Solo or pool: which one?
Everyone asks this when plugging in their first machine. The answer often surprises: on average, both pay the same. What changes is how the money arrives.
Published 23 September 2026 · by Pixel
VideoThe topic on video
Your miner earns the same solo and in a pool (here is why)On YouTube, in French with subtitles
1. Why average earnings are the same
Your machine does the same work wherever it is pointed: the same number of attempts per second, with the same chance of finding a block on each attempt. A pool does not make your machine faster. It pools everyone’s chances and splits the result.
On average, over time, you get the same, minus the pool’s fee.
2. What really changes
Earnings trickle in, in proportion to your work. There is a fee of a few percent, and often a minimum before you can withdraw: with a small miner that can take months. Most pools hold your earnings until you withdraw.
Nothing most of the time, then the whole block, over 3 bitcoin, if your machine finds it. On FindMyBlock: 0% fee, and the reward goes straight to your address, through no one.
3. Which one?
- You want to see sats arrive regularly: a regular pool.
- You have a small machine and like the jackpot idea: solo. In a pool, a Bitaxe would earn a few dozen sats a day anyway.
- You want to keep control of your bitcoin: a non-custodial solo pool, where nothing passes through the pool.
4. Changing your mind
Nothing is final: switching is just a matter of changing the pool address in the machine’s settings. To mine solo: the FindMyBlock guide. For the numbers: How much does a Bitaxe earn?
Other guides
- Bitaxe will not connect to Wi-Fi: the fixesThe most common causes, to check in order.
- Why you almost never find a block: mining difficulty explainedThe zeros, the target, and why the network adjusts itself every two weeks.
- Miner running hot: cleaning, thermal paste and coolingSpot overheating, fix it, and gain some hashrate along the way.
- Update AxeOS step by stepGet the right version, install it safely, and what to do if it gets stuck.