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Mycelium vs Sparrow Wallet

Comparing
two wallets
Decided by
Editorial rating
Last reviewed
2026-08-25
Mycelium3.7

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

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 3.7 for Mycelium.

Criterion
Editorial rating
Mycelium
3.7
Sparrow Wallet
4.7

Mycelium 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.

Mycelium and Sparrow Wallet compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
FactMyceliumSparrow Wallet
Editorial rating3.74.7 (favoured on this row)
StatusAvailableAvailable
Made byMyceliumSparrow Wallet
PriceFree downloadFree download
Who holds the keysself-custodial, keys generated and held on the phone, recoverable only from a backup you write downself-custodial, keys in an encrypted file on your own computer or on a hardware signer, with no account anywhere
Bitcoin-onlyNoYes
Runs oniOS, AndroidWindows, macOS, Linux
ScreenNot statedNot stated
ConnectivityOptional Tor, connection to your own Bitcoin node, NFC, and hardware wallet support for Trezor, Ledger and KeepKeyPublic Electrum servers, your own Electrum server, or Bitcoin Core, with Tor built in
ReleasedAndroid on July 1, 2013 and iPhone on December 17, 2014, per WalletScrutinyNot stated
Countries on the maker's listNo published listNo published list
Last reviewed2026-08-252026-08-25

Pros and cons, side by side

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

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 Mycelium or Sparrow Wallet better?

Sparrow Wallet rates higher on our rubric: 4.7 against 3.7 for Mycelium. 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 Mycelium and Sparrow Wallet free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Mycelium is self-custodial, keys generated and held on the phone, recoverable only from a backup you write down; Sparrow Wallet is self-custodial, keys in an encrypted file on your own computer or on a hardware signer, with no account anywhere.

Is Mycelium or Sparrow Wallet bitcoin-only?

Sparrow Wallet is bitcoin-only; Mycelium supports other assets too. Bitcoin first, with Ethereum and ERC-20 accounts in the same app

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

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