Skip to content
buybitcoinsmart
Menu

Phoenix vs Wasabi Wallet

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

Wasabi Wallet3.6Bitcoin-onlyWarning

Still a working bitcoin wallet, but the coinjoin coordinator that made its name was switched off by zkSNACKs on June 1, 2024.

Verdict: Phoenix

Phoenix rates higher on our rubric: 4.0 against 3.6 for Wasabi Wallet.

Criterion
Editorial rating
Phoenix
4.0
Wasabi Wallet
3.6

Phoenix and Wasabi 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.

Phoenix and Wasabi Wallet compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
FactPhoenixWasabi Wallet
Editorial rating4.0 (favoured on this row)3.6
StatusAvailableCaution: see the review
Made byACINQzkSNACKs
PriceFree downloadFree download
Who holds the keysself-custodial, a real Lightning node running on your phone behind a 12 word seedself-custodial, keys generated and stored on your own computer, never held by zkSNACKs
Bitcoin-onlyYesYes
Runs oniOS, AndroidWindows, macOS, Linux
ScreenNot statedNot stated
ConnectivityLightning only, connecting to ACINQ's nodes, with the option to watch the chain through your own Electrum serverAll traffic over Tor by default, compact block filters instead of a server that learns your addresses, and hardware signing through HWI for Trezor, Coldcard, Ledger, Blockstream Jade and BitBox02
ReleasedDecember 2019, alongside ACINQ's Eclair node implementation2018; the download page serves version 2.8.1 for Windows, macOS and Linux
Countries on the maker's listNo published listNo published list
Last reviewed2026-08-262026-08-25

Pros and cons, side by side

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

Wasabi Wallet

What works

  • Bitcoin only and open source under an MIT license, with a public repository that is still actively developed
  • Self-custodial: keys are generated and stored on your own computer, and zkSNACKs never held funds
  • Every connection runs over Tor by default, and compact block filters mean no server learns which addresses are yours
  • Hardware wallet signing through HWI for Trezor, Coldcard, Ledger, Blockstream Jade and BitBox02
  • Full coin control, transaction labeling and privacy suggestions that name who will learn about a payment
  • Coinjoin is still in the software: you add a third-party coordinator in place of the one zkSNACKs ran

What to watch

  • zkSNACKs switched off its coinjoin coordinator on June 1, 2024, so the feature Wasabi was known for no longer works out of the box
  • Choosing and vetting a third-party coordinator is now your problem, and each sets its own fees and terms
  • Desktop only: Wasabi's own site states it is not available on mobile
  • Trezor Suite coinjoin and BTCPay Server integrations that used the same coordinator broke on the same day
  • Silent payments are send-only: Wasabi cannot yet generate or receive to a silent payment address

Frequently asked questions

Is Phoenix or Wasabi Wallet better?

Phoenix rates higher on our rubric: 4.0 against 3.6 for Wasabi 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 Phoenix and Wasabi Wallet free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Phoenix is self-custodial, a real Lightning node running on your phone behind a 12 word seed; Wasabi Wallet is self-custodial, keys generated and stored on your own computer, never held by zkSNACKs.

Is Phoenix or Wasabi Wallet bitcoin-only?

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

Does Phoenix or Wasabi Wallet carry a warning?

Wasabi Wallet: zkSNACKs announced on May 2, 2024, days after US prosecutors charged the founders of Samourai Wallet, that it would discontinue the coinjoin coordination service behind Wasabi's headline privacy feature, and switched it off on June 1, 2024. The wallet is still developed and still works as a self-custodial, bitcoin-only desktop wallet, and coinjoin remains in the software, but you now have to find and trust a third-party coordinator to use it.

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

More comparisons

Every other head-to-head Phoenix or Wasabi Wallet appears in.