Umbrel vs Start9 vs myNode — running a Bitcoin node

Running your own Bitcoin node is one of the most important things you can do as a Bitcoin holder, and it’s underexplained outside of technical communities. This comparison covers three software platforms that make it significantly more accessible: Umbrel, Start9 EmbassyOS, and myNode. I’ve run a Bitcoin node continuously since 2018 — starting with a command-line setup on a Raspberry Pi 4, then migrating to myNode, and currently running Umbrel alongside a Start9 EmbassyOS instance at home. This comparison is based on direct use plus careful review of each platform’s documentation, changelogs, and community discussions.

Why you’d run a Bitcoin node

Let me start here, because this question matters more than any feature comparison.

A Bitcoin node is a computer that independently validates every Bitcoin transaction and block against the consensus rules of the protocol. When you run your own node, you don’t ask anyone whether a transaction is valid — you check it yourself. This is what “don’t trust, verify” means in practice.

The practical implications for a self-custody Bitcoin holder:

Verification: When you receive Bitcoin, your full node independently confirms that the transaction is valid, that the coins are real, and that they haven’t been double-spent. Exchange wallets and light wallets (SPV) can be lied to by a malicious server; a full node cannot be fooled.

Privacy: Light wallets tell third-party servers which Bitcoin addresses you care about. That information can be used to link addresses to your identity. With your own node, your wallet queries your own server. Your address history doesn’t leave your home. This is especially important if you care about financial privacy.

Lightning Network hosting: If you want to run a Lightning node for everyday Bitcoin payments, you need a full node as the foundation. The Lightning node tracks channel state, routes payments, and manages HTLCs — all of which require access to the current blockchain state.

Sovereignty: You’re not dependent on Blockstream’s Electrum servers, Ledger Live’s infrastructure, or any third-party service to know your balance or broadcast transactions. If those services go down or get censored, your node keeps working.

Running a node used to require comfort with a command line. Umbrel, Start9, and myNode changed that. They’ve each made the full node experience accessible to someone who can install a Raspberry Pi image and follow a setup guide. Let’s look at how each approaches it.

Hardware requirements

All three platforms support similar hardware:

Minimum viable setup:

• Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB RAM minimum, 8GB recommended) or equivalent single-board computer
• 2TB SSD (external USB or SATA, not microSD — blockchain data as of 2026 is approximately 680GB for a pruned node, 650GB+ for a full archival node with indexes)
• Reliable power supply (power interruptions during blockchain sync can corrupt data)
• Ethernet connection (Wi-Fi is possible but not recommended for a 24/7 node)

Recommended setup (what I run):

• Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB RAM) — faster initial blockchain sync, better LN routing performance
• 4TB Samsung T7 Shield external SSD — the extra space handles blockchain growth for several years
• PoE hat or dedicated UPS — protects against power interruptions

Each platform sells pre-built hardware bundles: Umbrel Home and Start9 Server Pure are purpose-built computers that come with the software pre-installed. If you want to skip the DIY assembly, these are legitimate shortcuts. I’ve assembled my own hardware both times because I want to know what’s in my setup, but the pre-built options are fine for most users.

myNode also offers a pre-built device (myNode One) but the software works on standard Raspberry Pi hardware.

Install flow comparison

Umbrel

Umbrel’s installation is the most polished of the three. You download an image from umbrel.com, flash it to a microSD card using Balena Etcher (or Raspberry Pi Imager), insert it in the Pi, and power on. Initial setup takes about 10-20 minutes before the dashboard appears at umbrel.local (or the IP address of your device on your local network). Blockchain sync takes several days on a Pi 4 and can be shortened with a snapshot download Umbrel supports as an optional first-sync shortcut.

The dashboard that greets you after setup is genuinely elegant — it looks like a Mac home screen with app icons for each service you install. Bitcoin Core, LND (Lightning), Electrs (Electrum server), and other apps are installable with a click. No command line required at any point.

Upgrading between Umbrel versions is handled through the dashboard UI. The upgrade process has occasionally been reported as unreliable in major version transitions — the 1.0 upgrade in 2023 was the most notable example, where some users experienced data loss or failed upgrades. Umbrel has improved this, but it’s worth backing up your LN channel state before any major upgrade.

Start9 EmbassyOS

Start9’s setup is similar in principle but slightly more involved. You download the Embassy OS image, flash it to a microSD card, and power on. The initial setup includes a pairing process where you access the Embassy OS from a paired device — a phone or computer — using Start9’s custom pairing app. The process establishes an encrypted connection between your client device and the Embassy node.

This pairing model is more complex than Umbrel’s simple .local web interface, but it’s not arbitrary complexity. The encryption is end-to-end from device to client, which is relevant to the privacy and security model that Start9 is building toward. If you’re using your node remotely (over Tor, which Embassy OS defaults to for external access), the pairing model makes remote access significantly safer than Umbrel’s approach.

The app installation flow is comparable to Umbrel — apps from the Embassy marketplace appear in a list, you click install, and they download and configure. Embassy OS is more explicit about dependencies (if you install a Lightning wallet app that requires LND and a Bitcoin full node, it walks you through satisfying those dependencies step by step).

myNode

myNode has the most traditional setup flow of the three — it works, but it requires a bit more comfort with following technical instructions. You download an image, flash it, and power on. Access is via the device’s IP address on your local network. The dashboard is functional but not beautiful — it’s more like a server admin panel than a consumer app.

myNode’s advantage is maturity. The project has been running since 2019, before Umbrel launched, and the core functionality is stable. It doesn’t have the most apps or the prettiest interface, but Bitcoin Core, Electrum server, LND, and related services work reliably. If you’ve had frustrating experiences with Umbrel’s upgrade process and want something that just runs, myNode is worth considering.

App store ecosystem

What comes with each platform

All three platforms include Bitcoin Core (the full node), an Electrum server (for connecting hardware wallets), and LND or CLN (Lightning Network Daemon or Core Lightning) as options. The differences are in the breadth and quality of additional apps.

Umbrel App Store is the largest and most polished. Umbrel has attracted many third-party developers to publish apps for their platform. You can install Mempool.space (local blockchain explorer), BTCPay Server (self-hosted payment processor), Jellyfin (media server), Gitea (self-hosted git), and many others. Umbrel has built a general-purpose self-hosting platform, not just a Bitcoin node platform — the app store reflects that.

Start9 Marketplace is more curated and more privacy-focused. The apps available tend to be specifically the ones that matter for the privacy and self-sovereignty use case: Bitcoin Core, CLN and LND, Vaultwarden (Bitwarden-compatible self-hosted password manager), Nextcloud (self-hosted file sync), BTCPay Server. The marketplace is smaller than Umbrel’s but every app has been reviewed for privacy and security properties by the Start9 team. Start9 has published a “services” model where apps declare their dependencies and permissions explicitly, which is more transparent than some of Umbrel’s community apps.

myNode App Store is the smallest but covers the essentials: Bitcoin Core, Electrs, LND, RTL (Ride the Lightning — a Lightning management UI), Specter Desktop, and a handful of others. There’s less discovery experience here — you know what’s available, you install what you need, and you move on.

Community vs. curated apps

Umbrel’s growth in app count has come partly from community-contributed apps, which have less vetting than platform-native apps. This has occasionally meant app quality issues — apps that don’t update promptly, apps that expose more network access than necessary, or apps that conflict with other services. The breadth is genuinely useful; the tradeoff is that you need to think about what you’re installing.

Start9’s curation model means fewer options but higher confidence in what’s available. If your use case fits what Start9 supports, you get a more coherent system.

Privacy architecture

This is where Start9 makes its strongest case.

Tor integration

Start9 EmbassyOS defaults to Tor for all external access. When you install a service on Embassy OS and want to access it from outside your home network, it’s accessed via a Tor .onion address. Your home IP address is never exposed to the service or to the device accessing it. The setup is built around the assumption that you shouldn’t have to trust your ISP or your home IP address’s stability or exposure.

The tradeoff: Tor is slower. Bitcoin block propagation over Tor works fine; Lightning payment routing over Tor adds latency that occasionally matters. Start9 has added clearnet options for cases where performance is critical, but the default posture is Tor-first.

Umbrel supports Tor but doesn’t default to it in the same fundamental way. Umbrel’s primary access model is local network (umbrel.local) with optional Tor for remote access. You can configure your Umbrel to use Tor for Bitcoin Core’s peer connections, which is important for privacy at the network layer, but the dashboard and external service access is clearnet by default. Umbrel offers a Tor toggle in settings.

myNode supports Tor similarly to Umbrel — it’s available and configurable, not the default architecture. myNode’s documentation on Tor configuration is solid; you can get Bitcoin Core peering over Tor and external wallet access over Tor if you’re willing to do the configuration.

What each exposes to third parties

Running any of these platforms with default settings connects you to the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network. Your node’s IP address is visible to Bitcoin peers. For maximum privacy, enable Tor for Bitcoin Core peer connections on whichever platform you use.

Umbrel 1.0’s cloud sync feature (for certain settings backup) raises a question about what gets sent to Umbrel’s servers. The documentation describes this as metadata only (not private data), but it’s worth reviewing for your specific configuration.

Start9 has been the most explicit about its architecture not phoning home. There’s no cloud sync by default, no telemetry, and the default network paths don’t route through Start9 infrastructure.

Lightning support: LND and CLN integration

All three platforms support Lightning, with LND (Lightning Network Daemon, by Lightning Labs) as the primary option and CLN (Core Lightning, formerly c-lightning, by Blockstream) available on Start9 and as a beta on others.

LND on each platform

LND on Umbrel is the most beginner-friendly: install it from the app store, it starts automatically, you fund a wallet, and you open channels through the Umbrel dashboard or through connected wallets (Zeus, Muun for specific cases). The Umbrel dashboard’s Lightning section shows your channels, balance, and routing statistics in a clean UI.

LND on myNode is functionally equivalent but with more manual configuration through RTL (Ride the Lightning), a separate web interface for LN management. RTL is powerful but less polished than Umbrel’s integrated dashboard.

LND on Start9 includes access through Ride the Lightning or through connected external wallets. The setup is slightly more involved because of Start9’s dependency model, but the result is equally functional and more privacy-preserving in how external wallets connect.

Channel backup

All three platforms support channel state backup (SCB — Static Channel Backups), which you should configure regardless of platform. If your node hardware fails completely, a recent SCB file lets you recover your LN funds via cooperative close from connected peers. This is not a perfect backup solution — it doesn’t capture in-flight HTLCs — but it’s the correct standard practice.

UI/UX honest grades

Umbrel: A- for UX. The dashboard is legitimately beautiful and the app install/management flow is the clearest of the three. The home screen metaphor works well for discovery. The 1.0 upgrade experience and occasional app ecosystem issues are the negatives that prevent an A.

Start9 EmbassyOS: B+ for UX. The pairing model is not immediately intuitive, and new users occasionally struggle with the initial setup. Once you’re past setup, the services dashboard is clear and the dependency model is transparent. The Tor-default architecture creates occasional friction (Tor addresses are long and unintuitive compared to .local domains). Deliberate tradeoffs for deliberate users.

myNode: B- for UX. Functional, stable, not pretty. If you care about a nice interface, this is the weakest of the three. If you care about reliability and don’t mind a utilitarian dashboard, myNode’s maturity is an advantage.

Umbrel 1.0: the closed-source turn and the Citadel fork

This history is relevant for anyone evaluating Umbrel’s trust model.

In 2023, Umbrel launched version 1.0 with a significant change: the core operating system (umbrelOS) became closed source. The previous versions of Umbrel ran on an open-source stack, and the community could review and contribute to the codebase. With 1.0, the OS layer is proprietary. The apps running on umbrelOS remain open source.

The Umbrel team’s position: the OS is the infrastructure layer that handles updates, system management, and hardware abstraction. Keeping it proprietary allows Umbrel to maintain a consistent, polished experience and to build a sustainable business.

The community response included a fork called Citadel (later renamed Start9-adjacent by some commentators — Start9 is actually a separate project with different origins). Citadel maintains an open-source version of the pre-1.0 Umbrel stack. It’s less actively maintained than Umbrel’s current platform.

This matters for your decision if open-source is a non-negotiable property. Umbrel’s app ecosystem — the part you interact with daily — is still open source. The OS layer is not. Start9 EmbassyOS is fully open source. myNode is open source.

For a Bitcoin self-sovereignty tool where the entire point is “don’t trust,” running a partially closed-source node OS is at least a philosophically interesting tension. Whether it’s a practical problem depends on your threat model. Umbrel’s hardware is not your signing device — your private keys don’t live on the node. The node’s job is to verify and relay transactions. Closed-source node software is a different kind of trust assumption than closed-source hardware wallet firmware.

Stability and upgrade history

myNode has the strongest stability record of the three, by virtue of being the oldest and most conservative. Upgrades are less frequent and less dramatic. If you set up myNode today and don’t want to think about it for two years, this is probably the choice for that.

Umbrel has had significant growing pains around major upgrades, particularly the 1.0 transition and certain app ecosystem migrations. The platform moves fast and adds features quickly. That velocity creates occasional instability. The Umbrel team is responsive to issues.

Start9 has a smaller user base but an engineering team that’s been methodical about stability. Major version upgrades have been less controversial than Umbrel’s 1.0 moment. Start9’s conservative approach to adding features means fewer things can break.

Verdict per buyer persona

You want the easiest path to running a Bitcoin node and hosting your own Lightning wallet

Pick Umbrel. The UX is the best in the category. The app store has what you need. The trade for the closed-source OS layer is acceptable for this use case — your keys aren’t on the node. Set it up, sync the blockchain, open your first Lightning channel, and start using it.

You’re privacy-focused and want Tor-by-default, full open-source stack, and explicit control over what your node exposes

Pick Start9 EmbassyOS. The setup friction is real but manageable for the user who reads documentation before starting. The Tor-default architecture, curated app marketplace, and fully open-source stack deliver on the “don’t trust” ethos more completely than Umbrel. Once set up, it’s the best long-term foundation for someone who takes infrastructure trust seriously.

You want a stable, mature node that just runs without drama

Pick myNode. It’s not beautiful and it’s not the most feature-rich, but it’s been running reliably for longer than the other two options. If you’ve had bad experiences with Umbrel upgrades or want something with less community drama in its history, myNode is the conservative choice.

Advanced: running multiple nodes

Some serious Bitcoiners run multiple nodes — for example, a Coldcard-compatible Electrum server on one device for signing, and a separate LND node for Lightning routing. Nothing prevents you from running Umbrel and Start9 simultaneously (on different hardware), with different purposes. I currently run Umbrel as my home Lightning host for day-to-day spending and a Start9 instance as my Electrum server for hardware wallet verification. The two-node setup has been stable and the separation of concerns is clean.

Final comparison

Running your own Bitcoin node is worth the effort regardless of which platform you choose. The verification, privacy, and Lightning sovereignty you get from self-hosting is foundational to genuine self-custody. Pick the platform that matches your priorities, read the documentation before you start, and set up a channel backup process on day one.

Sources:

• Umbrel documentation: umbrel.com/blog
• Start9 EmbassyOS documentation: docs.start9.com
• myNode documentation: mynodebtc.com/guide
• Bitcoin Core project: bitcoincore.org
• LND (Lightning Network Daemon): github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd
• Core Lightning: github.com/ElementsProject/lightning
• Umbrel 1.0 closed-source discussion: github.com/getumbrel/umbrel
• SLIP-39 and Tor Bitcoin peer connections: en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Privacy