Crypto mining profitability: A complete guide to using the mining calculator

Earnings from cryptocurrency mining in 2026 remain an attractive opportunity, but their size depends on many variables: from electricity costs to current blockchain difficulty. Before investing in expensive equipment, a prudent market participant first performs preliminary calculations using a specialized mining calculator to understand whether the equipment will pay off and within what timeframe. Our comprehensive guide will help you understand all aspects of digital profit calculations.

Why You Need a Mining Calculator: Key Calculation Parameters

A mining calculator is a digital assistant that estimates potential earnings from mining crypto assets. The tool considers equipment characteristics (hashrate in TH/s, GH/s, or MH/s), power consumption in watts, current electricity rates in your region, and network parameters (block reward, difficulty). The output provides a forecast of daily, weekly, or monthly revenue, as well as net profit after deducting energy costs.

Why is this so important? Because without accurate calculations, it’s easy to overestimate profitability. For example, a powerful RTX 3080 graphics card can consume over 300 watts — at high regional electricity rates, such a device might operate at a loss. The calculator helps avoid this mistake during planning.

Main Online Platforms for Profitability Calculation

There are several trusted services on the market, each with its own features. Let’s review four leaders trusted by both beginners and experienced miners.

WhatToMine — a Universal Choice for GPU Farms

WhatToMine is considered one of the most user-friendly mining calculators for GPU owners. Its interface allows quick selection from a list of popular GPU models (RTX 3080, RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 4090, etc.) or manual input of total hashrate in MH/s and total power consumption in watt-hours.

A key feature of WhatToMine is its automatic mode to find the most profitable coin. The calculator analyzes current profitability across various algorithms (Ethash, KawPow, RandomX, etc.) and shows which cryptocurrency to mine right now. Users input their electricity tariff, and the system immediately calculates net income — revenue minus energy costs. All calculations reflect real-time network conditions, making this tool especially useful for strategic planning.

NiceHash — a Unified Approach

NiceHash offers its own built-in mining calculator integrated into the platform ecosystem. Here, you can specify a single device or select multiple GPUs, as well as input parameters for ASIC miners (e.g., Bitmain Antminer series S19K Pro). The calculator estimates expected daily, weekly, or monthly income in USD or Bitcoin.

NiceHash’s feature is that calculations include all platform fees and assume operation within their ecosystem. This is convenient for beginners who haven’t yet chosen a pool or solo mining. The figures reflect the actual income the miner will receive after NiceHash takes its percentage.

Minerstat — Management Platform with Calculator

Minerstat is known as a monitoring and control tool for mining farms, but it also includes a full-featured profitability calculator. The platform allows you to select the coin you’re interested in, choose a GPU or ASIC model from a list, or manually set hashrate and power consumption.

The advantage of Minerstat is that selecting a specific GPU model automatically inputs typical characteristics of that device, simplifying the process for beginners. The calculator shows expected daily income, monthly mined coins, and even suggests optimal settings for efficient operation. This is especially useful if you want to compare multiple scenarios, such as different electricity rates or algorithms.

CryptoCompare — Detailed Calculations for Your Conditions

CryptoCompare, while not exclusively focused on mining, provides convenient profitability calculation tools for specific cryptocurrencies. You can select Bitcoin or Litecoin, then manually input all parameters: your equipment’s hashrate, energy consumption, electricity cost, and other conditions.

CryptoCompare provides detailed estimates of expected income (usually in USD or your chosen fiat currency) and shows how many coins can be mined per day or month. This service is especially useful for those wanting a detailed analysis tailored to their specific conditions, though it’s less suited for managing multi-asset farms with diverse equipment.

How to Properly Use a Mining Calculator: Step-by-Step Guide

The process varies depending on your equipment type, but the general logic remains the same.

Calculations for GPUs

Start by selecting your hardware. Most modern calculators have a pre-filled list of popular GPUs; you just need to specify the model and quantity. If your equipment isn’t listed, enter the total hashrate in MH/s and total power consumption in watts.

Next, choose the algorithm or cryptocurrency. Some calculators offer an automatic mode to select the most profitable coin at the moment. Be sure to input your regional electricity tariff — this is critical, as energy costs often account for 30-50% of gross revenue. Without considering this, your calculations will be inaccurate.

After entering data, the calculator will display profit forecasts for a day, week, and month. For example: a farm with three RTX 3080s, two RTX 3060 Ti, and one RTX 3070 with a total hashrate of about 470 MH/s and power consumption of 1 kW might generate approximately $1.60 daily from mining Ethereum Classic, but after energy costs, net profit could be around $0.40 per day.

Remember, calculator results are a snapshot based on current cryptocurrency prices, network difficulty, and block rewards. These parameters change, so update your calculations periodically.

Calculations for ASIC Equipment

The principle is similar, but with an important difference: ASICs are designed for specific algorithms. For example, the Bitmain Antminer S19K Pro is dedicated solely to SHA-256 (Bitcoin’s algorithm), so the calculator initially narrows choices accordingly.

Most online services list popular ASIC models. If yours isn’t listed, manually input characteristics: hashrate in TH/s, power consumption in watts, and regional electricity rate.

The calculator will then show how many coins (e.g., BTC) can be mined daily and the remaining revenue after electricity costs. Note that Bitcoin’s network difficulty regularly increases as new miners join, and block rewards decrease over time (halvings). In 2024, the reward was reduced to 3.125 BTC per block, significantly impacting profitability.

From Theory to Practice: Concrete Calculation Examples

Scenario 1: GPU Farm with Video Cards

Suppose you own a farm with six GPUs: three RTX 3080, two RTX 3060 Ti, and one RTX 3070, running on the Ethash algorithm (Ethereum Classic mining). The total hashrate is about 470 MH/s, with total power consumption around 1 kW.

Using a mining calculator with current ETC price ($8.41) and regional tariff of $0.05/kWh, approximate figures are:

• Daily revenue: ~0.08 ETC ≈ $0.67
• Electricity costs: 24 kWh × $0.05 = $1.20/day
• Net profit: approximately -$0.53 per day (loss)

This shows that under current market conditions, such a farm isn’t profitable at this tariff. Moving equipment to a region with $0.02/kWh (possible in some parts of Russia or other countries with cheap energy) changes the picture:

• Electricity costs: 24 kWh × $0.02 = $0.48/day
• Net profit: approximately +$0.19 per day

Scenario 2: Bitcoin ASIC Miner

Consider a powerful device — Bitmain Antminer S19K Pro with 120 TH/s hashrate and 2.8 kW power consumption. Using a Bitcoin calculator with current price of $65,750 and regional tariff of $0.05/kWh:

• Daily energy cost: 67.2 kWh × $0.05 = $3.36
• Expected daily income: ~0.0001 BTC ≈ $6.58
• Net profit: about $3.22 per day

Remember, network difficulty increases over time, and the upcoming halving in 2028 will halve block rewards, affecting long-term profitability.

Mining in Russia: Regulatory Environment and Cost Calculations

Since fall 2024, new regulations for cryptocurrency mining have been enacted in Russia. Some regions, like Irkutsk, have banned mining due to energy crisis risks. The government also introduced a 25% profit tax for citizens and established a registry of mining operators.

Let’s analyze whether mining Bitcoin is profitable in a region without restrictions, such as Novosibirsk. Using two Antminer S19K Pro units, and based on Novosibirsk energy rates (~4.12 RUB/kWh, or about $0.0396 at 104 RUB/USD):

• Gross daily revenue: ~$13.04
• Electricity costs: ~$3.36
• Gross profit: ~$9.68
• Tax (25%): ~$2.42
• Net profit before other expenses: ~$7.26
• Additional costs (cooling, maintenance): ~15% of $7.26 ≈ $1.09
• Final net profit: ~$6.17 per day (~640 RUB)

Is this profitable? With these calculations, two ASICs in Novosibirsk can generate roughly 600+ RUB of net profit daily. But this depends on stable electricity prices, crypto prices, and no unexpected costs. Any change requires recalculating via the mining calculator.

Key Factors Affecting Calculation Results

When using any online calculator, keep in mind these variables:

• Network difficulty: For Bitcoin, it adjusts roughly every two weeks and generally increases over time, reducing daily earnings.
• Cryptocurrency price: Volatile; a 10% drop can turn a profitable farm into a loss.
• Electricity costs: Above $0.08/kWh, most GPU farms become unprofitable.
• Residual equipment value: GPUs and ASICs fluctuate in value, affecting payback periods.
• Halvings and protocol changes: The next Bitcoin halving in 2028 will halve block rewards, impacting profitability.

By incorporating all these factors into your calculations, you can make informed investment decisions in mining hardware.