How much does it cost to mine 1 Monero?

There is no fixed cost to mine 1 Monero (XMR). Your cost depends on how much electricity your device uses, what you pay for power, and how quickly your setup earns XMR. To estimate it, divide your daily mining costs by your estimated daily XMR earnings—not by Monero’s market price.

Calculate your cost per XMR

Start with electricity, which is usually your main running expense:

Daily electricity cost = power use in watts ÷ 1,000 × 24 × your electricity price per kilowatt-hour.
Electricity cost per XMR = daily electricity cost ÷ estimated XMR earned per day.

A kilowatt-hour, or kWh, is the amount of energy a 1,000-watt device uses in one hour. You can find its price on your electricity bill.

Here is a made-up example, not an earnings forecast:

Your mining setup draws 100 watts at the wall.
Your electricity costs $0.15 per kWh.
Your setup earns 0.0005 XMR per day, after mining fees.

Your electricity costs $0.36 per day. Dividing $0.36 by 0.0005 gives an electricity cost of $720 per XMR.

At that earning rate, accumulating 1 XMR would take 2,000 days. That is only a snapshot calculation: mining conditions are unlikely to stay unchanged for that long.

Find an earnings estimate you can trust

Your hashrate is how many mining calculations your device performs each second. Measure it with the actual setup you plan to use, then enter it into a live Monero mining calculator.

Monero uses RandomX, a mining algorithm—the rules behind those calculations—that favors computer processors, or CPUs. However, the same CPU can perform very differently in a browser and in dedicated mining software.

For browser mining, check:

Your measured mining speed, rather than an advertised maximum.
Whether your browser slows or pauses background tabs.
The service’s fees and minimum payout.
Whether you receive actual XMR or an internal reward balance.

Do not assume a calculator’s estimate for dedicated software applies to your browser. Mining services also cannot credibly guarantee fixed earnings regardless of changing network conditions.

Include costs beyond electricity

Electricity alone does not tell you the full cost of producing 1 XMR. You may also need to include:

Hardware: Spread the purchase cost over its expected useful life.
Cooling: Count extra fans or air-conditioning use.
Fees: Include pool or service charges unless already deducted from estimated earnings. A mining pool combines miners’ work and shares rewards.
Maintenance: Allow for repairs and wear from sustained heat and fan use.

A plug-in power meter helps you measure real electricity use. If you keep a computer running only to mine, count its full power draw. If it would already be running anyway, the extra power mining adds can be useful for estimating your additional cost.

The bottom line

Your estimated cost to mine 1 XMR is total daily mining costs divided by daily XMR earnings. Use measured power consumption, your local electricity rate, and a current earnings estimate.

Compare that result with Monero’s current purchase price if your goal is simply to obtain 1 XMR. Mining can cost more than buying it, especially through a browser, and a small daily electricity bill can still mean an expensive coin when earnings are tiny.

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