Part of the complete guide: Bitcoin lottery mining: the complete guide
How pool mining works
In a pool, thousands of miners point their hashing power at one server. When the pool finds a block, the reward is divided in proportion to each miner's contributed work, minus a fee, typically 1% to 3%. Your share arrives in small pieces, often daily. The pool smooths out the randomness: you receive roughly your fair share of what the group earns, continuously.
How solo mining works
Solo mining points your hashrate at a pool that does not share rewards: if you find a block, the whole reward goes to you, minus a small fee, and if you do not, you earn nothing. Your expected income is the same as in a pool. But it is received as a very rare, very large payment.
Side by side
| Feature | Solo | Pool |
|---|---|---|
| Expected income | Same, minus fee | Same, minus fee |
| Payment pattern | Almost never, then a whole block | Small, frequent |
| Variance | Extreme | Low |
| Fee | Typically about 2% on a found block | Typically 1% to 3% on earnings |
| Payout threshold | None, the block reward is paid in full | Often a minimum balance before payout |
| Best for | Lottery-style hobby mining | People who want steady (small) income |
A worked example
With a 1.2 TH/s device on a network of about 966 EH/s, your expected income is about 1.79×10⁻⁷ blocks a day. At 3.275 BTC per block and $85,000 per bitcoin, that is about five cents a day, or roughly $18 a year. In a pool, you would earn those few cents per day, steadily, minus the fee, and might wait months to reach the payout minimum. Solo, you would earn nothing for years, with about a 0.07% chance of a $278,000 block in ten years. The average is the same. The experience is not.
Which should you pick?
- If you want the lottery experience, solo.
- If you want to see steady proof your miner is working, pool, even if the income is tiny.
- If you are trying to make money, neither works for a small miner. Electricity usually exceeds income.
Risks to avoid
- Pools or "solo" services that ask for deposits.
- Services that require your wallet's recovery phrase.
- Unknown pools with promises of guaranteed payouts.
- Running hardware without checking temperatures and power.
What a Poisson process means for you
Block finding is a Poisson process: events happen at a constant average rate, independently of the past. For a pool, the rate of blocks is far higher, so rewards arrive often. For a solo miner with a tiny share, the rate is minuscule. In both cases, the time since the last block tells you nothing about when the next one will come. A solo miner who has waited 5 years has the same chance today as on day one, which is what makes it a lottery rather than a queue.
Example: a year with a Bitaxe in both modes
In a pool at a 1.2 TH/s hashrate, your expected income is about $18 a year, before the pool's fee, and the pool pays out small amounts when your balance reaches its minimum. In practice, at such low earnings you may take months to reach the payout threshold, and some pools may never pay you if you stop first. Mining solo with the same device earns nothing in 99.99% of years, with a 0.0065% chance of a single block worth about $278,000. The average of both is about $18 a year. The experience is the difference: a trickle of tiny credits, or a ticket that almost never pays.
Checklist before choosing a pool
- 1Read the pool's fee and payout terms.
- 2Check how long it has operated and what others say about it.
- 3Confirm it never asks for deposits or recovery phrases.
- 4Use your own Bitcoin address as the user name.
- 5Check the minimum payout threshold against your expected income.
Ready?
A weekly draw you can check yourself.
$5 tickets, a public random value, and every result published with the data to recompute it.
Frequently asked questions
Is solo mining or pool mining more profitable?
On average, about the same before fees. Solo is a lottery. Pool pays small amounts steadily.
Can a small miner earn from a pool?
Tiny amounts, often below the electricity cost.
What fee do solo pools charge?
Typically around 2% on a found block. Check each pool.
Is solo mining a waste of money?
As income, usually yes. As a hobby or a long-shot ticket, some people enjoy it.
Can I switch between solo and pool?
Yes, by changing the pool address in your miner.
Which pays more on average?
About the same, minus the pool's fee.
What are PPLNS and FPPS?
Pool payout methods: pay per last N shares and full pay per share. They differ in how rewards and risks are shared.