Ethereum’s popularity is constantly growing, as it’s the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap. The open source software has a decentralized network that relies on smart contracts and the blockchain.
With so many investors, the need for reliable Ethereum wallets is on the rise. There are quite a few options available which can make things confusing. Nevertheless, we’ll try to make the decision process easier, by discussing the best Ethereum wallets below.
Best Ethereum Wallets
Our list of top Ethereum wallets has been carefully handpicked using essential criteria, specifically: control of private keys, the development community, ease of use, backup & security, and last but not least, compatibility with major operating systems.
All of the wallets listed below meet the criteria mentioned above and even if you decide to use another one you should still make sure it fills all these requirements.
Best Ethereum hardware wallets
A hardware wallet is one of the most secure ways of storing your ETH or ERC20 tokens.
Ledger Nano S
The Ledger Nano S is one of the most popular hardware wallets that allows you to store Ethereum among other crypto currencies. You can store both ETH and ETC on the Ledger Nano S and when you want to spend some of your coins the wallet signs it under the private key stored on it.
Transactions are controlled using Ledger’s OLED screen and it has solid security.
Trezor
Trezor is another excellent Ethereum wallet which was originally created for Bitcoin. Nevertheless, you can now use it to store Ethereum as well, using the MyEtherWallet web UI.
Furthermore, Trezor stores ETH offline on a secure electronic chip which can be enabled only when you log in using your password.
KeepKey
KeepKey has similar features to Trezor and Ledger Nano S but it also provides a larger screen which is probably one of the reasons it’s more expensive.
KeepKey also supports other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Litecoin. The wallet uses a hierarchical deterministic feature which allows it to generate an unlimited number of keys.
It’s heavier compared to the Trezor and Ledger Nano S so not as easy to carry around and its plastic body is not the sturdiest but still has excellent security and features. If you’d like a larger screen and an easy setup it’s definitely worth checking out.
Best Ethereum desktop wallets
Exodus
Exodus is a free desktop wallet that supports multiple cryptocurrencies and has a polished, intuitive interface that displays your coin portfolio as a pie chart.
The private keys are stored only on your computer but you do need an Internet connection to use Exodus. It provides backup seed keys for restoring your wallet and one-click email recovery to make sure your funds are always safe.
Exodus works on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS, and privacy requires entering your personal email but it doesn’t provide support for smart contracts.
Mist
Mist is the official Ethereum wallet that comes with ShapeShift built-in so it can be used to exchange other currencies.
During the setup, you will need to wait for a while so Mist can sync with all Ethereum nodes. After that, you will be asked to enter a secure password which you will absolutely need to remember as it is your only way of accessing the wallet.
Like any other wallet, Mist lets you access your public and private keys for performing transactions. The wallet offers support for smart contracts and works on all major platforms, specifically Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
MetaMask
MetaMask is an easy to use Ethereum desktop wallet that allows you to store and send ETH, but also access decentralized Ethereum apps (dapps).
The practical UI lets you easily switch between the main Ethereum network and the test network. You can export your private keys when needed and they are password encrypted and stored only on your computer.
You can use MetaMask on Chrome and Firefox browsers, but also via the Brave browser.
Best Ethereum web wallets
MyEtherWallet
MyEtherWallet is one of the most well-known and used Ethereum web wallets. You can log in via your web browser using your account credentials like you would on any other website.
It’s worth mentioning web wallets are not very secure and susceptible to hacking so we recommend you use MyEtherWallet or any other web wallet only with a hardware wallet as it allows you to connect your Ledger Nano S or Trezor to access your coins in MyEther’s web interface.
Nevertheless, MyEtherWallet allows you to control your private key on your machine and also provides support for smart contracts.
Coinbase
Coinbase is a popular Bitcoin wallet but this year, Ethereum support was added as well. As long as your country is supported (you can see all supported countries here), you can use it to store Ethereum. Coinbase offers a web wallet, as well as Android and iOS apps.
You just need to register an account, get your public address and transfer your ETH to it. It’s pretty straightforward although the private keys are stored on Coinbase’s hosted servers, so it’s not very secure.
Even so, Coinbase is an excellent option for storing ETH short term. If you plan on keeping the coins for a longer time, your best bet is to use a hardware wallet or a paper wallet.
Best Ethereum mobile wallets
TrustWallet
TrustWallet is an Ethereum wallet that also supports ERC20 tokens. It was recently acquired by Binance, the well-known crypto-exchange and your private keys are encrypted and only stored locally.
The wallet also lets you perform trades on the decentralized exchange, as well as connect to decentralized apps via the Web3 browser.
Jaxx
Jaxx is another excellent mobile wallet that works on both iOS and Android platforms, but also supports desktop operating systems (Windows, Linux, Mac OS), and offers browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox.
While it’s not open-source it does have an active development community and the private keys are stored only on your device. There are also seed keys for restoring funds and besides ETH you can use it to store 12 other cryptocurrencies.
Best Ethereum paper wallets
Ethaddress
Ethaddress is one of the most popular Ethereum paper wallets which enables you to create an Ethereum account using public and private keys printed on a piece of paper.
It’s one of the cheapest forms of cold storage that’s also easy to access and secure. As an added bonus, you also have the option to encrypt your private key and make it even more secure.
Once you download the code from Github, open the index.html file and you’ll be able to generate the address from the HTML page.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a lot of choices when it comes to storing your Ether. If you can afford a hardware wallet, we strongly recommend getting a Ledger or a Trezor, otherwise, any of the choices presented are a good alternative.
