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Privy vs thirdweb

A wallet-and-auth layer next to a platform that also deploys contracts. The login lists overlap. The invoice does not.

Captured Oct 20, 2026

Privy logoPrivyLoginWallet

Stripe

Auth and embedded wallets for apps that want a user onchain without a seed phrase.

Captured Oct 20, 2026

thirdweb logothirdwebLoginWallet

thirdweb

In-app wallets inside a broader onchain platform: connect UI, account abstraction, contracts, and RPC.

The flows

Privy logoPrivy

  1. 01Entry in the host app

    Privy lab entry. The host control opens the vendor’s default UI.

  2. 02Method picker

    Privy default UI on the email method. No code has been sent.

  3. 03Credential

    Privy one-time code screen. The code was not submitted.

  4. No screenshot

    04MFA, if the app requires it

    Privy recommends a passkey or authenticator app when the primary login is delegated to email, SMS, or a social provider. Not every app turns this on.

    Privy test accounts and their one-time codes live in the dashboard under User management → Authentication → Advanced. This run does not read a real inbox. Set PRIVY_TEST_EMAIL and PRIVY_TEST_OTP locally, without committing them, to capture the steps after the code.

  5. No screenshot

    05Embedded wallet

    Docs say a wallet can be created automatically, on demand, or before first login. We have not timed which of those a default setup does.

  6. No screenshot

    06Ready state

    The user should land back in the host app with an address. Key export is documented as a later action, not necessarily this screen.

thirdweb logothirdweb

  1. 01Connect Button or Connect Embed

    thirdweb lab entry. The host control opens the vendor’s default UI.

  2. 02Auth method list

    thirdweb default UI on the email method. No code has been sent.

  3. 03Verification

    thirdweb one-time code screen. The code was not submitted.

  4. No screenshot

    04In-app wallet

    Docs say the wallet is created from the verified identity and does not ask the user to confirm a transaction just to exist.

    thirdweb sends a real email code. There is no documented sandbox OTP, so this run stops at the code screen and does not read an inbox. This client allows localhost:3000. Add www.kycflows.com and kycflows.com to its allowed domains.

  5. No screenshot

    05Optional funding or gasless prompt

    Buy, bridge, and account-abstraction prompts are separate widgets. They are not part of the login unless the app adds them.

Privy is the wallet and the login. thirdweb will do that job and will also sell you contracts, RPC, account abstraction, and payments from the same account. If the design problem stops at “a person has an address,” Privy is the closer product. If the same team is shipping the contract those tokens move through, thirdweb’s scope is the point.

Both document email, social, passkey, and external wallets. thirdweb’s default code sample names email, Google, Apple, Facebook, and passkey before you customize. Privy’s docs lead with a longer social list and with SMS. Those lists are catalogs. A real app shows a subset, which is why the field counts below are blank.

On price, Privy is a monthly band tied to authenticated users. thirdweb is a platform plan starting at $99, plus a wallet fee after 1,000 monthly active users, starting at $0.015. A small app can look cheaper on either one depending on whether you needed the platform. The connect modals are on the vendor pages. Step counts and time are still unmeasured.

The table

Pending rows are the ones a capture will fill. They match on purpose.

What you are buying

Documented

Privy logoPrivy

Authentication and wallets, with policy controls on signing.

thirdweb logothirdweb

An onchain platform. In-app wallets are one product on it.

Sign-in, as documented

Documented

Privy logoPrivy

Email, SMS, a long social list, passkeys, external wallets, existing OIDC.

thirdweb logothirdweb

Email, phone, passkey, social, guest mode, external wallets, custom JWT.

Account abstraction

Documented

Privy logoPrivy

Policies and signers are the control surface Privy emphasizes.

thirdweb logothirdweb

EIP-4337 and 7702 are sold beside the wallet, including gas sponsorship.

Pricing shape

Documented

Privy logoPrivy

Free through 499 MAU, then $299 a month.

thirdweb logothirdweb

Platform from $99 a month, plus MAU fees after 1,000 free wallets.

Steps to a wallet

Pending

Privy logoPrivy

Pending first capture

thirdweb logothirdweb

Pending first capture

Fields the user fills

Pending

Privy logoPrivy

Pending first capture

thirdweb logothirdweb

Pending first capture

Time to first wallet

Pending

Privy logoPrivy

Pending first capture

thirdweb logothirdweb

Pending first capture

Last captured

Documented

Privy logoPrivy

Oct 20, 2026 · 3 of 6 frames

thirdweb logothirdweb

Oct 20, 2026 · 3 of 5 frames

thirdweb’s MAU fee and the platform subscription stack. Privy’s signature allowance (50,000 a month on the published developer plans) is a second meter once you pass it. Compare the invoice you would actually get, not the smallest number on each page.

Neither column is a recommendation. Sponsors do not reorder this page. If a sentence is wrong, send a correction with the source.