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Muun vs Phoenix

Comparing
two wallets
Decided by
Editorial rating
Last reviewed
2026-08-26
Muun3.8Bitcoin-only

On-chain and Lightning in one balance behind a 2-of-2 multisig, backed up by an Emergency Kit file rather than twelve words.

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: Phoenix

Phoenix rates higher on our rubric: 4.0 against 3.8 for Muun.

Criterion
Editorial rating
Muun
3.8
Phoenix
4.0

Muun 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.

Muun and Phoenix compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
FactMuunPhoenix
Editorial rating3.84.0 (favoured on this row)
StatusAvailableAvailable
Made byMuunACINQ
PriceFree downloadFree download
Who holds the keysself-custodial, a 2-of-2 multisig where your phone holds one key and your Emergency Kit holds bothself-custodial, a real Lightning node running on your phone behind a 12 word seed
Bitcoin-onlyYesYes
Runs oniOS, AndroidiOS, Android
ScreenNot statedNot stated
ConnectivityOne balance across on-chain and Lightning, with submarine swaps moving funds between the twoLightning only, connecting to ACINQ's nodes, with the option to watch the chain through your own Electrum server
ReleasedAnnounced for iOS in October 2019, after the Android appDecember 2019, alongside ACINQ's Eclair node implementation
Countries on the maker's listNo published listNo published list
Last reviewed2026-08-252026-08-26

Pros and cons, side by side

Muun

What works

  • One balance for on-chain and Lightning, so you never have to choose a rail before paying
  • 2-of-2 multisig means a stolen or malware-infected phone alone cannot spend your bitcoin
  • The Emergency Kit carries both keys and the output descriptors, so recovery does not depend on Muun
  • Mempool-based fee estimator, with the method published rather than asserted
  • Free, self-custodial and bitcoin only on both iOS and Android

What to watch

  • Your backup is an Emergency Kit file plus a recovery code, not twelve words you can stamp into steel
  • The newest post on Muun's blog was written days before taproot activated in November 2021
  • Payments that need a submarine swap settle on chain, and mining fees on those have surprised users
  • No coin control, no hardware wallet pairing and no way to point it at your own node

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 Muun or Phoenix better?

Phoenix rates higher on our rubric: 4.0 against 3.8 for Muun. 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 Muun and Phoenix free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Muun is self-custodial, a 2-of-2 multisig where your phone holds one key and your Emergency Kit holds both; Phoenix is self-custodial, a real Lightning node running on your phone behind a 12 word seed.

Is Muun 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: Muun and Phoenix, each with its sources, and every wallet we review.

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