Phoenix Wallet vs FirstStep
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.
FirstStep
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A calm, honest course for people who have never invested and are quietly embarrassed about it. FirstStep is not a trading app and it will never show you a chart of something going up. It is sixteen short lessons that take you from "I know I should, but I do not understand any of it" to actually making a first contribution, plus a place to write down what you are afraid of. THE COURSE, ALL FREE - Mindset: where your beliefs about money came from, and why investing feels frightening - Goals: what you actually want the money to do, and when you need it - Foundations: index funds, risk, and the three things that genuinely matter - Ready to Start: your concrete next steps, and what to do when it drops - A coach screen for the questions people are too embarrassed to ask - A journal, reminders, and a confidence score that moves as you learn NEW: AFTER YOU START The course used to end at your first contribution, which is where the hard part begins. FirstStep Premium adds a fifth phase of five new lessons on what happens next: the first time you see red, why the urge to tinker costs money, automating contributions so the decision only gets made once, how fees compound against you, and the second year when it stops being interesting. All sixteen original lessons, the journal, the coach and everything else stay free. Nothing that was free before moved behind the subscription. IMPORTANT FirstStep is educational. It is not financial advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. It does not name funds or brokers, because the right answer depends on where you live, how you are taxed and when you need the money, and the app knows none of that. Investments can lose value. Talk to a qualified professional who is regulated where you live. FirstStep Premium is $2.99 per month or $19.99 per year, with 14 days free on the yearly plan. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel any time in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://thedolceway.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://thedolceway.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Phoenix Wallet at monthly against FirstStep's every 4 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
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.
Phoenix Wallet ships an update monthly, FirstStep every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Phoenix Wallet | FirstStep |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (75 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 57.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 75 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 61 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ACINQ | Dt nova |
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
FirstStep
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Phoenix Wallet
No in-app purchases
FirstStep
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Phoenix Wallet free?
Is FirstStep free?
Do Phoenix Wallet or FirstStep have ads?
Which is updated more often, Phoenix Wallet or FirstStep?
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