Clients

Overview

A bitcoin client is the end-user software that facilitates private key generation and security, payment sending on behalf of a private key, and optionally provides:

• Useful information about the state of the network and transactions.
• Information related to the private keys under its management.
• Syndication of network events to other peer clients.

This table compares the features of the different clients. All of the listed clients are open-source.

Feature key

Wallet Security

How well the client protects your private keys from people with access to the machine the wallet is stored on. The private keys can be encrypted, for example. The private keys can also be either stored on your device or on a remote server.

Network Security

Clients which more fully implement the Bitcoin network protocol are safer -- they can't be as easily tricked by powerful attackers. A client which fully implements the protocol will always use the correct block chain and will never allow double-spends or invalid transactions to exist in the block chain under any circumstances. Clients which only partially implement the protocol typically trust that 50% or more of the network's mining power is honest. Some clients trust one or more remote servers to protect them from double-spends and other network attacks.

Setup Time

Some clients require that you download and verify a large amount of data before you can send or receive BTC.

Maturity

When the project was started.

Table

Client	Get Started	Audience	Wallet Security	Network Security	Backups	Setup Time	Disk Space	Maturity	Multi-user	Available for
Airbitz	Download	Everyone	Encrypted, on-device. Server backup	Partial	Automatic	Instant	20 MB	Oct 2014	Multi-wallet
Armory	Download	Power users	Encrypted, on-device	Addon	One-time	Hours	40+ GB	Jul 2011	Multi-wallet
Bitcoin Core	Download	End-users	Encrypted, on-device	Full	Manual	Hours	20+ GB	May 2011	No
bitcoind	Download	Programmers	Encrypted, on-device	Full	Manual	Hours	20+ GB	Aug 2009	Virtual accounts
Bitcoin Explorer	Download	Power Users	Ephemeral, Multisig Optional	Full w/local node	BIP39	Instant	3 MB	May 2011	Multi-wallet
libbitcoin-explorer	Build It Yourself	Programmers	Ephemeral, Multisig Optional	Full w/local node	BIP39	Instant	3 MB	May 2011	Multi-wallet
Bitcoin Wallet	Google Play BlackBerry World	End-users	Isolated, on-device	Partial	Manual	Instant	15 MB	Mar 2011	on JB tablets
Blocktrail	Download	Everyone	Encrypted, on-device, Multisig, HD	Full	One-time	Instant	7.5 MB	Sep 2015	Multi-wallet
Electrum	Download	Power users	Encrypted, on-device	Minimal	Memorized	Minutes	5 MB	Nov 2011	No
Gocoin	Build It Yourself	Power users	Designated offline PC	Full	Memorized	Hours	20+GB	May 2013	Multi-wallet
GreenAddress	Web ChromeApp Google Play	Everyone	Encrypted, on-device	Remote	Memorized/Manual	Instant	None	Apr 2013	Yes
MultiBit	Download	End-users	Encrypted, on-device	Partial	Automatic (local)	Seconds	50 MB	Jul 2011	Multi-wallet
Mycelium	Download Google Play	Everyone	Isolated, on-device	Partial	Manual, encrypted	Instant	10 MB	Sep 2013	No
My Wallet	Web-based	Everyone	Encrypted, on-server	Remote	Automatic	Minutes	None	Dec 2011	Yes

For developers

This table shows additional information about various Bitcoin clients that may be relevant to developers.

Client	Website	Source Code	License	Discussion	Architecture
Armory	Link	Github	AGPLv3	Bitcointalk	Integrated with Full Node
Bitcoin Core (Satoshi)	Link	Github	MIT	Sourceforge	Integrated with Full Node
libbitcoin-explorer	Link	Github	AGPLv3	Listserv, Bitcointalk	Server-Client or Integrated with Full Node
Bitcoin Wallet	Link	Github, Google Code	GPLv3	Google+, Bitcointalk	SPV
Electrum	Link	Gitorious	GPLv3	Sourceforge	SPV
Gocoin	Link	Github	proprietary	Bitcointalk	Integrated with Full Node
GreenAddress	Link	Github	LGPLv3	Bitcointalk	Server-Client
MultiBit	Link	Github	MIT	Google Groups	SPV
My Wallet	Link	Github	BSD*	None	Server-Client
bits of proof	Link	Github	Apache 2.0	Bitcointalk	Server-Client
btcd	Link	Github	ISC	IRC	Server-Client

See Also

• List of clients
• Bitcoin Ladder