Wallet of Satoshi vs Zengo

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

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.

Zengo3.4

The wallet with no seed phrase: two MPC shares replace the private key, which removes one risk and adds a dependency.

Verdict: Zengo

Zengo rates higher on our rubric: 3.4 against 2.7 for Wallet of Satoshi.

Criterion: Editorial rating
Wallet of Satoshi: 2.7
Zengo: 3.4

Wallet of Satoshi and Zengo, 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.

Wallet of Satoshi and Zengo compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	Wallet of Satoshi	Zengo
Editorial rating	2.7	3.4 (favoured on this row)
Status	Caution: see the review	Available
Made by	Living Room of Satoshi Pty Ltd	Zengo
Price	Free download	Free download
Who holds the keys	custodial in its default mode, meaning the company holds the keys, with a separate self-custodial mode where you do	self-custodial MPC, with no seed phrase: one secret share on your phone, one on Zengo's server, never combined
Bitcoin-only	Yes	No
Runs on	iOS, Android	iOS, Android
Screen	Not stated	Not stated
Connectivity	Not stated	Not stated
Released	The custodial service left the US on November 23, 2023 and the European Union at the turn of 2026	2018
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

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

Zengo

What works

No seed phrase exists, so there is nothing to write down, photograph, or be tricked into typing
Two independently created MPC shares, one on your phone and one on Zengo's server, that are never combined
Three factor recovery, with a documented option to register a backup for each of the three
Zengo says its MPC cryptography is open source, audited and peer reviewed
Support is available 24/7 from inside the app, which is rare in self-custody

What to watch

Signing requires Zengo's server, so the wallet depends on the company staying reachable in a way a seed phrase does not
The wallet app itself is closed source; only the cryptography underneath it is published
Recovery runs through your email, your cloud account and a face scan, which is three dependencies instead of one piece of paper
Never hacked and 2+ million wallets are Zengo's own claims on Zengo's own homepage, with no independent confirmation
Mobile only, with no desktop app and no hardware signing

Frequently asked questions

Is Wallet of Satoshi or Zengo better?

Zengo rates higher on our rubric: 3.4 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 Wallet of Satoshi and Zengo free?

Yes, both are free to download. What differs is who holds the keys: Wallet of Satoshi is custodial in its default mode, meaning the company holds the keys, with a separate self-custodial mode where you do; Zengo is self-custodial MPC, with no seed phrase: one secret share on your phone, one on Zengo's server, never combined.

Is Wallet of Satoshi or Zengo bitcoin-only?

Wallet of Satoshi is bitcoin-only; Zengo supports other assets too. Bitcoin among 1,000+ assets, including Ethereum, Solana, TRON and stablecoins

Does Wallet of Satoshi or Zengo 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: Wallet of Satoshi and Zengo, each with its sources, and every wallet we review.

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