Cake Wallet vs Stack Wallet (2026)

Cake Wallet and Stack Wallet are the two best-known multi-coin wallets that put privacy coins first. Both are free, open source and non-custodial. Stack Wallet is developed by Cypher Stack, a team that also does Monero research. This page compares them as of October 2026. Frosting Guide is independent of both.

At a glance

Coins and platforms

Both cover Monero, Bitcoin and Litecoin with MWEB. Beyond that they diverge. Cake Wallet leans towards Bitcoin, stablecoins and EVM networks, with Zcash on mobile. Stack Wallet supports smaller privacy projects that Cake Wallet does not, such as Firo, Epic Cash and Salvium, and still supports Wownero, which Cake Wallet removed. See Cake Wallet supported coins.

Stack Wallet runs on Windows as well as macOS and Linux. Cake Wallet's Windows releases are paused while its desktop app is redesigned (status), so on Windows Stack Wallet is the multi-coin option today.

Fees

Neither charges to send or receive; you pay network fees. Both route swaps through third-party providers and earn from them. Stack Wallet's website says it charges a small fee on exchanges. Cake Wallet says providers build fees into the quoted rate; its open-source code passes affiliate or markup settings, with unpublished amounts, to several of its current swap providers (Cake Wallet source code, October 2026). Compare the final received amount before confirming a swap (swap guide).

Privacy

Both handle Monero with the same protocol, so the core transaction privacy is equal. The differences:

• Tor. Stack Wallet has built-in Tor with a kill switch that stops network traffic if Tor drops. Cake Wallet's built-in Tor is labelled experimental and is off by default; it also has Tor-only modes for its swap and price services (guide).
• Monero extras. Stack Wallet includes a churning tool that sends Monero back to yourself to add more distance between transactions. Cake Wallet has Monero coin control and subaddresses.
• Bitcoin. Cake Wallet is ahead for Bitcoin privacy: Silent Payments (since May 2024) and Payjoin v2 (since May 2025). Stack Wallet supports PayNyms (BIP47) and offers CashFusion for Bitcoin Cash and eCash.

Safety

Both publish their code. Stack Wallet uses the GPL-3.0 licence; Cake Wallet uses MIT and says its builds are not yet reproducible. Cake Wallet supports hardware wallets for Monero and Bitcoin (Ledger, Trezor) and its own air-gapped signer, Cupcake; we found no hardware wallet support in Stack Wallet's code. For larger amounts that is a real advantage for Cake Wallet (hardware wallet guide).

Cake Wallet's main incident was weak 12-word Bitcoin seeds created in 2020–2021, disclosed in May 2021 (security history). We found no published security advisory for Stack Wallet, which does not by itself mean it has had no bugs. Either way, neither team will ask for your seed, and anyone offering "support" by direct message is a scammer.

Features compared

• Gift cards. Cake Wallet has Cake Pay. Stack Wallet v2.6.0 added a Cake Pay gift-card integration as well.
• Lightning. Cake Wallet added Bitcoin Lightning in February 2026. WalletScrutiny relabelled Cake Wallet "custodial" on 6 October 2026 because of how the optional Lightning balance works; Cake describes it as self-custodial (details).
• Multisig. Stack Wallet includes a FROST-based Bitcoin multisig wallet type.
• Backups. Both offer app backup files in addition to seeds. Your written seed remains the real backup (guide).

Development pace

Both projects are active. Stack Wallet released v2.6.0 in June 2026, adding Cake Pay gift cards, an Exolix exchange integration, Litecoin Ordinals handling and Firo Spark improvements, followed by fix releases up to v2.7.3 on 16 September 2026 (App Store). Cake Wallet released 6.0 (February 2026), 6.2 (June 2026, Trezor for Monero) and 6.5.0 (October 2026). Cake Wallet also removes coins when their networks become a burden: Haven was removed in March 2025, Wownero by January 2026, and new Zano wallets stopped in 6.5.0. Stack Wallet still supports Wownero. If you rely on a smaller coin, check that your wallet still supports it after each update.

Moving between them

For Monero, a 25-word seed works in both apps; set a restore height from before your first transaction (restore height calculator). A Cake Wallet 16-word Polyseed may not restore everywhere, so the safest way to move is often to create a new wallet in the other app and send the funds. For Bitcoin and other coins, standard BIP39 phrases usually restore in both, but check the derivation path and address type after restoring.

Which should you choose?

Choose Cake Wallet if…

• you want a Ledger, Trezor or air-gapped signer;
• you care about Bitcoin privacy (Silent Payments, Payjoin) or Lightning;
• you hold stablecoins on EVM networks.

Choose Stack Wallet if…

• you need Windows desktop support now;
• you hold Firo, Epic Cash, Salvium or Wownero;
• you want a Tor kill switch and Monero churning.

Neither wallet suits everyone, and both are free to try. Test with a small amount first, write down the seed before you deposit anything, and keep large balances on a hardware wallet or an offline signer. More options are in Cake Wallet alternatives.

Frequently asked questions