Bankless: Top 10 Browser Wallets and Their Pros and Cons at a Glance
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Bankless: Top 10 Browser Wallets and Their Pros and Cons at a Glance
Which is the best browser wallet today?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy William M. Peaster
Translated by Yangz
First: Browser wallets are crypto wallets designed for use through web browsers.
For most of us, when we hear "browser wallet," we immediately think of browser extension projects like MetaMask that users can directly download into Chrome, Brave, and other browsers.
But beyond that, there are many more types of projects. In addition to wallet extensions, various browser-centric services also fall under the umbrella of "browser wallets."
So, which one provides the most value? To answer this question, I reviewed 10 different browser wallet projects across four distinct wallet styles. They are:
Browser Extensions
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MetaMask
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Coinbase Wallet
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GameStop Wallet
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Rabby
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Math Wallet
Browsers with Built-in Wallets
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Brave
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Opera
"Any Browser" Wallet Services
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WalletConnect
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Portis
Browser-Compatible Desktop Wallets
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Frame
Today, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of these wallets and answer the question: “Which is currently the best browser wallet?”
Let’s find out...
MetaMask
Website: metamask.io
Supported Browsers: Chrome, Brave, Firefox, Edge
Supported Chains: All Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) blockchains
The MetaMask extension is the most widely supported browser wallet in the crypto economy and has become the standard for all decentralized applications (dapps).
Pros:
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Easy to download and use
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Clearly explains the wallet recovery phrase and backup storage process
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Easy to import existing accounts or create new ones
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Compatible with Ledger, Trezor, and GridPlus hardware wallets
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Built-in token swap system within the wallet
Cons:
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Cannot recover lost accounts like smart contract wallets can
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Due to MetaMask's popularity, its users are frequently targeted by phishing scammers on social media
Overall Score: 9/10
Coinbase Wallet
Website: coinbase.com/wallet
Supported Browsers: Chrome
Supported Chains: All Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) blockchains
Crypto exchange giant Coinbase launched the Coinbase Wallet browser extension in November 2021. Since then, Coinbase has rapidly advanced, making Coinbase Wallet a viable challenger to MetaMask. It's growing fast, but the wallet still lags behind MetaMask for now.
Pros:
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Self-custodial
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Easy to download and use
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Easy to fund via Coinbase Pay
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Offers a range of default networks such as Ethereum, Arbitrum, BNB Chain, plus support for custom networks
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Provides an auto-lock timer
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Includes a "log out" function
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Supports non-EVM cryptocurrencies (BTC, BCH, DOGE, LTC, SOL, SPL tokens, XLM, and XRP)
Cons:
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Does not sufficiently emphasize the recovery phrase and backup process
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Not as universally supported as MetaMask
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Cannot recover lost accounts like smart contract wallets can
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No built-in token swapping functionality
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Currently lacks direct hardware wallet support
Overall Score: 8/10
GameStop Wallet
Website: wallet.gamestop.com
Supported Browsers: Chrome
Supported Chains: Ethereum, Loopring L2
GameStop is the world’s largest video game retailer. Over recent months, the company’s Web3 team has been building the GameStop Wallet in anticipation of future exploration into the crypto economy. The wallet stands out for offering direct support for the Loopring zk-rollup L2.
Pros:
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Self-custodial
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Easy to download
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Clearly outlines the risks of self-custody
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Carefully explains the recovery phrase setup process
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L2 support via Loopring
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Built-in token swap system
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Direct hardware wallet support
Cons:
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Lacks broad direct dapp support
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Cannot recover lost accounts like smart contract wallets can
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Currently supports only two chains
Overall Score: 7/10
Rabby
Website: rabby.io
Supported Browsers: Chrome, Brave – Firefox & Edge coming soon
Supported Chains: Supports over 30 chains, including major EVM chains like Ethereum, Polygon, and Optimism, plus some non-EVM chains.
Created by the DeBank team, Rabby is a browser extension wallet emphasizing multi-chain support, clear transaction signing experience, and pre-transaction risk scanning.
Pros:
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Self-custodial
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Easy to download
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Open-source — anyone can inspect or build upon it
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Extensive support for hardware wallets, institutional wallets, and mobile wallets
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Clearly explains the seed phrase setup process
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Provides an in-wallet widget system
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Emphasizes security approval systems in the user interface
Cons:
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UI feels slightly cluttered
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Lacks broad direct DApp support
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Cannot recover lost accounts like smart contract wallets can
Overall Score: 7/10
Math Wallet
Website: mathwallet.org
Supported Browsers: Chrome, Brave, and Edge
Supported Chains: A few EVM chains plus Bitcoin, Kusama, Solana, TRON, etc.
Math Wallet is a crypto wallet browser extension supporting over 100 different blockchains. However, compared to other popular crypto wallet solutions, the project feels relatively messy to use.
Pros:
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Self-custodial
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Easy to download
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Supports a wide range of blockchains
Cons:
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The wallet creation process and UI feel unintuitive
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Lacks broad DApp support
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Cannot recover lost accounts like smart contract wallets can
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Does not emphasize the risks and importance of the recovery phrase process
Overall Score: 5.5/10
Brave Wallet
Website: brave.com/wallet
Supported Browsers: Brave
Supported Chains: Supports EVM chains, thus ETH and ERC20 tokens, plus Solana and SPL tokens
In November 2021, crypto-friendly browser Brave launched an integrated cryptocurrency wallet called Brave Wallet. The app allows you to interact with Web3 directly from your browser experience, offering a glimpse into the future of the internet. It currently supports all EVM-based chains and Solana.
Pros:
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Self-custodial
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Easy to download
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Provides built-in token swap system
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Compatible with Ramp and Wyre
Cons:
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Lacks broad direct dapp support
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Cannot recover lost accounts like smart contract wallets can
Overall Score: 8/10
Opera Wallet
Website: opera.com/crypto/next
Supported Browsers: Opera
Supported Chains: Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, and Bitcoin (plus some testnets)
In January 2022, Opera launched a dedicated crypto browser with an integrated wallet system. The browser also integrates directly with Discord and Telegram, giving it a strong crypto-native feel.
Pros:
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Self-custodial
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Easy to download
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Provides built-in token swap system
Cons:
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Lacks broad direct DApp support
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Missing support for many blockchains
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Cannot recover lost accounts like smart contract wallets can
Overall Score: 7/10
WalletConnect
Website: walletconnect.com
Supported Browsers: Any browser
Supported Chains: Any blockchain
According to its website, WalletConnect is an "open-source protocol to connect dapps to mobile wallets via QR code scanning or deep linking." For example, Rainbow Wallet is a popular Ethereum wallet, but it does not yet have a browser extension.
WalletConnect enablesmobile Rainbow users (and others) to easily connect to any dapp from any browser.
Pros:
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It's a meta-wallet that supports all wallets
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Easy to use
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Works across different browsers
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Open-source
Cons:
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No significant issues identified with WalletConnect so far
Overall Score: 9.2/10
Portis
Website: wallet.portis.io/login
Supported Browsers: Any browser
Supported Chains: Ethereum, Bitcoin, Gnosis Chain, Polygon, EOS
Portis offers dapps a "simple in-browser email/password login method," intuitive and familiar for mainstream users.
Pros:
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Works across various browsers
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Built-in wallet backup feature
Cons:
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Wallet UI feels somewhat cluttered (personal opinion)
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Lacks broad direct dapp support
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Limited support for many blockchains
Overall Score: 6.5/10
Frame
Website: frame.sh
Supported Systems: Linux, MacOS, and Windows, with Chrome and Firefox extensions
Supported Chains: All Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) blockchains
Frame is a desktop wallet offering the Frame Companion browser extension. This connector "embeds connections to Frame (a desktop-native Ethereum wallet) into browser-based applications that cannot directly connect to Frame."
Pros:
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Works with all dapps
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Privacy-focused
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Some of my colleagues really love this project
Cons:
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I had trouble using the Frame desktop + extension combo on a new computer due to recurring error messages, making it difficult for me to explore the project firsthand
Overall Score: 5.5/10
Conclusion
After reviewing the 10 browser wallets listed above, I currently believe WalletConnect (9.2/10) is the best overall product because it serves as an excellent "meta-wallet" that allows you to connect wherever and however you want.
Following closely behind is MetaMask (9/10), which has set the standard for direct wallet integration in the crypto economy—and likely will continue to do so.
Here are the rankings by category:
Browser Extensions
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MetaMask - 9/10
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Coinbase Wallet—8/10
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GameStop Wallet—7/10
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Rabby - 7/10
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Math Wallet - 5.5/10
Browsers with Built-in Wallets
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Brave—8/10
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Opera—7/10
"Any Browser" Wallet Services
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WalletConnect - 9.2/10
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Portis—6.5/10
Browser-Compatible Desktop Wallets
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Frame—5.5/10
With more projects entering the space, the browser wallet sector is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.
We already know that Ledger, Rainbow, and Argent are moving toward their own native browser wallets, and these efforts may just be the tip of the iceberg.
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