Solo Mining vs Pool Mining: Which Is Right for You in 2025?

Back in 2009, mining Bitcoin was something you could do on your home computer. A single CPU could find a block now and then, and the rewards were yours alone. Today, that’s nearly impossible. The Bitcoin network now processes over 600 exahashes per second. That’s 600 million billion calculations every second. If you’re mining alone with a few ASICs, you might wait years to find a single block. And when you do, you’ve already spent thousands in electricity. So why do some still try? And why do over 85% of miners choose pools instead?

What Is Solo Mining?

Solo mining means you’re working by yourself. No help. No sharing. You run a full Bitcoin node, connect your ASICs directly to the blockchain, and try to solve the cryptographic puzzle on your own. If you succeed, you get the entire block reward-currently 3.125 BTC plus transaction fees. No one else gets a cut.

But here’s the catch: you need serious power to make this work. To have a decent shot at finding a block within a year, you need at least 200 PH/s of hash rate. That’s not a single Antminer. That’s around 600 of the latest Antminer S21 units. At $12,000 per unit, you’re looking at $7.2 million just in hardware. Add in power, cooling, and space, and you’re easily over $10 million in upfront cost.

Most people don’t realize how rare block finds are. At current difficulty, a miner with 1 PH/s would statistically wait 570 days to find one block. That’s nearly two years of running nonstop with zero payout. For most, that’s financial suicide. Even with 10 PH/s, you’re looking at 57 days between blocks on average. Cash flow becomes impossible to manage. You can’t pay your electricity bill with a promise of a block that might come next year.

Still, some do it. Foundry USA, one of the largest mining operators, controls over 13% of Bitcoin’s hash rate and mines solo. They can afford the risk. They have the infrastructure. They’re not trying to make a quick buck-they’re building long-term, decentralized control over the network. For them, it’s ideological as much as economic.

What Is Pool Mining?

Pool mining is the opposite. You team up with hundreds or thousands of other miners. You combine your hash power, and when any one of you finds a block, the reward is split based on how much work each person contributed. You don’t get the whole block-you get a slice. But you get that slice every day.

Most pools use one of two payout models: PPS (Pay Per Share) or PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares). PPS gives you a fixed payout for every valid share you submit, regardless of whether the pool finds a block. It’s predictable but comes with higher fees-usually around 2-3%. PPLNS pays you based on your contribution over the last few hundred shares before a block is found. It’s fairer in the long run, with average fees around 1.5%, but payouts can vary day to day.

Major pools like Slush Pool, F2Pool, and ViaBTC handle millions of TH/s. You can join with a single Antminer S19 or even a used GPU for altcoins like Ravencoin. Setup takes 15 minutes. You sign up, copy-paste a few lines into your miner’s software, and you’re done. Your dashboard shows daily earnings, estimated payouts, and even historical performance.

For a miner with 100 TH/s, pool mining generates about $12.50 per day after fees. That’s $375 a month. It won’t make you rich, but it covers your electricity. You don’t need to wait months for a payout. You don’t need to be a tech expert. You just plug in and collect.

Costs and Hardware: What You Really Need

Let’s compare what it takes to mine with each method.

Pool mining lets you start small. You can buy a used Antminer S19 for $800 and plug it in. Solo mining? You need a warehouse, industrial cooling, a dedicated fiber line, and a team to monitor it 24/7. It’s not a hobby. It’s a corporation.

Income Stability: One Block or Daily Drips?

This is where the real difference shows up.

Solo mining is all about variance. You could go 18 months without finding a block. Then, suddenly, you hit two in one week. Your income looks like a rollercoaster. That’s fine if you’re a hedge fund with $100 million in reserves. It’s a nightmare if you’re paying rent and buying groceries.

Pool mining gives you steady, predictable payouts. Even if the pool doesn’t find a block for three days, you still get paid for your shares. You know exactly how much you’ll earn each day. That lets you budget. That lets you plan. That’s why 78% of miners on Reddit use pools.

One user, u/MiningNewbie87, put it simply: “I used to mine solo. I spent $15,000 on electricity and never found a block. Switched to a pool. Now I make $100 a week. It’s not exciting, but it pays my bills.”

On the flip side, solo miners who do succeed often brag about keeping 100% of the reward. One miner on Bitcointalk, BlockHunter2022, ran 200 TH/s for 14 months without a single block. He lost over $20,000 in electricity. He quit. Another, SoloMaximalist, with 2.5 EH/s, found three blocks in six months-worth over $200,000 at the time. He didn’t split a cent.

That’s the gamble. The odds are stacked against you unless you’re in the top 0.1% of miners.

Who Should Mine Solo?

Only two types of people should consider solo mining:

1. You have over 1 EH/s of hash power (that’s 1,000 PH/s).
2. You’re not doing this for the money-you’re doing it for control.

If you’re a mining company with dozens of warehouses, you’re already operating like a utility. You can absorb the volatility. You have the infrastructure. You care about decentralization. You don’t want to rely on a third-party pool that could go offline or change its rules.

For everyone else? It’s a trap. The math doesn’t work. The electricity bill doesn’t care if you’re “close” to finding a block. It only cares if you’re plugged in.

Who Should Mine in a Pool?

If you’re reading this and you’re not a corporate miner, then pool mining is your only smart option.

You’re probably not sitting on a million-dollar hardware budget. You probably don’t have a dedicated data center. You probably need to cover your electricity costs every month. Pool mining gives you that. It’s the only way to turn your ASIC into a steady income stream.

Even if you have a decent setup-say, five Antminer S19s-you’ll still make more in a pool than you ever would solo. The difference isn’t even close.

And if you’re just starting out? Try mining Litecoin or Ravencoin with a GPU. The difficulty is lower. The entry cost is tiny. You can learn the ropes without risking your life savings.

The Future of Mining: What’s Changing in 2025?

The 2024 Bitcoin halving cut block rewards in half. That made solo mining even harder. Now, you need more hash power just to break even. GoMining estimates the break-even point for solo mining jumped 22% after the halving.

Meanwhile, pools are getting smarter. F2Pool now uses “Smart Payout” to time reward distributions based on Bitcoin price trends. Some pools even let you cash out in stablecoins automatically.

ASICs are getting better too. The upcoming Antminer S25 promises 400 TH/s at just 14 J/TH. That’s more power, less electricity. But even with these gains, solo mining won’t become easier for small miners. The network difficulty keeps rising-up 4,300% since 2020.

By 2025, CoinBureau predicts 92% of individual miners will be in pools. That’s not because people are lazy. It’s because the math is brutal. The only way to win is to play the odds. And the odds say: join a pool.

Final Decision: Solo or Pool?

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do I have over $1 million to spend on hardware and power?
• Can I handle zero income for months at a time?
• Do I care more about owning the block reward than getting paid every day?

If you answered no to any of those, skip solo mining.

Pool mining isn’t glamorous. You won’t be the hero who found the block. But you’ll get paid. Consistently. Reliably. Without needing a PhD in networking or a warehouse full of ASICs.

For 99% of people, pool mining isn’t just the easier choice-it’s the only rational one.

Next Steps

If you’re ready to start mining:

1. Buy a used or new ASIC miner (like an Antminer S19 or S21).
2. Choose a reputable pool: Slush Pool, F2Pool, or ViaBTC are top choices.
3. Create an account and copy your worker credentials.
4. Enter those into your miner’s settings-usually just a few clicks.
5. Connect to power and start mining.

Within 24 hours, you’ll see shares appearing on your dashboard. In a few days, you’ll see your first payout.

Don’t overthink it. Don’t chase the dream of a solo block. Just plug in, join a pool, and let the math work for you.