Phoenix Wallet vs AQUA Wallet
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Phoenix Wallet
This app offers a fast, easy, and secure way to manage Bitcoin. It leverages the Lightning Network for near-instantaneous payments with minimal fees, making it ideal for everyday transactions like buying coffee. It's a non-custodial, open-source wallet designed for user-friendliness.
- Instant Bitcoin payments
- Minimal transaction fees
- Secure Bitcoin storage
- Automatic Lightning channel management
- Non-custodial wallet
- Open source
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Phoenix makes using bitcoin easy, fast and safe. Payments are nearly instantaneous, and fees are minimal. You can use it to send payments (e.g. buy a cup of coffee), receive payments, and store your bitcoin safely for day-to-day spending. The bitcoin lightning network means faster payments and smaller fees. Lightning is 100% bitcoin - an open standardized payments layer, engineered to improve speed while maintaining security and decentralization. And Phoenix makes it possible for everyone to use. Lightning channels are managed for you automatically. And inbound liquidity is automatically handled too. If you don't know what any of that means, then this is the wallet for you! Phoenix is a non-custodial wallet, and is fully open source. It was created by ACINQ, one of the pioneering companies in the bitcoin lightning network. And the same company that runs the largest lightning node in the world. Bitcoin is for everyone. Enjoy.
AQUA Wallet
Manage Bitcoin and Layer 2 assets with speed and flexibility. This app offers self-custody, seamless transactions on Lightning and Liquid, and native Tether USDt support. Access a marketplace of financial services and on-ramps for a global financial passport.
- Self-custody Bitcoin
- Lightning and Liquid transactions
- Native Tether USDt support
- In-app financial services marketplace
- Asset swapping
- Layer 2 Bitcoin transactions
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AQUA is a Bitcoin wallet that brings Bitcoin, Liquid, Lightning, and Tether USDt together in one simple app. Send low-fee payments, get a unique Lightning Address, buy Bitcoin, swap assets, and access local services — all while keeping full control of your money. Why AQUA: - Self custody your Bitcoin and seamlessly transact in Lightning and Liquid assets, as well as stablecoins like Tether USDt. - Receive Bitcoin to your own @aqua.net Lightning Address and customize it too. - Native Tether USDt support on Liquid means you can pay for network fees in USDt. - Transact fluidly across the most popular USDt blockchains like Solana, Tron, Polygon, and more. - Connect to BTCPay Server via SamRock to accept Bitcoin, Liquid, and Lightning payments directly in AQUA. - Easily swap between assets and move Bitcoin to Layer 2 for faster and cheaper transactions. - In-app access to a growing marketplace of the best services and on-ramps to stack Bitcoin. Be like water! AQUA's intuitive design ensures a smooth user experience, making it ideal for beginners, while its powerful capabilities meet the high expectations of Bitcoin Maximalists worldwide. Download AQUA, the Bitcoin Superapp built for freedom.
Screenshots
Verdict
Phoenix Wallet and AQUA Wallet are too close to call on the numbers: across 10 compared parameters — price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for Phoenix Wallet against 4.1 for AQUA Wallet. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 75 and 78 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 57% and 58% positive.
Phoenix Wallet ships an update monthly, AQUA Wallet every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Phoenix Wallet | AQUA Wallet |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (75 ratings) — better | 4.1 (78 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 57.1% of reviews | 58.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 75 | 78 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 61 MB | 247 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ACINQ | Jan3 LLC |
Customer experience
Phoenix Wallet
AQUA Wallet
User reviews
Phoenix Wallet
From 75 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Fast transactions
- 💡 Innovative features (splicing, client-side keys)
- 🔒 Non-custodial
- ✅ Reliable performance
Room to improve
- 💸 High fees
- 🐛 Funds stuck/not received
- ⚠️ Scam accusations
- 🤷♂️ Confusing for new users
- ❌ App not opening/crashing
AQUA Wallet
From 78 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- ⚡️ Good for Lightning and Liquid
- 🔒 Self-custodial
- 🚀 Fast transactions
- 💡 Integrates Tether
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 🐌 Slow performance
- ❌ Swap feature issues
- 🚫 Transaction limits
- 🔒 Security concerns (seed phrase visibility)
Bugs and requests
Phoenix Wallet
Reported bugs
18 issues- Money not reflecting in account
- Crypto locked in wallet
- Bitcoin sent without user action
- App not opening on iOS
- Funds never arrived after transaction
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- UI display incorrect for amounts
- Transaction pending for over 30 hours
- Seed backup to iCloud not resolved
- Funds stuck for months
- App deleted wallet after upgrade
- Restoring connections indefinitely
- Sat incoming message with 3 z
- Ghost notification badge
- V2 broken, 'restoring connections'
- Receiving not working for days
- Transactions not going through
- App offline, no internet message
- Malware activity warnings
Requested features
7 requests- Add LN Address
- Show preimage in detail
- Add Portuguese language
- Add CZK fiat currency
- Option to connect via TOR on iOS
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Ability to open own channels
- QR code receiving for bleskomat
AQUA Wallet
Reported bugs
21 issues- Swap feature not working/freezing
- Cannot send USDT to another address
- App hangs/freezes after password entry
- App freezes and won't open
- Unresponsive white screen
Show 16 moreShow fewer
- Cannot buy Bitcoin with Apple Pay
- Marketplace glitching with wallet address
- Seed phrase visible without PIN
- Cannot withdraw funds/insufficient balance error
- Funds stuck/unable to send
- Deposit limits
- Withdrawal limits
- Lightning receive not loading invoice (Boltz issues)
- Cannot access camera for QR code scanning
- Wallet doesn't always log out when app is closed
- Bitcoin price and balance in CAD overstated
- Erroneous fees on swaps
- New release (0.2.0) broken
- Hidden BTC send options
- No fee options shown for sending BTC
- Swapping fees higher than stated
Requested features
9 requests- Add Chinese language support
- Support for PPRGB
- Hardware wallet support (Blockstream Jade)
- Ability to send via Lightning without an invoice
- "Drain wallet" option
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Dark mode option
- Improved UI/UX for swap
- Ability to input desired Bitcoin wallet address for purchases
- Biometric login (PIN/Face ID) for all users
In-app purchases
Phoenix Wallet
No in-app purchases
AQUA Wallet
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Phoenix Wallet free?
Is AQUA Wallet free?
Which has better reviews, Phoenix Wallet or AQUA Wallet?
Do Phoenix Wallet or AQUA Wallet have ads?
Which is updated more often, Phoenix Wallet or AQUA Wallet?
Other comparisons
