Which Bitcoin Mining Pool is Right for Me?

Anyone new to Bitcoin mining will sooner or later ask themselves: Which mining pool is right for me? Choosing the right pool is crucial, as it not only affects your potential earnings, but also how stable, transparent, and profitable your mining experience will be.

What is a mining pool?

A mining pool is an association of several miners who combine their computing power to find Bitcoin blocks together. If a block is successfully mined, the reward is distributed among all participants in proportion to the computing power they contributed.

Since the mining difficulty in the Bitcoin network is very high, it is extremely unlikely for individuals to find a block on their own. In a pool, on the other hand, you receive regular smaller payouts, which makes the process more predictable.

But how does the pool know how much you have contributed?
This is where shares come in: a small proof of work from your miner that shows that it is actively working on solving a block. The more valid shares you submit, the greater your share of the reward.

And what does this have to do with your hashrate (e.g., in TH/s)?
The hashrate indicates how many computing attempts your miner performs per second. The higher it is, the more shares your miner can submit in the same period of time and the higher your share of the pool reward will be.

An overview of the most important payment systems

Pay Per Share (PPS)

With PPS, you receive a fixed payment for each valid share that your miner submits, regardless of whether the pool finds a block or not.

• Advantage: Steady, predictable income.

• Disadvantage: Higher fees, as the pool bears the risk.

Full Pay Per Share (FPPS)

Works like PPS, but also takes into account a share of the transaction fees from the blocks found.

• Advantage: Slightly higher returns

• Disadvantage: Higher fees, as the pool bears the risk

Pay Per Last N Shares (PPLNS)

With PPLNS, you are only paid if the pool actually finds a block. The payout is based on your most recently submitted shares.

• Advantage: Often more efficient in the long term

• Disadvantage: Fluctuating income

How mining pools pay out: Threshold or time interval

Different providers offer different payout methods:

• Threshold-based: Payout occurs automatically once a defined minimum amount is reached.

• Time-based: Payouts are made regularly (e.g., daily or weekly), regardless of the amount.

Three steps to a mining pool

1. Select a pool and register if necessary

Choose a mining pool that suits your requirements—for example, in terms of payout model, fee structure, and user-friendliness.

Please note:

• Some pools require you to register with an email address and password before you can enter your payout address.

• Others allow you to get started right away – all you need to do is enter the pool URL and your Bitcoin address in the miner without creating an account.

2. Configure the miner

Enter the pool URL and your username in your miner's user interface.

The connection is usually made via the Stratum protocol; you can find the exact address on the website of the respective pool.

Note:

• For pools without registration, enter your Bitcoin address as your username.

• Optionally, you can assign a unique worker name to each of your miners to better distinguish them in the pool dashboard.

• Format example: Username.Worker1

3. Check connection and monitor earnings

Once your miner is running, you can monitor your hashrate, submitted shares, and earnings in the pool dashboard.

Regularly checking the statistics will help you identify technical problems early on and optimize your performance.

Our recommendation: Braiins Pool

Braiins Pool (formerly Slush Pool) is an excellent choice, especially for beginners and miners who do not mine continuously, thanks to its well-thought-out overall concept and transparent philosophy:

• User-friendliness
  The platform impresses with an intuitive dashboard, reliable infrastructure, and a fair fee structure.

• FPPS remuneration model
  Every valid share is rewarded immediately – regardless of the actual block find. This is particularly advantageous if your miners do not run continuously, such as when heating with mining equipment or operating flexibly according to electricity prices or PV surplus.

• High reputation in the Bitcoin ecosystem
  Braiins is the oldest mining pool in existence and has earned a high level of trust through its commitment to the Bitcoin community.

• Open source and transparent
  The software is completely open source, ensuring maximum transparency.

Alternative for miners in continuous operation: Ocean Pool

For miners who operate their hardware in continuous operation and value maximum efficiency, independence, and Bitcoin principles, Ocean Pool is a strong alternative.

Ocean is based on a transparent PPLNS remuneration model, where payments are only made when a block is actually found – which is particularly worthwhile in the long term for miners with a constant hashrate. Although this model leads to more irregular payouts, it offers higher returns with lower fees over a longer time horizon.

A unique feature: miners can optionally decide for themselves which transactions are included in the next block. This gives you, the miner, back a degree of sovereignty and allows you to play a more conscious role in shaping the network, in line with the principle of decentralization.

In short: if you want to mine on a long-term basis and actively support a free, censorship-resistant Bitcoin network, Ocean Pool offers a consistent and future-oriented alternative. You can find a deep dive into Ocean Pool in this article.