Taproot vs native SegWit, what is the difference?

Taproot vs native SegWit is a choice between two modern bitcoin address types that both start with bc1. Native SegWit addresses begin with bc1q and Taproot addresses begin with bc1p. They hold the same bitcoin on the same network, but they differ in transaction size, in how complex spending rules are hidden, and in how many services can send to them.

What is the difference between a bc1q and a bc1p address?

A native SegWit address encodes a SegWit version 0 output, usually pay to witness public key hash (P2WPKH). A Taproot address encodes a version 1 output, pay to Taproot (P2TR). BIP 350 says version 0 addresses use the Bech32 encoding, while version 1 and higher use Bech32m, a variant that fixes a checksum weakness in Bech32.

Wallets also file them under different derivation paths. BIP 86 sets the purpose field to 86 for single-key Taproot accounts, keeping the same account layout as BIPs 44, 49 and 84. A wallet that does not support BIP 86 will not find Taproot accounts from the same seed. Background on paths is in what is a derivation path.

The upgrades themselves are covered in what is SegWit and what is Taproot, and all four address families are compared in bitcoin address types.

Are Taproot fees lower than native SegWit fees?

It depends on which side of the transaction you look at. Bitcoin Optech's single-signature size comparison gives these figures in virtual bytes:

• Spending an input: about 68 vbytes for native SegWit, about 57.5 for Taproot.
• Creating an output: about 31 vbytes for native SegWit, about 43 for Taproot.
• A two-input, two-output payment: about 208.5 vbytes all native SegWit, about 211.5 all Taproot.

So Taproot is cheaper to spend from, but paying to a Taproot address costs a little more block space. Optech notes the gap reverses in a mixed world. If others use Taproot and you stay on native SegWit, a typical payment grows to about 232.5 vbytes. Fees are set per vbyte, so these sizes translate directly into cost at whatever rate the network charges.

Which bitcoin address type do wallets support?

Support is the main practical difference. BIP 350 deliberately made older Bech32-only software reject Bech32m addresses, so outdated wallets refuse to pay a bc1p address rather than risk sending funds to the wrong place. That is safer, but it means some senders cannot pay you.

Trezor describes native SegWit as widely supported and uses it as Trezor Suite's default. It says Taproot improves privacy by making transactions look alike to outside observers, and notes some services do not yet fully handle it.