Should I use P2Pool or P2Pool mini?

Choose P2Pool mini if you are mining with one ordinary computer or a small setup. Choose the main P2Pool chain if your combined mining speed is high enough to earn shares regularly there. Mini makes it easier for a smaller miner to participate consistently; it does not automatically give you more Monero over time.

What actually changes between them?

P2Pool is a decentralized mining pool: you work alongside other miners without a central operator holding your mining rewards. P2Pool mini is a separate P2Pool sidechain, meaning a separate record of participating miners’ contributions. It is not a different coin, and both options mine Monero.

The main difference is share difficulty. A share is proof that your miner has done a certain amount of work. Higher share difficulty means you need more work, on average, to produce an accepted share.

• P2Pool main: Usually higher share difficulty, suited to faster setups.
• P2Pool mini: Usually lower share difficulty, suited to smaller setups.

Both use the same basic payout approach, have no pool fee, and pay rewards directly to your wallet when you qualify for a payout.

Why mini usually fits a home computer

Your hashrate is your mining speed: how many calculations your device performs each second. With a modest hashrate, you could spend a long time mining on main before finding a share.

P2Pool counts shares within a rolling payout window. Your share must still be in that window when your chosen sidechain finds a Monero block for you to receive a reward from that block.

Mini’s easier shares give a small miner more chances to have work represented in the window. However, there is a trade-off:

• You generally find shares more often on mini.
• Mini generally finds Monero blocks less often because it has less combined mining power.
• Some of your shares may leave the window without earning anything.

So, more frequent shares do not necessarily mean more frequent payments. Neither option guarantees a daily payout.

How to make the choice for your setup

Start with your measured mining speed, not your processor’s advertised specifications. Then check a live P2Pool calculator or observer for each sidechain’s current share difficulty and estimated time to find a share.

For your decision:

• If main estimates long waits between shares, start with mini.
• If you can find shares regularly on main, it becomes a reasonable option.
• If you only mine occasionally, expect uneven results on either one.

There is no permanent hashrate cutoff that makes main “correct.” Conditions change. Over sufficiently long periods, expected rewards per unit of work are broadly similar under comparable conditions; the biggest difference is how uneven your results can be.

If you are mining in your browser

P2Pool is not normally something you join simply by opening a webpage. A typical setup uses P2Pool software, access to a synchronized Monero node, and a compatible miner.

If you use a browser-mining service, check which pool it actually uses and whether it lets you choose mini. Its fees and payout rules may differ from native P2Pool’s direct payments.

The bottom line

For one ordinary computer, start with P2Pool mini. Consider main when live estimates show your setup can find shares regularly there. Choose based on your mining speed and patience—not a promise that either option pays more.