Does a solo-mined Monero block pay more than P2Pool shares on average?

A solo-mined Monero block gives you a much bigger payment at once, but it does not normally earn you more than P2Pool over time. With the same mining speed and uptime, your expected earnings are roughly the same: solo mining gives you rare, large rewards, while P2Pool spreads rewards among miners through smaller payments.

Compare earnings over time, not individual payments

When you find a valid Monero block by yourself, you receive the entire mining reward. That includes the 0.6 XMR base reward from Monero’s ongoing “tail emission,” plus the transaction fees included in that block.

A P2Pool payment is usually much smaller because you receive only your portion of a shared block reward.

But comparing those two payments misses something important: how often you receive them.

If your computer supplies a tiny fraction of Monero’s total mining power, your chance of finding a solo block is also tiny. Keeping the whole reward does not improve that chance.

For example, suppose your mining power would statistically earn one block’s worth of rewards over a certain period. Solo mining and P2Pool would both aim toward that same expected amount—not necessarily deliver it during that period.

What P2Pool shares actually pay you for

P2Pool is a decentralized mining pool: miners work together without a central operator holding their rewards.

A share is proof that your computer has done mining work. It meets an easier target than a full Monero block, so shares can be found more often. Finding a share does not mean you have earned a fixed amount of XMR.

P2Pool uses pay-per-last-N-shares, usually shortened to PPLNS. In simple terms:

• Your qualifying shares enter a recent-share payout window.
• When P2Pool finds a Monero block, eligible shares receive a portion of its reward.
• A share can help you receive payments from multiple blocks—or none if no blocks arrive while it remains eligible.

P2Pool has no pool fee. Its payouts come directly from the mined block, without a pool operator collecting your balance or setting a withdrawal minimum. That removes a common reason solo mining might earn slightly more than a traditional fee-charging pool.

The real difference is luck and waiting

Expected earnings means the statistical average across many possible outcomes. It is not a promise about what your computer will earn this month—or even this year.

Solo mining has much greater variance, meaning your actual results can swing far away from the average. You might find a block unusually early, or wait far longer than your estimated average block time.

P2Pool reduces that unevenness by sharing block discoveries. It does not eliminate luck: you still need to find shares, and P2Pool still needs to find Monero blocks.

Real-world differences can also affect either option:

• Downtime reduces the work you contribute.
• Network delays can make otherwise useful work arrive too late.
• Poor settings can reduce your mining speed.

You also need to account for electricity and equipment costs when comparing profit, rather than just XMR rewards.

The bottom line

Solo mining pays more per successful block, not more on average for the same effective mining work. Choose it if you accept very long, unpredictable waits for a whole reward; choose P2Pool if you prefer smaller, more frequent chances of payment without a pool fee.