Exodus vs Phoenix
Phoenix has the higher grade on both axes: Safety 8.5 against 6.8, and Privacy 8.6 against 7.0.
Exodus
Closed-source multi-coin desktop and mobile wallet with built-in third-party swaps and purchases
Privacy
7.0/ 10
Strong
Safety
6.8/ 10
Fair
No ID mentioned KYC 1 Docs reviewed Full review →
Phoenix
Self-custodial mobile Lightning wallet from ACINQ with automatic channels and swaps
Privacy
8.6/ 10
Excellent
Safety
8.5/ 10
Excellent
ID never required KYC 0 Docs reviewed Full review →
Side by side
| Exodus | Phoenix | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Wallets | Wallets |
| KYC policy | No ID mentioned | ID never required |
| Custody | Non Custodial | Non Custodial |
| Sign-up | No account needed | No account needed |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Tor onion address | No | No |
| Coins | BTC, ETH, SOL, USDT, USDC | BTC |
| Pay with | Crypto, Card, Bank transfer | Not published |
| Fees | Terms: Exodus charges no fee for the software; network and third-party provider fees apply | Sending via Lightning 0.4% + 4 sat; receiving with existing liquidity free; receiving with insufficient liquidity or requesting liquidity 1% + mining fees; channel creation 1,000 sat; on-chain sends pay user-chosen mining fees. |
| Limits | Not published | By default incoming payments are rejected if the fee exceeds 5,000 sat or 50% of the amount (adjustable). |
| Founded | 2015 | 2019 |
| Jurisdiction | United States | France |
| Not available in | Comprehensively US-sanctioned countries and regions (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk) | Not published |
| Incidents on record | 0 | 0 |
| Published tests (180 days) | 0 | 0 |
Only Exodus
Closed sourceThird-party liquidity
Both
No registrationNo email neededNo phone neededNon-custodialLegal entity disclosed5+ years operating
Only Phoenix
Accepts LightningOpen source
Where they sit among wallets
Questions
Is Exodus or Phoenix safer?
Phoenix has the higher Safety grade: Exodus 6.8, Phoenix 8.5, out of 10.
Does Exodus or Phoenix require KYC?
Exodus is KYC level 1 (no ID mentioned). Phoenix is KYC level 0 (ID never required).
Which has more incidents on record?
Exodus has 0 and Phoenix has 0 documented incidents in the registry.