Electrum is a free non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet for Bitcoin and Lightning Network. It is available for Windows, Linux (pre-installed on Tails OS), macOS and Android. Electrum is written in Python and uses the Qt widget toolkit for the user interface. Electrum is a lightweight client: it does not download the entire blockchain and instead uses simplified payment verification. Transactions are sent to public servers. It was released in 2011.
Mayank Sharma of TechRadar praised the wallet's advanced features, such as multisignature transactions, while noting that the wallet is not designed for inexperienced users. Marco Monroy Robles of Money liked Electrum's simple setup process, but criticized its lack of direct customer support.
Although wallet files are encrypted with PBKDF2, private keys are encrypted with AES256 with the user's password. This could allow an attacker with access to the encrypted data to decrypt the private keys using a dictionary attack or a brute force attack.
From the Wikipedia article “Electrum (software)”, CC BY-SA 4.0
What is Electrum?
Electrum by Electrum Technologies GmbH (developed by Thomas Voegtlin) is open-source Windows software in the finance & crypto category. It ranks 3rd by popularity among finance & crypto in this catalogue. It is written in Python. Besides Windows, it is available for GNU/Linux, Android and macOS.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (NSIS) installers for 64-bit Windows. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Updates and version history
The current version is 4.8.3, released on October 24, 2026. The version history goes back to May 21, 2021: 33 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 6.1 releases a year. The last update is less than a month old.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 43,645 times. The source code on GitHub (spesmilo/electrum) has 8,630 stars. Wikipedia has an article about it in 2 of our languages. Similar programs include GnuCash, Binance and Gridcoin.
Project description on GitHub: “Electrum Bitcoin Wallet”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Documented silent install
- Frequent updates (about 6.1 a year)
- Also runs on GNU/Linux, Android and macOS
- Large user base
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
In short: Electrum is an open-source finance & crypto tool for 64-bit PCs. It is actively maintained. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Screenshots
Is Electrum safe to download?
- The file is served by download.electrum.org, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
6B3F3E1FFD2C11FCA31B1A23F7CB826AD6C5BC1D58F988F17602F3EE6CB9B417· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the spesmilo/electrum repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- Actively maintained10
- Security policy10
- Restricted token permissions10
- No binaries in the repository10
- Licence declared10
- Code review5
- Pinned dependencies5
- Branch protection3
- No dangerous workflows0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Fuzzing0
- Static code analysis0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 33 versions ›33 versions over 5 years · about 6.1 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.8.3Latest | October 24, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 4.8.2 | September 12, 2026 | 52.3 MB | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 4.8.1 | August 12, 2026 | 52.2 MB | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 4.8.0 | July 13, 2026 | 52.2 MB | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 4.7.2 | April 2, 2026 | 51.5 MB | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 4.7.1 | March 2, 2026 | 51.5 MB | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 4.7.0 | January 23, 2026 | 51.5 MB | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 4.6.2 | August 25, 2025 | 51.8 MB | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id Electrum.Electrum -echoco install electrum.install -yscoop install extras/electrumelectrum-4.8.3-setup.exe /SRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install --cask electrumflatpak install flathub org.electrum.electrumInformation
- Publisher
- Electrum Technologies GmbH
- Developer
- Thomas Voegtlin
- Category
- Finance & crypto
- Licence
- MIT License
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/spesmilo/electrum
- Written in
- Python
- Content rating
- All ages
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- EXE (NSIS)
- Other platforms
- GNU/Linux, Android, macOS
- Version
- 4.8.3
- Released
- October 24, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- May 21, 2021
- Versions listed
- 33
- Updates / year
- 6.1
- Chocolatey downloads
- 43,645
- GitHub stars
- 8,630
- GitHub forks
- 3,487
- Website
- electrum.org
- winget ID
- Electrum.Electrum
- Chocolatey package
- electrum.install
- Scoop package
- extras/electrum
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Electrum free?
Yes. Electrum is open-source software under the MIT License licence.
Is Electrum safe to download?
The download comes from download.electrum.org, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Electrum with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Electrum be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does Electrum run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of Electrum?
The versions page lists all 33 versions with links to their official installer files, back to May 21, 2021.
What are alternatives to Electrum?
GnuCash, Binance, Gridcoin, Bisq and Chia. The alternatives page compares them.
