Exodus vs Electrum: Which one should I use?

Exodus

Is a digital wallet that allows you to store cryptocurrencies. Exodus supports more than 100 cryptocurrency assets on its platform. Digital crypto-assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, and many other crypto coins which are available on the Exodus wallet. You can use the Exodus wallet on desktop and mobile devices. Also For this Exodus vs Electrum review we will focus on the Mobile, Desktop, Security of both wallets.

The desktop platform supports only the Windows 10 systems with 64-bit. Mac users can use the Exodus wallet only if the operating system uses macOS 10.12 or higher versions. Exodus also supports the Linux operating system, with 64-bit and kernel version 4.10 or a higher version.

And the mobile users can use the wallet on their smartphones too. Exodus is available for all iOS devices that run iOS 10 and higher versions. Android users can use the Exodus wallet with Android 8.0 Oreo and higher versions.

With the Exodus wallet, you can send and receive cryptos from other addresses. Exodus also has an exchange platform that allows the user to exchange cryptocurrencies. Exodus was founded in 2015 by JP Richardson and Daniel Castagnoli.

Electrum

Electrum wallet is a crypto wallet that supports only the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Electrum was founded in 2011 by Thomas Voegtlin and it’s known as one the first Bitcoin wallets.

The wallet is available only for Windows, Linux, Mac OS, and Android. Exodus is not available for iOS devices. Electrum wallet can be used on offline machines such as (cold wallets). With the Electrum wallet, you can send or receive Bitcoins from other wallet addresses.

Electrum wallet has been programmed with the Python language. To confirm the transaction faster, the Electrum wallet does not download the entire Blockchain network. Also passwords, emails, and other data are not stored on the server, which makes the Electrum wallet faster and more secure to use.

Desktop wallet

Exodus Desktop wallet

You can use the Exodus wallet on desktop devices with Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems. Exodus wallet is very simple to use and it’s designed that a crypto user can use it quickly and smoothly. The default design when you install the wallet on Dekstop uses a dark mode design, However, you can customize the design with some other theme colors available on the “Settings” menu.

The portfolio chart on the home menu shows you details of your crypto assets. Each color on the portfolio presents the number of crypto assets you currently own. You can check other cryptocurrencies price, volume, market capital, etc, on the table below the portfolio.

Exodus also offers the exchange platform to exchange your crypto for another crypto. Most of the spreads for exchange transactions are under 1%. You can store 113 cryptocurrency assets on the Exodus wallet. These assets include major crypto as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Stellar, Monero, Dash, etc. To see the full list of 113 supported cryptocurrencies click here on the Exodus website.

Electrum Desktop wallet

Electrum desktop is also easy to navigate and to use the wallet on desktop, However, if we compare the design of the Electrum desktop with the Exodus desktop, you can notice the difference. Electrum wallet uses an outdated design that looks like older designs.

But, the old design shouldn’t make you think that the Electrum desktop wallet isn’t suited for you. The desktop wallet is very-friendly to use and it’s not complicated at all. You can quickly navigate between menu tabs, send or receive funds from other crypto addresses, configure details on the settings menu, etc.

The electrum wallet does not download the entire Blockchain network on the wallet, and this makes the wallet quicker to use and send transactions. With the Electrum wallet, you can customize the transaction fees before sending the transaction. The supported cryptocurrency is only the Bitcoin, but for other cryptos like Bitcoin Cash, you can use the Electron Cash wallet.

Mobile wallet

Exodus Mobile wallet

Exodus wallets can be used on both Android and iOS devices. The design on the mobile app is similar to the desktop wallet. To offer a quicker process of using the wallet, you can sync the mobile wallet with your desktop wallet. All you need to sync the wallet is to use the 12-word recovery seed phrase.

Your private keys are encrypted on the mobile application too. On the mobile wallet, you have only 55 cryptocurrencies to store. You can also send and receive payments in your wallet by using the QR code method. To prevent funds from the loss of the funds by the incorrect wallet address, Exodus checks the address characters to eliminate any mistaken character on the address field.

Besides the encrypted private key and the secured transaction data, Exodus offers some other security features on the mobile wallet. You can configure the login process with Touch ID, Passcode, or Face ID. These login features offer more protection for your account by preventing access to your wallet from unknown people

The mobile wallet supports the exchange platform so you can exchange crypto on the mobile app. It can take 30 minutes or less to complete the exchange transaction on your mobile or desktop wallet. Currently, on the mobile wallet, you can use 100 cryptocurrency coins.

The full list of available cryptos on the mobile wallet can be found below:
https://www.exodus.io/mobile/

Electrum Mobile wallet

Electrum wallet is available on mobile devices only through Android devices. Compared to desktop design, the mobile app uses a more modern design. The design is focused mostly on a dark design and blue color. Your private keys are secured on the mobile as Electrum encrypted your keys. If you forget the wallet, you can recover it on the mobile app too with the recovery phrase. Also, you can unlock the wallet with Face ID, Touch ID, PIN Code, or Passcode.

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You can also export your private keys and use them in other bitcoin wallets. The mobile app offers a fast speed for transactions and mobile wallet navigation in general. This is done through the servers that index the blockchain network. All the transactions are verified using the Simple Payment Verification (SPV). With this method, you can verify the transaction on the blockchain network without downloading the entire blockchain.

Security

Exodus Security

Exodus offers more security options than the Electrum wallet. The “lock wallet” option, which is not available on the Electrum wallet, locks the account after some minutes or hours. You can select a timeframe of 5,15,30 minutes to lock the wallet automatically. Or you can use a 1 or 2-hour time frame to lock the wallet. With this option enabled, you will be logged out during this period of minutes or hours. Lock wallet is available only on the desktop wallets and can be configured underneath the Exodus logo on the desktop wallet.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) can be activated only on hardware wallets that can be associated with the Exodus wallet. For desktop and mobile wallets without a hardware wallet connected, there’s no option to activate the 2FA feature. However, Exodus team during a discussion on Reddit, have said they have begun to work on this and they will launch 2FA for smartphone during this year.

You can recover your account funds with the 12-word recovery seed phrase. If you lose password on mobile or desktop wallet, you can quickly reset the wallet funds with the seed phrase. On mobile wallet you can use the PIN Code, Touch ID, Face ID to protect the wallet from unknown persons.

Electrum Security

Electrum users cannot recover the password if they lose the password or the seed phrase. The recovery seed phrase is long 12 words and has 132 bits of entropy. With the 132 bit entropy, the level of the security is the same as a private key of 256 bits. Keeping the recovery seed phrase secured and remembering it is important, so make sure to store it somewhere safe.

With the recovery seed phrase, you can recovery your wallet if it gets hacked or you don’t remember the password. You can restore the wallet by creating a new wallet on Electrum and choose the option “I already have a seed”, and then write the recovery phrase.

Two-factor authentication (2FA), is available for both desktop and mobile wallets. The install set up with asks you to choose which wallet type of account you want to be created. And you need to choose the option “Wallet with two-factor authentication”. Then you can use the Google Authenticator to scan the QR code and confirm the 2FA setup. If you lose access to your phone with the Google Authenticator associated, you can gain access to the recovery seed phrase only.

Cold Wallets

Exodus Cold Wallet

Exodus wallet supports only the Trezor hardware wallet. You can use your Trezor device to integrate it on the Exodus wallet and use it to send or receive funds, and more. Connecting the Trezor device with the Exodus wallet requires the “Trezor Bridge” application. To do that, first, you need to go in “Settings > Devices”, and find the option “Install Trezor Bridge”, then click “Install Now”.

After the installation process is completed, leave the “Detect Trezor” toggle button enabled. Then, your Trezor device will begin to boot up. After the bootup is finished, your Trezor device will restart automatically. Once the Trezor device is boot up again, it will ask you to use the secret phrase (recover seed phrase) or to create a new wallet, to set up your Trezor device. Choose the “Restore from secret phase”, and follow the instructions onscreen.

Electrum Cold Wallet

Electrum wallet allows you to create an offline wallet that is safer to use. With the cold storage, you can create transactions you need to sign the transaction with the offline wallet. And when you sign the transaction on the offline wallet, then you can use the online wallet to complete the transaction.

To create an offline wallet go the “File” menu and choose the option “New”. Then, after creating the wallet, go to “Wallet” and choose “Information”. After that, the wallet information it will show a master public key. You need to transfer the master public key to the online wallet to finish the process of offline wallet.

You can also connect hardware such as Ledger, Trezor, Keep Key, etc. To do that you need to choose the “Hardware wallet” option during the install setup. After choosing the hardware wallet as the wallet type, follow the information onscreen to complete the process.

Support

Exodus Support

Exodus support can be contacted only with an email. Currently there’s not support available via Live Chat or Phone Number. But to provide the user with more details about the Exodus wallet, the “FAQ” page will help you get that. With the FAQ page, you can read many articles about the desktop wallet, mobile wallet, cryptos, fees, exchange platform, security features, etc.

To visit the FAQ page, click on the link below:
https://support.exodus.io/category/6-faq

Electrum Support

Compared with the support offered by the Exodus, with the Electrum wallet you don’t have the option to contact them through the email. Electrum wallet doesn’t offer support via Phone or Live Chat. On the Electrum website, the only way to reach to the Electrum team is through Twitter.

You cannot message the Electrum account on Twitter, but with a tweet maybe you could get a reply from the Electrum team. Though Electrum doesn’t provide email support, the reason for that could be related to the FAQ page. Electrum offers different helpful articles to give you more knowledge about the Electrum wallet.

To access the “FAQ” articles, visit the link below:
https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html

Summary

Electrum wallet does not have a modern design, but the simple and quick navigation on the wallet make the Electrum wallet suitable for beginners who are new to crypto wallets. Also, the speed and customization transaction fees make the Electrum wallet even more convenient to use.

Exodus wallet offers a modern design and easy to use wallet interface. The exchange platform also has low fees for transactions and provides a plentiful experience for the user.

In general, both wallets are a great way to store crypto funds in a secure way. Overall we hope you enjoyed this Exodus vs Electrum Review and if you wanted to read another VS article we suggest taking a look at all our Crypo wallet comparisons.

Images via shutterstock, Writer Behar H.