Frequently Asked Questions

MetaMask is a self-custodial cryptocurrency wallet available as a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Brave, and Edge, as well as a mobile app for iOS and Android. It allows you to store, send, and receive Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens, interact with decentralized applications (dApps), and manage NFTs.

Developed by ConsenSys, MetaMask has become the industry-standard Web3 wallet with over 30 million monthly active users. It serves as the gateway to the Ethereum ecosystem and thousands of DeFi protocols.

MetaMask can be installed from your browser's extension store (Chrome Web Store, Firefox Add-ons, etc.) or by downloading the mobile app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

After installation, you create a new wallet by setting a password and securely storing your 12-word Secret Recovery Phrase. This phrase is the only way to recover your wallet — write it down and store it offline in a secure location. Never share it with anyone.

MetaMask is one of the most trusted crypto wallets in the ecosystem. It is open-source, regularly audited by independent security firms, and self-custodial — meaning only you control your private keys. MetaMask never stores your keys on its servers.

For maximum security, pair MetaMask with a hardware wallet like Ledger or Trezor. Always verify the URL before connecting to any dApp, and never share your Secret Recovery Phrase.

MetaMask natively supports Ethereum (ETH) and all ERC-20 fungible tokens, ERC-721 NFTs, and ERC-1155 multi-tokens. Through network additions, MetaMask can also interact with tokens on Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, BSC, Avalanche, and other EVM-compatible chains.

With MetaMask Snaps, support extends to non-EVM blockchains as well, including Bitcoin and Cosmos-based networks.

MetaMask has a built-in swap aggregator that sources the best rates from multiple decentralized exchanges including Uniswap, SushiSwap, and others. Open MetaMask, click the Swap button, select the tokens and amount you want to exchange, review the quote and gas estimate, then confirm the transaction.

MetaMask Swaps charges a 0.875% service fee on each swap. Smart Transactions can be enabled to submit swaps through a private mempool, reducing the chance of failed transactions and MEV attacks.

Snaps are community-built extensions that add new capabilities to MetaMask. They run in a sandboxed environment within MetaMask and can add support for non-EVM blockchains (like Bitcoin, Solana, or Cosmos), provide transaction insights and security warnings, or introduce entirely new account types.

All Snaps undergo an audit process before being listed in the official Snaps directory. This extensibility system is unique to MetaMask — neither Phantom Wallet nor Trust Wallet offer comparable plug-in architectures.

MetaMask and Phantom Wallet serve different primary ecosystems. MetaMask is the dominant wallet for Ethereum and all EVM-compatible chains with 30M+ users, while Phantom Wallet originated on Solana and later expanded to Ethereum and Polygon, serving 15M+ users.

MetaMask offers advantages including Snaps extensibility, open-source code transparency, broader dApp integration, hardware wallet support (Ledger, Trezor), and Smart Transactions. Phantom Wallet provides a more streamlined experience for Solana-native users with built-in staking and a polished interface.

Trust Wallet, backed by Binance, supports 65+ blockchains and has 60M+ users, giving it broader multi-chain coverage. MetaMask has 30M+ users but dominates the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem and is the default wallet for most EVM-based dApps.

MetaMask offers a superior browser extension experience, the Snaps extensibility system, hardware wallet integration, Smart Transactions for MEV protection, and is the de facto standard for Ethereum development. Trust Wallet excels in multi-chain breadth, built-in staking for numerous networks, and a mobile-first approach.

MetaMask itself is free to download and use. There are no fees for sending or receiving tokens. However, a 0.875% service fee is applied on token swaps performed through the built-in swap aggregator.

Standard blockchain gas fees (network transaction fees) apply to all on-chain transactions regardless of which wallet you use — these fees go to network validators, not to MetaMask.

Yes. MetaMask integrates with Ledger and Trezor hardware wallets, allowing you to sign transactions with your hardware device while using MetaMask's full interface to interact with dApps, swap tokens, and manage your portfolio.

This combination provides the security of cold storage with the convenience of MetaMask's rich DeFi and Web3 interface. This hardware wallet integration is a key advantage of MetaMask over competitors like Trust Wallet, which does not support hardware wallets.