Electrum vs Monero GUI 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.

Monero's own 25-word seed: 24 words encode the private spend key and the 25th is a checksum. It is not BIP39, but it is the most widely used seed format among Monero wallets. The GUI creates and restores only this format, and can also restore a wallet from its private keys or from a hardware wallet.

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 Monero Project calls itself a loose collective of individuals; the GUI has no company behind it. The terms of use of getmonero.org, last revised in June 2017, are governed by the laws of South Africa.

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.

Built by volunteer and crowdfunded contributors under the oversight of the Monero Core Team. No part of the block reward goes to development; the project is funded by donations to its General Fund and through the Community Crowdfunding System.