12 Best Mining Pools to Join (List and Review 2022)
Are you thinking of mining BitCoin yourself? There is hardly any better way to do that than join the best BitCoin pool operating nowadays. It is a great way to try crypto mining anytime using hardware possessed by a person. Every user can join an active pool and get profits from mining depending on hashing power produced. You will agree that group mining may be much less rewarding for a user, but it is important to remember that the number of blocks mined and the frequency of successful operations are bigger, so there are high chances to get regular payouts mining with others. Look: this article will tell you about 12 best BitCoin mining pools to consider which platform is worth your investment and time.
Table of Contents
What is a Bitcoin Pool?
A BitCoin mining pool is a protocol accessed by a group of miners who put their effort simultaneously to find a block and then share reward among all the participants in accordance with the hashing power contributed.
Every mining pool has an owner whose power is concentrated on getting a certain block while other miners increase this power adding their own resources to this protocol and help this pool owner to achieve the goal.
How do Mining Pools Work
Mining pools perform roles of a coordinator since their main tasks and activities look as follows:
- Taking hashes provided by pool members.
- Searching for a block to mine.
- Recording the amount of work done of every participant.
- Rewarding participants in proportion to the contribution made.
To start mining in the pool, a person should select one, join it and ask for an assignment. To be able to do that, it is necessary to create a wallet to get payments and obtain BitCoin mining software. Every work performed is paid, but miners usually get cryptocurrency for it instead of blocks or their pieces. The main question asked by novice pool miners is how to get paid for this job. In fact, there are several payout schemes used by pools nowadays, but most of them are usually made based on shares used by miners. However, there are pools, where funds are processed directly to the wallets of miners on request.
Best Bitcoin Mining Pools 2019
Nowadays, there are over 20 BitCoin mining pools operating on the planet, but the most interesting fact that 81% of the total amount of Bitcoin mined is done in China. The reason for that is cheap electricity, first of all, since you can get enough hashing power only if the facility used is powerful enough and is connected to electricity. Consequently, most of the best and largest pools for mining coins are located in China. However, they can be accessed from any corner of the world since servers for mining are spread on all continents. Other huge producers of hashing power are Georgia, Iceland, the US, the Czech Republic, and others. Each of these countries has at least one reputable mining company which can serve as a pool for miners. Now it is time to look closer at the leading mining pools and find out what makes them so great for users.
AntPool
Website: https://antpool.com/
Supported coins: BTC, BCH, LTC, ETH, ETC, ZAC, DASH, SCC, XMC, BTM
Fees: PPLNS with 0% fee, PPS+ with 2.5% and Solo – 1%
Demo account: no
Mobile app: yes
Features:
- Convenient management;
- Transparent earnings;
- Prompt notice;
- Stable 24/7 service.
AntPool is the second largest pool for mining coins operated by Bitmain Technologies company. The last one is a leading Bitcoin hardware producer which has opened its mining facilities in China and now mines 11% of all blocks. Founded in 2014, it has been successfully operating for over 5 years maintaining over 2,000 servers for this purpose.
Every user can create an account on the website and download software to be used on special mining equipment. There is a dashboard to follow the earnings and a possibility to monitor hashrate (by minute, hour or day). Fees are quite acceptable and can be of two types: PPLNS with 0% fee, PPS+ with 2.5% and Solo – 1%.
The mining pool is known for its security options including 2FA, email alerts, and wallet locks.
Slush Pool
Website: https://slushpool.com/
Supported coins: Bitcoin, ZCash
Fees: 2%
Demo account: yes
Mobile app: yes
Features:
- High accessibility;
- Stability in payments;
- Actively developed and improved.
Slush Pool is the oldest and one of the most profitable mining pools launched in 2010 in Prague. Its founder has created a concept of pool mining and now this pool produces over 13% of the total hashing power. Nowadays it has over 200 thousand active workers and a hashrate of 4.64 Eh/s.
It is a technologically advanced pool though it is very easy to set it up. It has powerful servers distributed all around the globe for easy access while any questions arising can be solved by a multilingual customer support team.
The account creating process is simple and fast. However, it is necessary to pass through the verification process too. Users should also provide a Bitcoin or ZCash address to get regular payouts. There are two types of fees paid by miners: a fixed fee of 2% and one paid by miners with the withdrawal threshold of less than 0.01 BTC. There is a fixed fee of 0.0001 BTC then.
This merged mining pool is great for beginners not only thanks to a simple and user-friendly interface but also a demo version provided. A mobile app will help miners to follow their progress in any corner of the world.
F2Pool
Website: https://www.f2pool.com/
Supported coins: 40
Fees: 4%
Demo account: no
Mobile app: no
Features:
- Accessible and affordable;
- Advanced technology;
- Multiple cryptocurrencies supported;
- All the transaction fees are paid by the pool.
F2Pool is a mining pool opened in China in 2013. It supports 40 coins and uses the Stratum mining protocol. Its network share is over 13% while the current hashrate is 10,391 PH/s. The servers of the company are located not only in China but also the EU and the US. The website is translated into 4 languages and is easy to use.
The registration process does not differ from creating accounts on other websites, however, an active mobile phone is required too. It is necessary to fill out a Captcha and verify the identity via text message.
The mining process begins with the download and setup of mining software to the hardware prepared. There is a special app to use for mining via F2Pool too.
The pool offers several most popular payout methods including PPS, PROP, Score, PPLNS and others. Minimum withdrawal is estimated at 0.005 BTC, 0.02 LTC, 0.1 ZEC or 0.1 ETH. The commission of the pool is 4% on average.
BTC.com
Website: https://pool.btc.com/
Supported coins: 10
Fees: 1.5%
Demo account: no
Mobile app: yes
Features:
- Low fees;
- Transparency;
- Owns its wallet;
- Established big pool.
BTC.com pool was opened in 2016 being a creation of Bitmain Technologies company and located in China. The website works on the basis of the stratum mining protocol and VarDiff. It is one of the pools which is in constant search of alternative solutions to mining so it is not surprising that it features new algorithms for mining improvement. Moreover, miners are provided with tracking apps to follow their earnings.
The website of the pool is available in Chinese and English. The payment method preferred is PPS and the fee charged is 1.5%. The minimum threshold for withdrawal is 0.001BTC and it usually takes about 2 hours to deliver funds to their owner. The pool generates over 6% of the total hashrate, though Bitmain company has a bit controversial reputation.
BW Pool
Website: https://www.bwpool.net/pool/
Supported coins: BTC, ETH, LTC, ETC, UB, DASH
Fees: from 0% to 4.5%
Demo account: no
Mobile app: no
Features:
- High security level;
- Efficient;
- Round the clock revenue;
- Low fee rate.
BW Pool was founded in 2014 and has multiple functions in addition to being a mining pool. It has a wallet to store coins and can be used for purchasing and selling coins. More than 12 thousand blocks have been mined in this pool for the time of its existence. The website of this pool is available in 3 languages.
Mining pool minimum payouts look as follows
0.005 BTC, 0.01 LTC, 0.1 ETH, and 0.1 ETC. Transaction fees differ but are about 0.002-0.003 coins withdrawn. Pool fees range from 0% for SC to 4.5% for ETC. The current hashrate of the pool is over 168 PH/s.
Bixin
Website: https://bixin.com/
Supported coins: BTC
Fees: 4+2%
Demo account: no
Mobile app: yes
Features:
- Mobile access for Android and iOS;
- Only BTC mining;
- Multiple additional functions.
Bixin is a mining pool established by the Chinese company Bit Star Technology Limited. It was founded in 2014 and offers not only mining services but also can be used as a wallet and trading platform.
This pool targets the Chinese market first of all. The website has an English version too, but both mobile apps are only in Chinese.
The hashrate of the pool is about 1EH/s. The service supports CYN fiat currency which can be deposited to buy Bitcoin. The mining commission is 4% for mining and 2% for a transaction.
Bitfury
Website: https://bitfury.com/
Supported coins: BTC, LTC, ETH
Fees: no
Demo account: no
Mobile app: no
Features:
- Works on the equipment developed by the company only;
- The largest pool outside China;
- It is a private mining pool.
Bitfury is a leading blockchain technology company that develops both software and hardware solutions. Its network share is about 4% and the current hashing power about 3,214 PH/s. It takes the ninth position in the global rating and is located in Georgia. The main benefit of this mining pool is no fees. However, it is a private mining pool that allows mining Bitcoin (about 11% of all BITcoins are mined here) and other coins.
The company was founded in 2011 and in several years began to develop its own ASIC equipment for mining. The most famous hardware for miners is Bitfury Tardis known for its unmatched performance and a user-friendly list of features. When it comes to the reward transaction commission, it is over 36%. Payouts are performed in several ways offering miners to withdraw funds immediately after they receive them.
ViaBTC Pool
Website: https://pool.viabtc.com/?lang=en_US
Supported coins: BTC, BCH, BSV, LTC, ETH, ETC, DASH, ZEC, XMR, DCR, NMC, SYS, ELA
Fees: 1% – 4%
Demo account: no
Mobile app: yes
Features:
- Security and stability;
- Transparency;
- Low fees and several payout methods;
- Multiple cryptocurrencies supported.
ViaBTC aims at providing the best mining services always developing and updating its software and hardware. It serves users from over 130 countries and offers to get a wallet which can be accessed from the mobile device as well. It is possible to join the pool by registering on the platform. It is enough to provide an email and a password to sign-up. It is possible to authorize the account to get a wider functionality range.
There three payment methods available on ViaBTC – PPS+(default), PPLNS, and SOLO. The fee depends on the method chosen: it is 4% for PPS+, 2% for PPLNS and 1% for SOLO. Moreover, the greater the difficulty, the higher earnings are received by miners. The last ones can check the earnings history and set up automatic withdrawal function if they want too.
The minimum withdrawal amount depends on the currency and is 0.01 BTC, 1 DOGE, or 0.001 LTC, for example.
CkPool
Website: http://ckpool.org/
Supported coins: BTC
Fees: 0.9%
Demo account: no
Mobile app: no
Features:
- Simple sign-up and start;
- Low fees;
- Not user-friendly website interface.
CKPool has been operating for a year only but can boast mining 7 large blocks already. It is also known as Kano.is pool which offers pool mining and solo mining. When it comes to solo mining, the platform gives 99% of the value of the block found to the miner and takes only a 1% fee for that. Pool mining works in accordance with the PPLNS model and charges a 0.9% fee. The reward is paid to the miners only after 120 confirmations about the block maturity.
The platform has no payout thresholds but with too low hashing power and reward under 0.0001BTC, nothing is paid out.
To start mining in the pool, it is enough to register an account on the website. It is possible to set up 2FA for higher security. The pool allows mining only Bitcoin and its currency hashrate is 1.71 PH/s.
DPOOL
Website: https://www.dpool.top/
Supported coins: BTC, ETH, ETC, DCR, ZEC, BCH, BSV, DCA, ETP, SERO
Fees: from 1% to 3%
Demo account: no
Mobile app: yes
Features:
- Absolute safety;
- Full-time customer service;
- Intelligent monitoring;
- Mobile access.
DPOOL is a mining pool established at the beginning of 2018 in China. Nowadays, it is one of the largest pools which mine about 4% of all the world’s blocks. The platform has been available only in Chinese for a long time and it is evidence that it is widely spread in the Chinese market, first of all. Recently, English and Russian languages were added too. The number of cryptocurrencies supported has increased greatly too.
The payment method and fee depend on the coin mined. The biggest number of coins provide payments via the FPPS method with the fee ranging from 1% to 3%. Mining of ETC and SERO coins is paid via the PPLNS payment method with a fee of 1% and 3% respectively. The minimum withdrawal amounts also differ from coin to coin, but it is 0.001 BTC, LTC, BCH, and others. The pool has a mining guide for beginners and a user-friendly interface which is easy to navigate.
POOLIN
Website: https://www.poolin.com/
Supported coins: BTC, BCH, BSV, ZEC, LTC, ETN, DCR, DASH, XMR.
Fees: 2% – 4%
Demo account: no
Mobile app: yes
Features:
- High earnings;
- Security and stability;
- Professional service;
- Multicurrency mining.
One large pool for mining cryptocurrency is PoolIN. With the hashrate of over 10,000 PH/s and the network share of over 15%, it is started by the founder of BTC.com in 2017. It supports quite a big number of coins to mine and offers multiple tools to increase profits which are quite high. There are three payment methods supported: PPS for most of the coins, FPPS for BitCoin, and PPLNS for Electronium. Pool commission ranges from 2% to 4% while the minimum payout threshold is different for every coin (for example, 0.001 BTC, 0.01 BCH, 0.005 DASH etc.).
The website offers a calculator to count profit from pool mining by adjusting certain settings and special software developed by the company to save on traffic, synchronize work of several miners, and create additional accounts for every device. There is also a mobile app offering similar functionality for miner comfort.
To start mining on the platform, it is necessary to register an account, create a sub-account, choose a coin to mine, and a wallet address to get payouts.
BitcoinRussia
Website: https://bitcoin-russia.ru/
Supported coins: BTC
Fees: no
Demo account: no
Mobile app: no
Features:
- Lack of transparency;
- Regular payouts.
This cryptocurrency mining pool aimed at miners from the countries of former CIS was opened in 2017. There is not much information about it, but we can surely say that the facilities of this pool are located in Russia.
To start mining in this pool, it is necessary to connect a miner to the Stratum interface and add a payout address instead of login.
All the payouts are made using the PPS method and nowadays more than 3,000 payouts have been made for less than two years. The pool allows mining only Bitcoin and a payout threshold is 0.05BTC. It is possible to count the future income received from mining on the website too.
How to Choose a Right Pool to Join
Since there are several mining pools where it is possible to get rewards for blocks found, it is necessary to select one to join and avoid mistakes. Therefore, it is necessary to consider several factors before this choice is made.
Reputation
Most of the pools listed in this article have already attracted a certain number of miners who can express their attitude to the mining process there. In fact, some of them do have years of experience and should be transparent enough to provide information about the blocks found, current hashrate, equipment used to such popular websites as btc.com, for example. A lack of information can prevent miners from joining the pool. Moreover, it would be useful to browse forums, discussions and reviews of other miners regarding the pool you want to join too.
Fees
It is natural that the higher fee a pool takes, the smaller reward will be received by a miner. Therefore, this aspect must be considered very attentively since in addition to the pool fee there might be some hidden commissions for transactions, network fees etc. Sometimes, fees can take the third part of miner income and the final reward delivered to the wallet turns out to be very low. The standard industry fee ranges between 1-2%.
Hashrate
One more key to the regular rewards is a high hashrate of the pool since the more powerful equipment there is, the more blocks will be found. That is why it is better to become a member of the team with a big hashrate and contribute to it with your own hashing power.
Location of servers
It is very important to broadcast information about finding a new block as fast as possible, so the closer to servers you are and the better Internet connection you have, the better.
Payout
There are several payout methods offered by mining pools. Some of them feature higher fees, the others offer reasonable prices. However, despite being a minor factor for the choice of the pool, it is necessary to find out how regular payouts are, when they happen, and what payout thresholds there are.
Pros & Cons of Pools
Many people ask questions ‘is it worth mining cryptocurrency?’, ‘how to get crypto with minimum investment?’, ‘what to choose: solo or pool mining?’. It is not surprising to hear that due to the volatility of cryptocurrency. At the same time, why do so many people obtain equipment and start mining if it was not profitable for them? In fact, there are two ways to mine cryptocurrency: do that alone by getting powerful and expensive equipment or join mining pools with the cheaper equipment but share the reward received with other miners and the pool. Since this article is devoted to pool mining, let’s consider what pros and cons this way of mining has.
The main benefits of mining in the pool look as follows:
- The income you get is regular and steadier;
- Easy start: it is enough to register on the website and get special software;
- Lower investment: you do not need to get the biggest hashrate to get profits;
- Low fees;
- Many additional features and use of tools to improve mining results;
- Less space required: no need to build large facilities;
- Responsibility of the pool for software and hardware used: no need to maintain that alone.
At the same time, pool mining can have some negative features including:
- A necessity to trust others to handle your money;
- Smaller expected earnings because of sharing with others;
- Pool mining can face interruptions in work caused by DOS attacks and other downtimes;
- Miner’s power works not only on his own rewards but also earnings received by others: sharing is a must;
- Leads to centralization since pool offers to miners are very similar;
- The number of people actually running a fully validated Bitcoin node has decreased greatly.
Conclusion
Every person who starts mining cryptocurrency wishes to get a block as fast as possible, but unfortunately, only every third miner gets a block within the first year of mining. Therefore, it is better to get regular earnings in small parts than to wait for the best payout for years. Pool mining is a great solution for people who are interested in getting income from mining on a regular basis. Naturally, these rewards are much smaller than ones for a block found, but it is possible to save on equipment and join the pool easily without taking any responsibility.