Every Bitcoin miner faces this decision: mine solo and keep 100% of rewards if you win, or join a pool and share rewards for steady income. It's the difference between playing the lottery and earning a salary.
Join thousands of miners, share the work, split the rewards
Mine alone, keep everything if you win, get nothing if you don't
95% of miners use pools because steady income beats waiting years (or centuries) for a solo block. But solo mining has its place - especially for hobbyists, lottery enthusiasts, and those supporting Bitcoin decentralization.
Pool mining is when thousands of miners combine their computing power to find blocks together. When anyone in the pool finds a block, the 3.125 BTC reward is split among all participants based on how much work they contributed.
Point your miner to the pool's server using their URL and port
You receive a small piece of the overall mining puzzle to solve
Every few seconds, you prove you're working by submitting valid shares
Eventually someone in the pool solves the puzzle and wins the block
You get paid based on how many shares you submitted vs everyone else
Let's say a pool has 1,000 miners with a combined 1,000 TH/s hashrate:
This happens every time the pool finds a block (roughly every 2-3 days for large pools)
Solo mining means you mine Bitcoin completely alone. You compete against every other miner in the world. If you find a block, you keep the entire 3.125 BTC reward (~$300,000). If you don't find one, you earn nothing.
Run your own node or connect to a solo mining pool (they don't split rewards)
Your miner tries to find the solution with your hashrate only
Racing against 500+ EH/s of worldwide hashrate
You broadcast it to the network and receive 3.125 BTC + transaction fees
You earn absolutely nothing and keep trying
Let's say you have 1 TH/s mining solo:
It's a lottery - you could win tomorrow, or never. Most likely: never.
| Factor | Pool Mining | Solo Mining |
|---|---|---|
| Income Type | Salary-like, steady payouts | Lottery-like, all or nothing |
| Payout Frequency | Daily to weekly | Years to never |
| Payout Amount | Small (few dollars) | Huge ($300,000+) |
| Fees | 1-3% pool fee | 0% (keep 100%) |
| Predictability | Very predictable | Completely random |
| Risk Level | Low | Very high |
| Setup Difficulty | Easy | Moderate |
| Best For | Businesses, serious miners | Hobbyists, lottery players |
| Excitement Factor | Low (boring but steady) | High (every block is hope!) |
| Decentralization | Centralizes power | Supports decentralization |
Let's run the numbers for both strategies with a Bitaxe Gamma (1.2 TH/s) at $0.12/kWh electricity:
Let's see how odds change with more powerful equipment:
| Equipment | Hashrate | Pool Earnings | Solo Block Time | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitaxe | 1.2 TH/s | ~$6/month | ~950 years | Solo for fun only |
| Avalon Nano | 6 TH/s | ~$30/month | ~190 years | Still lottery |
| Antminer S21 | 200 TH/s | ~$1,000/month | ~5.7 years | Maybe solo if feeling lucky |
| 10x S21s | 2,000 TH/s | ~$10,000/month | ~7 months | Solo is viable |
Solo mining becomes reasonable once you can expect a block within 6-12 months. Otherwise, pool mining is safer.
Risk: Medium | Impact: Low
You lose a few hours of mining. Just switch pools. Established pools rarely disappear.
Risk: Low | Impact: Medium
Stick to well-known pools with good reputations. Check reviews and payout history.
Risk: Medium | Impact: Low
You only lose steady income temporarily. No jackpot lost since you weren't chasing one.
Risk: Very High | Impact: Total Loss
Most likely outcome with small hashrate. You pay electricity forever and earn nothing.
Risk: Medium | Impact: Devastating
Imagine you're about to find a block (you'll never know), and your miner dies. Jackpot gone.
Risk: Guaranteed | Impact: Your Odds Get Worse
Bitcoin difficulty adjusts every 2 weeks. Your odds slowly decrease over time as network grows.
Risk: Medium | Impact: Jackpot Worth Less
You finally find a block after 5 years, but BTC is worth $10k instead of $100k. Still profit, but less exciting.
Let's look at when each strategy makes sense:
Need predictable cash flow to pay bills and employees
Need to recoup $5k+ hardware investment steadily
Psychological reward of watching earnings accumulate
Can't afford to get zero return on electricity investment
Want to learn without massive risk
Not concerned with profit, just having fun supporting Bitcoin
Checking if you won every morning is exciting for you
2,000+ TH/s where you'll find blocks within months
Want to support decentralization over personal profit
Solar panels or included utilities mean no downside to trying
You don't have to choose just one! Here are hybrid strategies:
If you have multiple miners, point some to pools and some to solo. Get steady income from pools while still having lottery tickets with solo miners.
Mine on pool for 11 months to recoup electricity, then switch to solo for 1 month to chase the jackpot.
Our special pools give you better solo odds while maintaining some predictability:
Max 10 TH/s per miner. Perfect for Bitaxe users. When pool finds block, all miners split it equally.
Max 100 TH/s per miner. Medium miners get fair share. Equal split when block found.
Pure solo mining with lowest fees in industry. Winner takes all (99.5% of block).
• Profit → Pool
• Fun/Hobby → Solo
• Supporting Bitcoin → Solo
• Learning → Pool (safer)
• Under 10 TH/s → Pool (solo odds too low)
• 10-500 TH/s → Consider hybrid
• 500-2000 TH/s → Solo becomes viable
• 2000+ TH/s → Solo is reasonable
• Low → Pool
• Medium → Hybrid
• High → Solo
• "I play the lottery" → Solo
• Yes → Pool only
• No → Solo is fine
• Maybe → Hybrid
• Want results weekly → Pool
• Can wait years → Solo
• Somewhere between → Hybrid
Reality: Only if you actually find a block. Most solo miners never do. Pool mining guarantees some return.
Reality: 2% fee means you keep 98%. The predictability is worth it for most miners.
Reality: You CAN, it's just extremely unlikely to work. Technically possible, practically improbable.
Reality: Reputable pools are transparent and pay fairly. Stick to well-known pools with good track records.
Reality: It's slightly more complex than pool mining. You need to run a node or use a solo pool, which adds steps.
Reality: Nope. Mining is random. You could mine for 100 years and never win, or win on your first day. Odds don't guarantee anything.