Phantom scores 9 points above Exodus, led by clear signing and incident record. Phantom ranks #4 and Exodus #6 of 11 published wallets. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.
Phantom78
vs
Exodus69
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #4 and #6 of 11
Phantom scores 9 points above Exodus, led by clear signing and incident record.
Phantom #4 of 1178
Exodus #6 of 1169
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termPhantom leads on 2 of 4 published criteria; Exodus on 2. The terms sum to the gap.
TermPhantomExodusWeightPoints
Clear signing7/102/107.2+9.4for Phantom+4.8 of 32
Key export8/109/106.7−1.7for Exodus−0.9 of 32
Incident record8/106/105.8+3.0for Phantom+1.5 of 32
Account recovery7/109/104.3−2.2for Exodus−1.2 of 32
Net of the terms+8.4
Reproduced gap+8.3
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below7869+9.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
PhantomScore 78The Solana-native software wallet turned multichain money app, whose default new-user account now keeps its private key in a Phantom-run enclave that will not export it.Strength: Key export — 8/10Watch-out: Read 'Understanding Phantom KMS' before you commit, because the wallet a new user actually gets is not the wallet the reviews describe. The documented default is "create a new wallet with Google or Apple", and those wallets run on Phantom KMS, where "Wallet keys are stored remotely in a secure enclave, not on your device" and "the Show Private Key option is not available for these accounts." Every signature on that account is a request to Phantom's KMS API, authorised in a vendor-run Policy Engine enclave before a Signer enclave returns the signature - and no published audit covers KMS, because the audit repository has not been pushed since 2024-07-05. Since the August 2026 migration your Google or Apple account is the single factor protecting the wallet, and the vendor's own documentation has not caught up: one page (2026-08-15) says the four-digit PIN is gone while three others (2026-06-12, 2026-07-12 and the 2026-08-16 sign-in page itself) still require or prompt for it. The mitigation is real, portable and easy to skip: export the 12-word BIP-39 phrase from Settings > Security & Privacy > Show Recovery Phrase the day you install, because Phantom states it "works in any compatible wallet app" and, without it, "If you are logged out of Phantom on all devices and can't access your Google or Apple account, your wallet cannot be recovered." Two further traps: restoring by Google or Apple "restores only your first account automatically, regardless of how many accounts your wallet had before", so a multi-account user should restore from the phrase instead; and if you want keys on your own device from the start you must onboard on the browser extension, because a recovery-phrase wallet cannot be created in the mobile app at all.ExodusScore 69Closed-source multi-device self-custody wallet from an NYSE American-listed issuer: exemplary documented key export and exit, and since 1 October 2026 no screen for signing third-party (dApp) requests at all.Strength: Key export — 9/10Watch-out: Read this before committing: Exodus no longer signs dApp requests on any platform. Mobile lost them first: "WalletConnect and the dApp browser are no longer available in Exodus Mobile" and "you can no longer connect to, manage, or approve requests for web3 connections in Exodus Mobile". Then the browser extension went: "Support for Exodus Web3 Wallet ended on October 1, 2026 .", and in Exodus's words "To keep using dApps or web3 apps, you'll need to use a different wallet that supports web3 connections." (read 28 October 2026). If you used the extension, view its 12-word key before you uninstall it: "If you uninstall the browser extension, you won't be able to view your secret key or reinstall the extension." Two further asymmetries a buyer should price. The wallet is free but the earn side is opaque: Exodus publishes no spread number, and its own 10-K shows five API Providers generating 69.1% of revenue. And the security record is unfalsifiable rather than clean — the HackerOne policy forbids discussing "any vulnerabilities (even resolved ones)" publicly, there is no advisory archive, no third-party audit is published, and the vendor pre-commits that it "will not be able to compensate you for the loss of your funds." Exodus is a strong place to hold, move and eventually LEAVE with your coins — the key-export and exit documentation both score 9/10, among the strongest in this pool — and no place to sign contract calls: its only documented dApp-signing surface, the Web3 Wallet extension, ended on October 1, 2026.
Quick facts
At a glance
3 of 4 rows read the same for both.
FactPhantomExodus
PricingSnapshotSwap fees, from help.phantom.com/articles/5985106844435 (fetched 28 October 2026): Phantom fee "0.85%, applies to most swaps. Some flows, such as deposits to your perps balance, and swaps from USDC , USDT , USDG , PYUSD into your Cash account, do not carry this fee." Network fee "Varies, and may be sponsored if the swap is gasless." The same page sets a floor: "Cross-chain swaps and swaps on Robinhood Chain may have a minimum of $2 (USD value)." The client itself is free: "Download Phantom for free on iOS, Android, or as a browser extension at phantom.com/download ." (help.phantom.com/articles/36482144712083, fetched 28 October 2026). Cash-account rails are priced separately on help.phantom.com/articles/44800531617939 (fetched 28 October 2026): add cash by debit card "1.75%", credit card "3.50%", direct deposit from a US bank account "0.30%", domestic wire from a US bank account "1.00%", standard ACH withdrawal "Free", fast ACH withdrawal "$1.00 flat + 0.75% (min $1.50)"."Are there Exodus wallet fees? Or Exodus transaction fees? How about Exodus swap fees?" — "Exodus doesn't charge any fees, but almost all blockchain transactions will cost a network transaction fee (also known as gas) when you send crypto." The same article qualifies this for the in-app rails: "Buying and selling crypto in Exodus includes a processing fee and a network transaction fee." and "Swaps in Exodus may include a spread and a network transaction fee.", and adds "With Exodus Pay, you can send Cash to other Exodus Pay users without paying network transaction fees." (Exodus help article 8611278, "Does Exodus have transaction fees to send or receive?", read 28 October 2026 on the vendor's Intercom knowledge base, intercom.help/exodus; www.exodus.com answers a Cloudflare challenge). Exodus publishes no number for the spread: "There's no fixed spread, even when swapping the same two assets. Spreads change based on liquidity and market conditions at the time you're making a swap." (article 8598754, read 28 October 2026). The iOS app is free (iTunes Lookup id 1414384820: "Exodus: Crypto & Payments", Free, version 26.10.23, fetched 28 October 2026). The FY2025 Form 10-K discloses the revenue model — an agent's share of third-party API Provider volume: "five API Providers each accounted for more than 10% of our revenues and collectively generated 69.1% of revenue." (sec.gov, exod-20251231.htm, re-read 28 October 2026). So the wallet is free, and the buyer pays through an unpublished spread on rails run by a concentrated set of third parties.
Asset coverageEditorial——
Region fitSnapshotglobalglobal
Custody modelEditorialSelf-custody: the vendor cannot move funds without your keySelf-custody: the vendor cannot move funds without your key
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
Phantom
78#4 of 11
Leads
Pick it when
Pick Phantom if clear signing matters most — it scores 7/10 to Exodus's 2/10 there (weight 30).
Strength
Key export — 8/10
Tradeoff
Read 'Understanding Phantom KMS' before you commit, because the wallet a new user actually gets is not the wallet the reviews describe. The documented default is "create a new wallet with Google or Apple", and those wallets run on Phantom KMS, where "Wallet keys are stored remotely in a secure enclave, not on your device" and "the Show Private Key option is not available for these accounts." Every signature on that account is a request to Phantom's KMS API, authorised in a vendor-run Policy Engine enclave before a Signer enclave returns the signature - and no published audit covers KMS, because the audit repository has not been pushed since 2024-07-05. Since the August 2026 migration your Google or Apple account is the single factor protecting the wallet, and the vendor's own documentation has not caught up: one page (2026-08-15) says the four-digit PIN is gone while three others (2026-06-12, 2026-07-12 and the 2026-08-16 sign-in page itself) still require or prompt for it. The mitigation is real, portable and easy to skip: export the 12-word BIP-39 phrase from Settings > Security & Privacy > Show Recovery Phrase the day you install, because Phantom states it "works in any compatible wallet app" and, without it, "If you are logged out of Phantom on all devices and can't access your Google or Apple account, your wallet cannot be recovered." Two further traps: restoring by Google or Apple "restores only your first account automatically, regardless of how many accounts your wallet had before", so a multi-account user should restore from the phrase instead; and if you want keys on your own device from the start you must onboard on the browser extension, because a recovery-phrase wallet cannot be created in the mobile app at all.
Exodus
69#6 of 11
Pick it when
Pick Exodus if key export matters most — it scores 9/10 to Phantom's 8/10 there (weight 28).
Strength
Key export — 9/10
Tradeoff
Read this before committing: Exodus no longer signs dApp requests on any platform. Mobile lost them first: "WalletConnect and the dApp browser are no longer available in Exodus Mobile" and "you can no longer connect to, manage, or approve requests for web3 connections in Exodus Mobile". Then the browser extension went: "Support for Exodus Web3 Wallet ended on October 1, 2026 .", and in Exodus's words "To keep using dApps or web3 apps, you'll need to use a different wallet that supports web3 connections." (read 28 October 2026). If you used the extension, view its 12-word key before you uninstall it: "If you uninstall the browser extension, you won't be able to view your secret key or reinstall the extension." Two further asymmetries a buyer should price. The wallet is free but the earn side is opaque: Exodus publishes no spread number, and its own 10-K shows five API Providers generating 69.1% of revenue. And the security record is unfalsifiable rather than clean — the HackerOne policy forbids discussing "any vulnerabilities (even resolved ones)" publicly, there is no advisory archive, no third-party audit is published, and the vendor pre-commits that it "will not be able to compensate you for the loss of your funds." Exodus is a strong place to hold, move and eventually LEAVE with your coins — the key-export and exit documentation both score 9/10, among the strongest in this pool — and no place to sign contract calls: its only documented dApp-signing surface, the Web3 Wallet extension, ended on October 1, 2026.
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
PhantomLeads
Choose Phantom if clear signing matters most
Clear signing: 7/10 against 2/10 for Exodus (weight 30)
Incident record: 8/10 against 6/10 for Exodus (weight 24)
PhantomScore 78The Solana-native software wallet turned multichain money app, whose default new-user account now keeps its private key in a Phantom-run enclave that will not export it.Strength: Key export — 8/10Watch-out: Read 'Understanding Phantom KMS' before you commit, because the wallet a new user actually gets is not the wallet the reviews describe. The documented default is "create a new wallet with Google or Apple", and those wallets run on Phantom KMS, where "Wallet keys are stored remotely in a secure enclave, not on your device" and "the Show Private Key option is not available for these accounts." Every signature on that account is a request to Phantom's KMS API, authorised in a vendor-run Policy Engine enclave before a Signer enclave returns the signature - and no published audit covers KMS, because the audit repository has not been pushed since 2024-07-05. Since the August 2026 migration your Google or Apple account is the single factor protecting the wallet, and the vendor's own documentation has not caught up: one page (2026-08-15) says the four-digit PIN is gone while three others (2026-06-12, 2026-07-12 and the 2026-08-16 sign-in page itself) still require or prompt for it. The mitigation is real, portable and easy to skip: export the 12-word BIP-39 phrase from Settings > Security & Privacy > Show Recovery Phrase the day you install, because Phantom states it "works in any compatible wallet app" and, without it, "If you are logged out of Phantom on all devices and can't access your Google or Apple account, your wallet cannot be recovered." Two further traps: restoring by Google or Apple "restores only your first account automatically, regardless of how many accounts your wallet had before", so a multi-account user should restore from the phrase instead; and if you want keys on your own device from the start you must onboard on the browser extension, because a recovery-phrase wallet cannot be created in the mobile app at all.
Exodus
Choose Exodus if key export matters most
Key export: 9/10 against 8/10 for Phantom (weight 28)
Account recovery: 9/10 against 7/10 for Phantom (weight 18)
ExodusScore 69Closed-source multi-device self-custody wallet from an NYSE American-listed issuer: exemplary documented key export and exit, and since 1 October 2026 no screen for signing third-party (dApp) requests at all.Strength: Key export — 9/10Watch-out: Read this before committing: Exodus no longer signs dApp requests on any platform. Mobile lost them first: "WalletConnect and the dApp browser are no longer available in Exodus Mobile" and "you can no longer connect to, manage, or approve requests for web3 connections in Exodus Mobile". Then the browser extension went: "Support for Exodus Web3 Wallet ended on October 1, 2026 .", and in Exodus's words "To keep using dApps or web3 apps, you'll need to use a different wallet that supports web3 connections." (read 28 October 2026). If you used the extension, view its 12-word key before you uninstall it: "If you uninstall the browser extension, you won't be able to view your secret key or reinstall the extension." Two further asymmetries a buyer should price. The wallet is free but the earn side is opaque: Exodus publishes no spread number, and its own 10-K shows five API Providers generating 69.1% of revenue. And the security record is unfalsifiable rather than clean — the HackerOne policy forbids discussing "any vulnerabilities (even resolved ones)" publicly, there is no advisory archive, no third-party audit is published, and the vendor pre-commits that it "will not be able to compensate you for the loss of your funds." Exodus is a strong place to hold, move and eventually LEAVE with your coins — the key-export and exit documentation both score 9/10, among the strongest in this pool — and no place to sign contract calls: its only documented dApp-signing surface, the Web3 Wallet extension, ended on October 1, 2026.
Criterion by criterion
Scorecard
Published criteria · weight in points of 868 of 8 cells scored. Strength is read from the evidence file; the weight is the published one. Methodology
Key export
by 1 of 10weight 6.7 of 86Exodus leads
Phantom8/10 out of 10
Exodus9/10 out of 10
Clear signing
by 5 of 10weight 7.2 of 86Phantom leads
Phantom7/10 out of 10
Exodus2/10 out of 10
Incident record
by 2 of 10weight 5.8 of 86Phantom leads
Phantom8/10 out of 10
Exodus6/10 out of 10
Account recovery
by 2 of 10weight 4.3 of 86Exodus leads
Phantom7/10 out of 10
Exodus9/10 out of 10
Score dimensions
weights sum to 86
The published score is five dimensions, each weighted for the category. "Published criteria" is the criteria block above; the other four are the engine's own terms — availability, friction, trust record, measured data. Each bar is one side's points out of that dimension's maximum; the weight beside the name is its points of the 86-point weighted total. The published criteria above can fill 24 of the block’s 30. A weight marked “constant here” belongs to a dimension every ranked product in the category holds at the same value: it still counts in the total, and it orders nothing here.
Availabilityweight 20 of 86 · constant here
Phantom14/20Exodus14/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Phantom18/30Exodus14.8/30
Phantom leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Phantom2.7/10Exodus2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Phantom3.2/8Exodus3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Phantom8.3/18Exodus8.3/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose Phantom unless the term Exodus leads on is the one you are buying.
Pick Exodus if key export matters most — it scores 9/10 to Phantom's 8/10 there (weight 28).
The published order weighs every criterion the same way for everyone. To weigh them your way, run .
From the published order
Next best action
If this isn't your case
Other matchups worth comparing
How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
Key failure: your own keys are made, shown or recovered unsafely.
Scored by Can I export my own keys and use them elsewhere? · 28% (Phantom 8/10, Exodus 9/10)
Scored by Can I see exactly what I am signing? · 30% (Phantom 7/10, Exodus 2/10)
Scored by What has gone wrong, and did they publish it? · 24% (Phantom 8/10, Exodus 6/10)
Scored by If I lose my device, how do I get back in? · 18% (Phantom 7/10, Exodus 9/10)
Phantom scores 9 points above Exodus, led by clear signing and incident record. Published scores, out of 100: Phantom 78 (rank 4 of 11 wallets), Exodus 69 (rank 6 of 11).
ReviewedRe-read in progressOverdue; re-read by 10 November 2026.Methodology v2026.10.18
How this page is reviewed
Reviewed means both products compared here was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
Answer a few quick questions and get one clear recommendation based on how you actually plan to use crypto — with rationale, tradeoffs, and a path to monitor the decision.
No signup·Free first pass · Private·No spam · No account
Not financial advice · Independent · Always do your own research
Not financial advice · For informational purposes only · Always do your own research
