Best desktop Bitcoin wallets

Your computer is the riskiest device you own. It runs a browser, email, and whatever you installed last year, and any of it can be compromised. That is why every app on this list is ranked first on how well it works with a hardware wallet: the app builds the transaction and talks to the network, and the hardware wallet signs it after you check the address and amount on its own screen.

All eight picks are Bitcoin-only and open source, and the order comes from my rating methodology. Software wallets have no review pages on this site, so each pick links its official site. No hardware wallet yet? Start with the best Bitcoin hardware wallets.

Sparrow is the desktop wallet I recommend first. It supports single sig and multisig with every common script type, signs with hardware wallets over USB or air-gapped QR codes and files, and shows you exactly which coins a transaction spends. It runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux, with separate builds for Apple M-series and Intel Macs.

For your node, Sparrow can connect directly to Bitcoin Core or through an Electrum server such as Fulcrum or Electrs, over SSL and Tor. Version 2.5.6 added a hint for anyone on the newest Core: Sparrow now points to rpcallowip when Bitcoin Core v32.1 and later closes the RPC connection. The same release ported Electrum's October fix, so Sparrow now verifies the signatures on your own unconfirmed transactions before showing them.

To check the download, Sparrow's download page says Sparrow 1.8.3 or later can verify a new release itself, and 2.5.6 added support for inline signed manifests in that verifier. My Sparrow setup guide walks through the verification, the node connection, and the first hardware wallet import. The limit: there is no phone app, and the screen full of options takes an afternoon to learn.

Nunchuk runs on phones and on desktop, and the desktop app ships for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows, and Linux. The desktop source is GPL-3.0 on GitHub. Its free plan covers DIY single-sig and multisig wallets, and the paid plans add assisted multisig and inheritance.

Since July 2026, Nunchuk's phone apps can also hold USDT on the Liquid network, which my rule allows.

Nunchuk's FAQ says the desktop app supports BitBox, Coldcard, Jade, Ledger, and Trezor, and that the desktop app is how keys that need USB get added. Of those, Jade and the BitBox02 Bitcoin-only edition are the ones I'd pair with it. For your node, Nunchuk has offered an Electrum server or a direct Bitcoin Core connection over RPC as its backend since version 0.9.7.

To verify the download, each release carries SHA256SUMS and a signed SHA256SUMS.asc. Nunchuk's README says only the Linux builds are reproducible for independent verification today; Windows and macOS are on standby. The limit: no Lightning, and the best features sit behind a subscription.

The Blockstream app, made by my employer, runs on Mac (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows, and Linux as well as phones, and shows on-chain bitcoin, Lightning, and Liquid assets in one view. Its Liquid accounts can hold assets such as Tether (USDt), which my rule allows. The desktop source is GPL-3.0 on GitHub.

It is the Jade family's own app, and Blockstream's table lists it for Jade and Jade Plus over USB. It also offers 2FA multisig accounts in which Blockstream holds one key and can't spend on its own. For your node, the app page says you can connect to your own node and route traffic through Tor.

To check the download, Blockstream publishes steps to verify the Blockstream app binaries. The limit: among the Bitcoin-only devices I review, Blockstream's app pages name only the Jade family, so Sparrow covers far more.

Liana adds one idea to a normal wallet: a second key that can only spend after the wallet has been inactive for a set time, enforced by Bitcoin itself. The simplest setup is your hardware wallet as the everyday key and a backup key that unlocks after, say, a year. That protects you if you lose your main seed, and it gives an heir a path in. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux under the BSD-3-Clause license.

Liana needs signing devices that understand Miniscript descriptors. Its device list names Jade and Jade Plus, BitBox02, and Specter DIY, with one catch for Jade: if you set the Jade up in QR mode, it will not talk to Liana over USB. Krux works by moving the transaction on an SD card. For data, Liana connects to Bitcoin Core (bitcoind) or an Electrum server.

Liana's usage guide asks you to verify the download against a PGP signature, and each release ships a signed checksum file. The limit: the recovery path opens after a period of inactivity, so you have to move your coins before that timer runs out, or the backup key becomes able to spend.

Specter Desktop exists to put a friendly interface around Bitcoin Core, with a focus on multisig and air-gapped signing devices. Its README lists SeedSigner, Specter DIY, Jade, BitBox02, and Passport among the Bitcoin-only devices it works with. It connects to Bitcoin Core or an Electrum server.

Development is active: v2.1.11 shipped on August 9, 2026, and 2.2.0 pre-releases followed through August 15. Each release has SHA256SUMS and SHA256SUMS.asc for verification. The limit: it does fewer things than Sparrow, and its own README says the Bitcoin Core hot wallet option is experimental and not recommended.

Electrum is the oldest wallet here; Thomas Voegtlin created it in November 2011. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android, and its docs cover Lightning payments, which none of my higher picks offer on a computer. Its hardware plugins include Jade and BitBox02.

Two things to know. First, new Electrum wallets use Electrum's own seed format, not BIP39, so most other wallets cannot restore an Electrum-generated seed. With a hardware wallet the seed lives on the device, so this matters less. Second, the October 2026 advisory covered below: run 4.8.3 or later.

Electrum's site tells you to download only from electrum.org and verify the GPG signatures, and its builds are signed by several developers. The Tails operating system includes Electrum, which is handy if you already use Tails.

Bitcoin Core is a direct descendant of the original Bitcoin client Satoshi Nakamoto released, and it is both a full node and a wallet. No advisory on Bitcoin Core's security advisories page describes theft of keys or coins from its wallet. That page does list real bugs, including CVE-2018-17144 (an inflation and crash bug) and several 2026 memory and crash fixes, so update when new versions ship. The latest is v32.1, released October 28, 2026, alongside maintenance releases for the 31, 30, and 29 series.

The catch: Core's own wallet keeps keys on your internet-connected computer. It can use a hardware wallet through its external signer support, which needs HWI 2.0 or newer, is described as experimental, runs from the command line or the bitcoin-qt Debug Console, and works with only one connected device at a time. For most people the better route is Core as the node behind Sparrow, with a hardware wallet doing the signing. Read how to run your own Bitcoin node to set that up.

The download page lists SHA256 hashes to check your file against. Core is hard for most readers, which is why it sits this low.

Wasabi is a privacy wallet first. It routes all traffic through Tor, coinjoins with WabiSabi, and can use your own full node for block filters, fee estimates, and broadcasting. It supports hardware wallets through HWI, and its site names Blockstream Jade and BitBox02 among them.

Two limits. Wasabi's docs say a coordinator must be configured before your first coinjoin. And you cannot coinjoin from a hardware wallet: the keys must be hot on your computer. That makes the hardware wallet half and the coinjoin half separate jobs. Each release ships PGP signature files, and the docs recommend verifying them manually even though Windows and macOS check automatically. For the bigger picture, read my Bitcoin privacy basics.

Electrum 4.8.3 fixed CVE-2026-117601 (GHSA-6jp4-8v48-cc5v), rated high. In the advisory's words: "Malicious server can replace a just-broadcast tx and try to trick user into RBF-ing it." A malicious server swallows the transaction you just sent and shows your wallet a fake one that pays the attacker. If you then bump its fee, you sign a real transaction that pays them.

The advisory says some servers were running this attack in the wild, and one user lost money after bumping a fee. Versions before 4.8.3 are affected, and people who connect to their own server are not. The fix was tagged on October 23, 2026, and binaries and disclosure followed on October 24.

Two habits close the gap in any wallet: run your own Electrum server or node, and read every output address and amount on your hardware wallet's screen before you approve, fee bumps included. Sparrow ported the same check in 2.5.6.

Sparrow, Nunchuk, Specter Desktop, and Electrum all coordinate multisig wallets, and Liana is built around timelocks. My multisig coordinator rankings compare them. If you want to set up a 2-of-3, start with my multisig guide, which uses Sparrow for the walkthrough and explains the descriptor backup most people forget.

These desktop apps come up in every other list. I would not use them for bitcoin. More coins means more code, and more code means more bugs near your keys.