Cavos
Cavos is a Magic alternative when you want invisible onboarding with a device-bound key rather than delegated HSM signing. The wallet is embedded in the application. Identity selects which account you are, but a device factor is required to sign. Cavos holds no key that can move user funds and does not reconstruct a master key with MPC.
One SDK ships chain-native adapters for those three networks. On Starknet each wallet is an audited OpenZeppelin account contract — AccountUpgradeable v3.0.0 — controlled by one stark key derived from the MasterDEK and app salt. Solana uses a native Ed25519 system account. Stellar uses a classic G-account. Recovery is off-chain: a new device restores the MasterDEK with a passkey or an opt-in hardware-isolated enclave. There is no on-chain device-signer list and no on-chain social recovery.
Cavos is not a drop-in for Magic. Magic is stronger for simple email-first EVM onboarding. Cavos is Starknet, Solana, and Stellar with native adapters and Gas Sponsorship in Any Token. The published free tier covers the first 1,000 wallet creates; Essential is $59/mo and Complete is $139/mo.
- You want the signing key to be device-bound and non-exportable rather than provider-delegated.
- You need Starknet, Solana, or Stellar with native account and execution semantics.
- You need documented, non-custodial recovery and passkey restore on new devices.
Embedded Starknet wallet, Embedded Solana wallet, Embedded Stellar wallet, How to Add an Embedded Wallet to a React App, Embedded Wallet API (2026): SDK Methods & Auth, Non-Custodial Embedded Wallets: How Self-Custody Works (2026), Embedded Wallet Providers Compared in 2026, and Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS): How Embedded Wallet Platforms Work (2026).
Cavos vs Magic →
Privy
Privy is a widely adopted embedded wallet and authentication provider focused primarily on EVM chains, offering both embedded wallets and external wallet connection.
Privy manages embedded wallet keys through its key-management infrastructure, with configurable self-custody and recovery options. Chain coverage is broad EVM plus Solana. Gas sponsorship is available through paymaster and bundler integrations, typically on EVM smart accounts. Connecting existing extensions is a core capability Cavos does not offer.
Choose Privy when the product is EVM-first, when you want a single vendor for embedded wallets and WalletConnect or injected wallets, or when you need the largest available ecosystem of integrations. Stripe acquired Privy in 2025. The public Developer free tier is 0–499 MAU with 50K signatures and $1M volume per month; Core is $299/mo and Scale is $499/mo.
- Your product is EVM-first and you need broad, battle-tested EVM coverage today.
- You want a single vendor for both embedded wallets and external wallet connection (WalletConnect, injected wallets).
- You need the largest available ecosystem of integrations and reference implementations.
Privy alternatives.
Cavos vs Privy →
Dynamic
Dynamic provides wallet connection, embedded wallets, and authentication tooling with a strong emphasis on multi-wallet login experiences and developer-facing configuration. Connecting existing external wallets is a core capability. Cavos provisions the wallet rather than connecting to one the user already holds. The two models can coexist in one product.
Embedded wallet keys are managed by the provider’s key infrastructure with configurable custody models. Dynamic’s public pricing page lists TSS-MPC key management as a plan feature. Chain coverage is multi-chain, with EVM breadth and additional non-EVM support; parity varies by chain. Gas sponsorship is supported through account abstraction and paymaster integrations, mainly on EVM.
Fireblocks acquired Dynamic in 2025. That is a vendor-risk and custody-stack input, not a reason to treat the products as interchangeable. Dynamic’s public Growth plan is $249/mo for up to 5,000 monthly active users, then $0.05 per extra MAU. A sandbox is available for integration testing before live mode.
- You need to support many external wallets alongside embedded ones in a single login flow.
- Your users are existing crypto users who already hold wallets you must connect to.
- You want extensive dashboard-level configuration of the authentication experience.
Embedded Wallet vs Browser Extension: Where Should Users Sign?.
Cavos vs Dynamic →
Turnkey
Privy vs Turnkey is usually a layer question, not a feature checklist. Privy is a finished embedded wallet and authentication product. Turnkey is secure key-management infrastructure running in hardware-backed secure enclaves, exposed as a low-level API for building wallets and signing systems. You assemble the wallet experience on top of policy-driven signing primitives.
Keys live in remote enclaves, not on the end user’s device. Server-side signing, organizational policy, quorums, and approval workflows are the point of that design. Chain coverage is broad at the cryptographic-curve and signing-primitive level. Recovery is something you design on top of those primitives.
Choose Turnkey when you are building your own wallet or custody product. Choose a finished SDK when you want login, recovery, and sponsorship already wired. Turnkey’s public Pay as you go tier includes 1,000 wallets and 25 free signatures per month, then $0.10 per signature. Pro is $99/mo.
- You are building your own wallet or custody product and want raw, policy-driven signing primitives.
- You need server-side signing for automated or backend-initiated transactions at scale.
- You want fine-grained organizational policy, quorums, and approval workflows over keys.
Privy vs Turnkey & Turnkey vs Privy (2026).
Cavos vs Turnkey →
Web3Auth
Web3Auth — shipped by Consensys as MetaMask Embedded Wallets after the 2025 acquisition — provides social-login wallets using multi-party computation. Key shares are split across the user’s device, the provider’s network, and recovery factors. Signing reconstructs or jointly computes a signature from those shares.
That is the clearest architectural contrast with Cavos. Cavos never reconstructs a signing key: the device derives the account key and signs. MetaMask’s product page states that Embedded Wallets use MPC with threshold signatures and Shamir’s Secret Sharing, and that export is part of the model. The same page lists native support for EVM and Solana, plus additional networks including Bitcoin and StarkNet.
Choose Web3Auth when you need very broad chain coverage from a single social-login wallet layer, or a key you can export and use in other tooling. Public pricing starts at a free Base plan with 1,000 monthly active wallets. Growth is $69/mo. Scale is $399/mo.
- You need very broad chain coverage from a single social-login wallet layer.
- You want a key you can export and use in other tooling.
- Your users expect a familiar social-login wallet with a long track record.
Cavos vs Web3Auth →