020 breakdown came through a domain registrar account, a dependency Guarda does not control and cannot audit
Third party perpetual futures and prediction markets now sit inside the wallet, which is more moving parts than holding bitcoin needs
The user, token and blockchain counts are Guarda's own figures, published on its own homepage
A hot wallet with no hardware signing of its own

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 Guarda Wallet or Sparrow Wallet better?

Sparrow Wallet rates higher on our rubric: 4.7 against 3.0 for Guarda Wallet. 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 Guarda Wallet and Sparrow Wallet free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Guarda Wallet is self-custodial, keys generated on your device and encrypted under a password you choose; Sparrow Wallet is self-custodial, keys in an encrypted file on your own computer or on a hardware signer, with no account anywhere.

Is Guarda Wallet or Sparrow Wallet bitcoin-only?

Sparrow Wallet is bitcoin-only; Guarda Wallet supports other assets too. Bitcoin plus more than 70 blockchains, by Guarda's own count

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

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