Sparrow Wallet vs Wallet of Satoshi

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.

Wallet of Satoshi2.7Bitcoin-onlyWarning

The easiest Lightning wallet to start with, and a custodial one: the company holds your coins, and it has stopped offering that in the US and the EU.

Verdict: Sparrow Wallet

Sparrow Wallet rates higher on our rubric: 4.7 against 2.7 for Wallet of Satoshi.

Criterion: Editorial rating
Sparrow Wallet: 4.7
Wallet of Satoshi: 2.7

Sparrow Wallet and Wallet of Satoshi, 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 Wallet of Satoshi compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	Sparrow Wallet	Wallet of Satoshi
Editorial rating	4.7 (favoured on this row)	2.7
Status	Available	Caution: see the review
Made by	Sparrow Wallet	Living Room of Satoshi Pty Ltd
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	custodial in its default mode, meaning the company holds the keys, with a separate self-custodial mode where you do
Bitcoin-only	Yes	Yes
Runs on	Windows, macOS, Linux	iOS, Android
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	The custodial service left the US on November 23, 2023 and the European Union at the turn of 2026
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

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

Wallet of Satoshi

What works

The fastest way onto Lightning there is: no channels, no liquidity management and no node to run
Free Lightning address that reads like an email, so anyone can pay you without scanning a code
Pays Lightning invoices and on-chain bitcoin addresses from the same box, detecting which you pasted
A self-custodial mode is offered everywhere, including in regions where the custodial one is not
No breach of its custodial infrastructure has been publicly reported

What to watch

Custodial in its default mode, so the company can freeze, lose or stop serving your balance
Left the US market on November 23, 2023 and has not announced a return
Withdrew the custodial service across the European Union at the turn of 2026, pushing EU users into self-custody
No published country list, so which mode you get is decided by the app rather than by a page you can read first
In-app buying runs through third-party partners whose country coverage changes without the wallet saying anything

Frequently asked questions

Is Sparrow Wallet or Wallet of Satoshi better?

Sparrow Wallet rates higher on our rubric: 4.7 against 2.7 for Wallet of Satoshi. 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 Wallet of Satoshi 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; Wallet of Satoshi is custodial in its default mode, meaning the company holds the keys, with a separate self-custodial mode where you do.

Is Sparrow Wallet or Wallet of Satoshi bitcoin-only?

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

Does Sparrow Wallet or Wallet of Satoshi carry a warning?

Wallet of Satoshi: Wallet of Satoshi pulled its app from US app stores and stopped serving US customers on November 23, 2023, then withdrew its custodial Lightning service across the European Union at the turn of 2026, as the MiCA transition periods and the DAC8 reporting rules closed in on custodial providers. EU users are offered the self-custodial mode instead. Wherever the custodial mode is still available, the company holds the keys, which is the risk to weigh before you put money in it.

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

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