Is solo mining Monero more profitable than pool mining?

Solo mining Monero is not usually more profitable than pool mining in a practical, predictable sense. You may avoid a pool’s fee, but you take on much greater uncertainty: you could mine for months or years without earning anything. With the same mining speed and reliable setup, your expected earnings before fees are broadly similar.

The difference is how you get paid

Mining means using your computer to help secure Monero and compete to add the next block of transactions. Your hashrate is your mining speed: the number of attempts your computer makes each second.

When you mine solo, you receive a reward only when you find a block yourself. You keep the entire reward: the base reward of 0.6 XMR, plus any transaction fees included in that block.

In a pool, you combine your work with other miners. When the pool finds blocks, it divides rewards according to its payment rules and your contribution.

That means:

• Solo mining: Rare, large payments, with potentially very long gaps.
• Pool mining: Smaller, more frequent payments, usually minus a pool fee.

A pool does not make your computer faster. It mainly makes your earnings less dependent on your individual luck.

Avoiding fees gives solo mining only a small edge

Suppose a pool charges a 1% mining fee. If everything else is equal, mining solo avoids that deduction. That is a small advantage in expected revenue—not a guarantee of greater profit.

Profit is what remains after costs. You still pay for electricity, cooling, and equipment wear whether you find a block or not.

Solo mining also requires a dependable connection to the Monero network, generally through a synchronized node—a program that checks and keeps up with the blockchain. Downtime or delays can reduce your results.

Compare those costs and practical details against the pool’s actual terms. A small fee may be worthwhile if it gives you steadier payments and a simpler setup.

Your waiting time matters more than the headline reward

Monero produces a block roughly every two minutes. Your chance of finding one depends on your share of the network’s total mining speed.

For illustration, if you supplied one-millionth of the network’s hashrate, your average wait would be about one million blocks, or roughly 3.8 years.

That is an average, not a countdown. You could find a block tomorrow, or wait much longer. Past unsuccessful attempts do not make your next attempt more likely to win.

For your own estimate, use your measured hashrate and a live Monero mining calculator. Network difficulty—the measure of how hard finding a block is—adjusts every block, so today’s estimate will change.

Newly mined block rewards also remain locked for 60 blocks, roughly two hours.

For browser mining, check what “solo” actually means

Your browser’s mining speed may be much lower than that of dedicated mining software. That makes solo mining especially unpredictable on an ordinary browser setup.

Before choosing a service, check:

• Whether your browser genuinely mines solo or contributes to a pool.
• Any service fees, payout minimums, and withdrawal conditions.
• Whether you can verify the reported mining work and payments.

Do not assume a “solo” label means higher earnings. Guaranteed daily profits are a warning sign.

The bottom line

Choose solo mining if you accept long periods without payment in exchange for keeping a whole block reward when you find one. Choose a reputable pool if you want steadier earnings. For most small miners, avoiding a modest pool fee does not outweigh solo mining’s uncertainty.