Bisq vs Mostro
Bisq has the higher grade on both axes: Safety 8.0 against 7.3, and Privacy 9.3 against 8.9.
Bisq
Open-source desktop P2P exchange for bitcoin with no registration
Privacy
9.3/ 10
Excellent
Safety
8.0/ 10
Strong
ID never required KYC 0 Docs reviewed Full review →
Mostro
Open-source P2P bitcoin trading protocol over Nostr and Lightning hold invoices
Privacy
8.9/ 10
Excellent
Safety
7.3/ 10
Strong
ID never required KYC 0 Docs reviewed Full review →
Side by side
| Bisq | Mostro | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | P2P Exchanges | P2P Exchanges |
| KYC policy | ID never required | ID never required |
| Custody | Non Custodial | Non Custodial |
| Sign-up | No account needed | No account needed |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Tor onion address | No | No |
| Coins | BTC, XMR | BTC |
| Pay with | Bank transfer, Cash, Crypto, Monero | Lightning, Bank transfer, Cash |
| Fees | Not published | Set by each node operator; the FAQ gives about 0.3% each for buyer and seller as an example |
| Limits | Not published | Set by each node operator |
| Founded | 2014 | Not published |
| Jurisdiction | Decentralised / none | Not published |
| Incidents on record | 1 | 0 |
| Published tests (180 days) | 0 | 0 |
Only Bisq
Accepts MoneroAccepts cashMultisig or hold-invoice escrow5+ years operating
Both
No registrationNo email neededNo phone neededOpen sourceNon-custodial
Only Mostro
Self-hostableAccepts Lightning
Where they sit among p2p exchanges
Questions
Is Bisq or Mostro safer?
Bisq has the higher Safety grade: Bisq 8.0, Mostro 7.3, out of 10.
Does Bisq or Mostro require KYC?
Bisq is KYC level 0 (ID never required). Mostro is KYC level 0 (ID never required).
Which has more incidents on record?
Bisq has 1 and Mostro has 0 documented incidents in the registry.