Is Monero mining still profitable in 2026?

Yes, Monero mining can still be profitable in 2026, but you should not assume it will pay more than it costs. Your result depends mainly on your computer’s efficiency, electricity price, and the value of the XMR you earn—not simply on whether your miner is running.

What makes mining profitable now?

Monero uses RandomX, a mining algorithm—the set of calculations your computer performs—that favors CPUs, the main processors in ordinary computers. That gives you a way to participate without buying a specialized mining machine. It does not mean every computer earns a profit.

Your earnings depend on:

• Your hashrate: How many mining calculations your computer completes each second.
• Network competition: How much mining power you compete against.
• The XMR price: What your mined coins are worth in your local currency.
• Your running costs: Mainly electricity, plus fees and equipment costs.

Monero produces a block roughly every two minutes. Its mining difficulty, which controls how hard it is to find a block, adjusts every block. If competition rises while your mining speed stays the same, your expected share of rewards falls.

Permanent rewards do not guarantee profit

Monero’s ongoing base reward is 0.6 XMR per block, plus transaction fees. This permanent reward system, called tail emission, began around June 2022. It creates roughly 432 new XMR per day across the whole network—not for each miner.

Unlike coins with scheduled reward halvings, Monero does not have another scheduled cut to its base reward. That makes one part of your calculation more predictable.

But your income is not fixed. More competition can reduce the amount you earn, and a lower XMR price can reduce its cash value. A permanent reward keeps mining incentives in place; it does not ensure that your particular computer is profitable.

Work out your actual break-even point

Start with a live Monero mining calculator. Enter your measured hashrate, electricity rate, and power use. Treat the result as an estimate, not a promise.

Your basic calculation is:

Daily profit = daily mining income − electricity − fees − equipment costs

For electricity:

Daily electricity cost = power in watts ÷ 1,000 × hours running × price per kilowatt-hour

For example, a computer drawing 100 watts continuously uses 2.4 kilowatt-hours per day. At $0.15 per kilowatt-hour, that costs $0.36 daily. This is a cost example, not an earnings forecast.

Measure power at the wall if possible. A CPU’s advertised power figure does not include the whole computer. Include extra cooling, pool fees, and any service fees. A pool combines miners’ work and shares rewards.

If you buy hardware, also calculate how long estimated profits would take to repay its purchase price.

Browser mining needs extra caution

Mining in your browser is convenient, but it generally performs worse than a dedicated RandomX mining program. Browser limits and processing overhead can leave you earning very little while still increasing electricity use.

Check a service’s payout minimum, fees, and withdrawal rules before leaving it running. A displayed balance is not the same as XMR you can withdraw. Avoid services promising guaranteed profits or demanding an unexpected deposit to release earnings.

Only mine on devices you own or have explicit permission to use.

The bottom line

Monero mining is still potentially profitable in 2026, especially with efficient hardware and cheap electricity. Test your actual setup and compare live estimated earnings with all your costs. For browser mining, treat profit as something to verify—not something to expect.