However, electrum lets users export private keys, whereas in sparrow you must depend on a third party (iancoleman etc) to see a private key if you need it.
Yes in electrum you can import and export private keys. I have asked in Sparrow support chat for a relevant feature, but they don't consider it a feature and, honestly, I understand why.
In fact, I support cold storage options and airgapped devices, so I never needed to know the exact private keys for backup.
Of course I have used both for hot storage too, but even with Electrum, I never needed to export my private keys. Just the mnemonic can do the job.
What I like about electrum though, is that it allows you to import (not only to sweep) a private key, essentially creating a hot wallet out of a single private key and a single address.
This feature is good, but of course it has many flaws, unless you know what you are doing.
The flaws include:
1. backup difficulty - storing private keys in WIF is difficult and not encouraged.
2. address reuse - possible privacy issues
3. compatibility - I think only electrum and bitcoin core support it.
