Strike vs River, analysis of which platform is better for recurring purchases

TLDR: River is cheaper if accumulating more than ~$426 or 1,124,200 sats before withdrawal. Strike is better for smaller amounts. Results will vary depending on the fee.

I decided to test River and Strike to see which gets more sats for your dollar. With Bitcoin at about $37k when I tested, I found that River gives you about 23 sats per dollar more than Strike, or 0.84% more bitcoin. But, Strike offers free on-chain withdrawals while on River you pay the transaction fee to miners. This fee will vary depending on current demand for block space. Recently, River’s fee is around 9,800 sats, or $3.75. This means the threshold is at $426.

If you’re accumulating more than $426 before sending to your wallet, the lower spread compared to spot price on River gives you more sats despite paying the transaction fee. If withdrawing less than $426, Strike gives you more sats. (Both River and Strike have free Lightning withdrawals, so River wins there due to lower spread.)

I have seen evidence that Cash App’s option to auto-convert direct deposit to bitcoin is the very cheapest option available to DCA for Americans, but I haven’t tried it yet. Happy stacking.