Nostr

Nostr clients and social applications with native Lightning Network integration.

Why We Recommend

Open-source. Integrated custodial Lightning wallet for easy onboarding. Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) support for external wallets.

Services & Features

  • Nostr social feeds
  • Integrated Lightning wallet
  • Zaps (Bitcoin tips)
  • Content discovery
  • Desktop, iOS & Android apps
  • In-app sat purchases

Why We Recommend

Fully open-source (MIT license). OpenSats LTS grantee. 50K+ downloads, 35K active users.

Services & Features

  • Note feeds, DMs & group chats
  • Zaps via Wallet Connect
  • Long-form content & polls
  • Marketplace integration
  • Blossom media servers
  • Location-based feeds

Why We Recommend

GNU AGPLv3 licensed. Fully browser-based—all data stored locally. No server dependency. Anonymous payments via Nostr and Lightning.

Services & Features

  • Multi-provider AI support (OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, etc.)
  • Browser-based development
  • Anonymous Lightning payments
  • Git integration
  • In-browser compilation

Why We Recommend

Podcast platform active since 2021; 4M+ podcasts indexed. First podcasting app to natively integrate Nostr for discovery and social. Custodial Lightning wallet for all users. The separate 'Fountain' Web3 ops platform raised $3.5M seed (2024) and is enterprise-focused, currently in private beta with institutional clients. Podcast payouts and wallet infrastructure are transparent; open value splits for creators. Platform and Web3 operations share brand but run independently.

Services & Features

  • Earn sats for listening to podcasts
  • Value-for-value streaming payments & boosts (Lightning)
  • 4M+ podcast catalog
  • Nostr social protocol integration (likes, boosts, discovery)
  • Podcast clips, playlists, and advanced discovery feed
  • Podcast hosting with analytics, direct payout & video support

+3 more services

Why We Recommend

Alby operates on a self-custodial model where users control their own private keys. Alby Hub is explicitly designed so that Alby never has access to user funds - you run your own Lightning node either self-hosted or via Alby Cloud with encrypted keys. All products are open-source, enabling community verification of the codebase across repositories.

The platform implements OAuth 2.0 for API security, GDPR-compliant data handling, and employees are bound by confidentiality agreements. Technical and organizational measures protect against data risks, with log files retained for 60 days for security and incident resolution. The browser extension secures key storage and Nostr interactions with user-controlled backups.

Alby has maintained a positive reputation in the Bitcoin and Nostr communities, with users on BitcoinTalk and app stores affirming its legitimacy for Lightning usage. No security incidents have been reported in public sources.

Services & Features

  • Browser extension for web payments
  • Self-custodial Lightning Hub
  • Nostr Wallet Connect support
  • Lightning Address (you@getalby.com)
  • Mobile app (Alby Go)
  • 100+ app integrations

+4 more services

Why We Recommend

Built on Nostr protocol. Own your identity and social graph. Censorship-resistant. Integrated eCash wallet.

Services & Features

  • Nostr-based identity
  • Bitcoin/Nostr event discovery
  • Places directory
  • Integrated eCash wallet
  • Curated collections
  • Personal relay (Ambassador)

Why We Recommend

MIT licensed open-source. Backed by Jack Dorsey ($5M). Censorship-resistant decentralized social network.

Services & Features

  • Decentralized social feed
  • Lightning zaps (Bitcoin tipping)
  • End-to-end encrypted DMs
  • Multi-relay support
  • iOS, macOS, Android, desktop (Notedeck)