Sparrow Wallet vs Trust Wallet

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

The desktop wallet to coordinate hardware signers and multisig from, with a verification tool that also checks other projects' releases.

Trust Wallet2.9

Use the phone app, think twice about the extension: an attacker published a malicious build of it on December 24, 2025.

Verdict: Sparrow Wallet

Sparrow Wallet rates higher on our rubric: 4.7 against 2.9 for Trust Wallet.

Criterion: Editorial rating
Sparrow Wallet: 4.7
Trust Wallet: 2.9

Sparrow Wallet and Trust 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.

Sparrow Wallet and Trust Wallet compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	Sparrow Wallet	Trust Wallet
Editorial rating	4.7 (favoured on this row)	2.9
Status	Available	Available
Made by	Sparrow Wallet	Trust Wallet
Price	Free download	Free download
Who holds the keys	self-custodial, keys in an encrypted file on your own computer or on a hardware signer, with no account anywhere	self-custodial, keys generated on your own device and never held by Trust Wallet
Bitcoin-only	Yes	No
Runs on	Windows, macOS, Linux	iOS, Android, Browser extension
Screen	Not stated	Not stated
Connectivity	Public Electrum servers, your own Electrum server, or Bitcoin Core, with Tor built in	Not stated
Released	Not stated	2017
Countries on the maker's list	No published list	228
Last reviewed	2026-08-25	2026-08-25

Pros and cons, side by side

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

Trust Wallet

What works

Keys are generated on your device, and Trust Wallet's terms describe it as non-custodial software rather than an account
The mobile apps were untouched by the December 2025 browser extension compromise
Trust Wallet published a dated timeline that names its own leaked publishing key as the way in
It decided to reimburse affected users voluntarily and put the process in writing
One app holds bitcoin alongside Ethereum, Solana and hundreds of other chains

What to watch

An attacker shipped a malicious build of the Chrome extension directly to users, so installing it means trusting a publishing pipeline that has failed once
Trust Wallet counts 2,520 affected addresses against over 5,000 reimbursement claims, and reviews them case by case with no published deadline
Keys sit on an internet connected phone, so this is a hot wallet: savings belong on a hardware wallet instead
Bitcoin is one chain among hundreds, and the interface is built around tokens and dapps rather than around bitcoin
The Earn feature is unavailable in 33 countries and territories, including the United States, the United Kingdom and most of the European Economic Area

Frequently asked questions

Is Sparrow Wallet or Trust Wallet better?

Sparrow Wallet rates higher on our rubric: 4.7 against 2.9 for Trust 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 Sparrow Wallet and Trust Wallet free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Sparrow Wallet is self-custodial, keys in an encrypted file on your own computer or on a hardware signer, with no account anywhere; Trust Wallet is self-custodial, keys generated on your own device and never held by Trust Wallet.

Is Sparrow Wallet or Trust Wallet bitcoin-only?

Sparrow Wallet is bitcoin-only; Trust Wallet supports other assets too. Bitcoin alongside Ethereum, Solana and hundreds of other chains and tokens

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

More comparisons

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