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Multisig Setup

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Wallet software

Last reviewed: October 2026

In a multisig, the wallet software is the coordinator. It combines the public keys of your three devices, shows your balance and builds transactions for the devices to sign. It never holds a private key. Three free programs do this well.

Sparrow

Desktop only: Windows, macOS and Linux. Clear screens, shows you exactly what’s in each transaction, and works with every hardware wallet on this site over USB. It’s what the setup guide uses, and my first choice.

  • Good: transparent, strict about standards, easy descriptor backups, verifies its own updates.
  • Watch out: no phone app. Lots of information on screen, which takes a moment to get used to.

Nunchuk

Desktop and phone apps with multisig at the center. The phone app is the main reason to pick it. It also offers paid plans for inheritance and assisted setups, but the basic wallet is free and works without an account.

  • Good: polished apps, works with the same hardware wallets, handy if you want to check your balance on your phone.
  • Watch out: the extras are built around their own service. Decide whether you want that before you start.

Electrum

The oldest of the three, around since 2011. It supports multisig and the common hardware wallets, and many guides still refer to it.

  • Good: long track record, lightweight, runs anywhere.
  • Watch out: dated interface, and setting up multisig with hardware wallets takes more fiddling than in Sparrow.

What matters more than the app

All three use the same open standards for keys and for PSBT (partially signed transactions). A multisig built in Sparrow can be opened in Nunchuk from its descriptor, and rebuilt in Electrum from the three public keys. So pick the one you find easiest to read, and put your effort into backing up the descriptor.

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