Self-Custody Apps, ranked
Scores come from the same four weighted criteria on every product. Tap a row to read the full review, with every fee we paid.
2 reviews
| Rank | Review | Score | Category | Price | Maker | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  PhantomPhantom does what it promises: one app, one seed phrase, eight chains, and a private key that never leaves the device. The scam-detection layer caught a malicious approval during testing that a plainer wallet would have waved through. Where it costs you is the swap screen, where an 0.85% fee eats into anything you route through the built-in aggregator, and the wallet's own history includes a disputed 2025 lawsuit over alleged key extraction that anyone trusting it with serious sums should read before, not after, funding it. | 7.8 | Self-Custody Apps | Free | Phantom Technologies | Read review |
| 02 |  MetaMaskMetaMask is still where we would send a first-time Ethereum user, because the extension is free, the seed phrase never leaves the device and the install process has not changed enough to confuse anyone following a guide. It is not the wallet we would send a frequent trader to unmodified: a 0.875% swap fee buried in the quote costs real money on anything larger than a small trade, and Rabby's transaction simulation catches malicious signatures earlier than MetaMask's alerts do. | 7.2 | Self-Custody Apps | Free | Consensys | Read review |
The top 2 side by side
| Criterion | Phantom | MetaMask |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 7.8 | 7.2 |
| Best for | Traders active across Solana, Ethereum and Bitcoin who want one interface for everything. | First-time Ethereum and DeFi users who want a free, well-documented wallet and do not swap large amounts often. |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Maker | Phantom Technologies | Consensys |
| Category | Self-Custody Apps | Self-Custody Apps |
| Verdict | Phantom does what it promises: one app, one seed phrase, eight chains, and a private key that never leaves the device. The scam-detection layer caught a malicious approval during testing that a plainer wallet would have waved through. Where it costs you is the swap screen, where an 0.85% fee eats into anything you route through the built-in aggregator, and the wallet's own history includes a disputed 2025 lawsuit over alleged key extraction that anyone trusting it with serious sums should read before, not after, funding it. | MetaMask is still where we would send a first-time Ethereum user, because the extension is free, the seed phrase never leaves the device and the install process has not changed enough to confuse anyone following a guide. It is not the wallet we would send a frequent trader to unmodified: a 0.875% swap fee buried in the quote costs real money on anything larger than a small trade, and Rabby's transaction simulation catches malicious signatures earlier than MetaMask's alerts do. |