Electrum vs MetaMask Comparison

Electrum creates its own seed phrase: 12 words from the same 2048-word list as BIP39, but with a version number hidden in the phrase's hash instead of a BIP39 checksum, so a wallet that reads only BIP39 phrases cannot restore it. Electrum publishes the format, and it can also restore BIP39 phrases and SLIP-39 shares.

New wallets get a 12-word phrase; 12- and 24-word phrases from other wallets can be imported. One phrase gives each account an Ethereum-style address, a Solana address and a Bitcoin address; Bitcoin uses only the Native SegWit address type.

Seed phrase handling in the browser extension and its key libraries, ordered by MetaMask after users reported that one phrase restored different accounts. No flaw in the phrase standard was found; three of eleven suggestions were left unresolved. The phone app was last audited in 2019.

Electrum Technologies GmbH, Berlin, develops and distributes the software and hosts electrum.org. The company holds no user accounts and cannot freeze or reverse payments. Anyone can run an Electrum server, and none of the 84 servers in the app's built-in list is on electrum.org.

The privacy notice and terms of use name Consensys Software Inc., doing business as MetaMask, at 5049 Edwards Ranch Rd, Fort Worth, Texas. Data is stored in the United States. US users fall under Texas law with arbitration; UK users under English law with arbitration in London; others under Irish law with arbitration in Dublin unless they choose otherwise. The App Store lists ConsenSys AG as the seller.

Thomas Voegtlin created Electrum in November 2011 and founded Electrum Technologies GmbH in 2013. Two developers, Thomas Voegtlin and SomberNight, have write access to the code; website changes and releases must be signed by both.

MetaMask has been built since 2016 by Consensys Software Inc., which also runs Infura, the default blockchain server. On 9 September 2026 the company announced it will rename itself MetaMask under Joe Lubin as chairman and CEO, and move its protocols and institutional business into a new company that keeps the Consensys name; the separation is expected by the end of 2026.