Monero mining pools compared
Comparison · October 2026 · not financial advice. Pool details change — verify fees and minimums on each pool's own site before mining.
P2Pool — the Monero-native choice
- Decentralized: no operator, no website account, no custody — payouts come straight from the coinbase transaction.
- Fees: none at the protocol level (you pay only Monero network fees).
- Setup: slightly more work — you run a small P2Pool node alongside your Monero node, then point XMRig at it locally.
- Best for: anyone who can follow the setup docs and wants maximum decentralization.
Centralized pools — MoneroOcean, SupportXMR
- Easiest start: create nothing, just point XMRig at the pool's address with your XMR address as the username.
- Fees: typically 0–1% (verify current figures on the pool's site); minimum payout thresholds apply.
- Trade-off: you're trusting the operator to pay out, and large pools concentrate hashrate — avoid any pool approaching a large share of the network.
- Best for: first-timers who want payouts with minimum friction.
Our take: start on P2Pool if you can; otherwise a reputable centralized pool with modest hashrate share. Never mine on a pool that dominates the network — decentralization is the whole point of mining Monero.