Why does XMRig default to a 1% donation?

XMRig defaults to a 1% donation to help fund the people who build and maintain the mining software. Rather than charging you upfront, it briefly uses about 1% of your mining time to mine for the developers.

Why the developers chose this model

XMRig is open-source software, which means its source code—the instructions that make it work—is available for you to inspect and modify. You can download and run it without buying a license.

But maintaining mining software takes ongoing work. That includes fixing bugs, supporting different processors and operating systems, and improving performance as hardware changes.

The default donation gives the project a funding source tied to actual use. If you keep mining with XMRig, a small share of your mining time supports its development.

There is no technical rule that makes 1% the necessary amount. It is the project’s chosen default: a small contribution that leaves roughly 99% of your mining time directed toward your own mining setup.

What the 1% actually takes

The donation is mining time, not a withdrawal from your wallet. XMRig does not need your wallet’s private keys—the secret information that lets you spend your coins—to collect it.

During donation periods, the software temporarily directs mining work toward the developers’ donation destination. Afterward, it returns to your configured destination.

A useful way to picture the share is:

• Over 100 minutes of mining, about one minute’s worth supports the developers.
• Over 24 hours, 1% works out to about 14 minutes and 24 seconds.

Those figures explain the proportion, not an exact timetable for when switches happen. Startup timing and scheduling can affect what you see during a short session.

Your earnings also will not necessarily be exactly 1% lower in every payout. Mining results vary, and a pool—a service that combines miners’ work and shares rewards—may use its own payment rules.

Why this is not a Monero fee

The donation belongs to XMRig’s software model, not Monero’s network rules.

Monero does not require you to donate 1% to XMRig’s developers. Other mining programs can have different funding arrangements.

It also helps to separate three different costs:

• XMRig donation: Mining time used to support the software developers.
• Pool fee: A charge your chosen mining pool may take for its service.
• Electricity cost: What you pay to power your device.

These costs can exist together. A pool advertising no pool fee does not automatically remove XMRig’s donation.

Can you change the donation?

XMRig includes a donation-level setting. However, official builds normally enforce a minimum donation of 1%, so entering zero is not a reliable way to disable it.

Because the code is open source, you can modify it and build your own version. That takes some technical knowledge. Check the documentation and source code for your particular release rather than assuming every packaged version behaves identically.

Be careful with unofficial “zero-fee” downloads. An unknown executable could contain malware or redirect more mining work than it claims. Removing a small, disclosed donation is not worth compromising your device.

The bottom line

XMRig’s default 1% donation is a transparent way to support ongoing development without an upfront purchase. It uses a small share of your mining time; it does not take existing XMR from your wallet, and it is separate from any pool fee.