Mining vs Buying | ONEMINERS RESEARCH
Is It Better to Mine Bitcoin or Buy It in 2026? The Break-Even Test
Mining wins when your all-in cost per coin sits below the price you would pay on an exchange. Here is that cost for five live machines, halving included, at a hosted rate and a household one.
By Michal Beno, CEO, OneMiners
Data verified 24 September 2026 · 12 min read
The short answer
Mining beats buying when your all-in cost per mined coin, hardware plus electricity, is below the spot price. On a hosted rate of 4.80 cents, a SealMiner A4 Ultra Hyd produces Bitcoin at about $75,906 per coin over three years, even assuming a 20% yearly slide in hashprice and the 2028 halving, against a spot price of $83,447. On a 17-cent household tariff the same coin costs about $174,341, and buying wins.
Mining vs buying Bitcoin is the oldest argument in crypto. Buyers say mining is a complicated way to acquire an asset you could buy in thirty seconds. Miners say buying means paying full retail for something they manufacture at cost. Both are right, under different conditions, and the conditions can be measured.
As of 24 September 2026, the Bitcoin network runs at about 950 EH/s (difficulty-implied; mempool.space's three-day estimate reads 918 EH/s), difficulty sits at 132.76 trillion at block 968,396, and Bitcoin trades near $83,447. That works out to a hashprice of roughly $39.83 per petahash per day.
$83,447
spot price, one Bitcoin
$75,906
all-in cost per mined BTC, A4 Ultra, hosted
$174,341
same machine at 17 cents
36
months modelled, halving included
All-in cost = (machine price + 36 months of electricity) / BTC mined. Hashprice falls 20% a year and halves at the 2028 halving.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The only test that matters
THE MINE-OR-BUY TEST
all-in cost per mined BTC = (machine price + electricity over the period) / BTC mined over the period
mine if all-in cost < spot price buy if it is not
Everything else is a footnote to that line. Price moves affect both sides the same way: if Bitcoin doubles, the coins you bought and the coins you mined both double. What differs is what each coin cost you to acquire. Buying costs the spot price, every time. Mining costs whatever your hardware and power add up to.
The model here is deliberately conservative. It runs 36 months, halves revenue at block 1,050,000 around April 2028, and on top of that lets hashprice slide 20% a year as the network grows. It ignores any rise in Bitcoin's price, and it gives the machine zero value at the end.
First, the stakes: five machines, two power prices
All-in cost per mined Bitcoin over 36 months
| Bitcoin miner | Price | BTC mined (36 mo) | Cost per BTC at 4.80 cents | Cost per BTC at 17 cents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SealMiner A4 Ultra Hyd 886T |
$9,999 | 0.2690 | $75,906 | $174,341 |
 Antminer S21e Hyd 310T |
$1,399 | 0.0941 | $84,543 | $261,636 |
 Whatsminer M73S 560T |
$5,996 | 0.1700 | $90,603 | $231,236 |
 Antminer S21 XP Hyd 473T |
$6,199 | 0.1436 | $92,357 | $217,364 |
 Antminer S23 Hyd 580T |
$12,299 | 0.1761 | $108,792 | $207,756 |
Spot price for comparison: $83,447. Conservative scenario: 20% yearly hashprice decline plus the 2028 halving, no price appreciation, zero residual value.
What a mined Bitcoin costs, versus buying one
All-in cost per BTC over 36 months at 4.80 cents per kWh. Dashed line: today's spot price.
The shape is clear. The two machines with the lowest price per terahash, the A4 Ultra at $11.29/TH and the S21e Hyd at $4.51/TH, produce the cheapest coins. The S23 Hyd, the most efficient Antminer on sale, carries a premium price that takes longer than 36 months to earn back in a falling-hashprice world, but it has the most years of useful life left after that.
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Buying Bitcoin means paying retail. Mining it on cheap, fixed power means paying wholesale. The power price decides which one you are doing.
OneMiners research
When buying is the better choice
When mining is the better choice
SealMiner A4 Ultra Hyd 886T$9,999Hashrate886 TH/sEfficiency9.45 J/THPower draw8,372 WBreak-even power$0.176/kWhNet/day at 4.80c$25.65View on OneMiners
Antminer S21e Hyd 310T$1,399Hashrate310 TH/sEfficiency17.00 J/THPower draw5,270 WBreak-even power$0.098/kWhNet/day at 4.80c$6.28View on OneMiners
Antminer S23 Hyd 580T$12,299Hashrate580 TH/sEfficiency9.50 J/THPower draw5,510 WBreak-even power$0.175/kWhNet/day at 4.80c$16.76View on OneMiners
The three machines in this comparison with the lowest all-in cost per coin, live prices.
VERDICT: Mine if you can host on power near 4.80 cents and buy hardware at a low price per terahash. Buy if you cannot. At a hosted rate, the right machine produces Bitcoin below spot even in a conservative scenario.
THE ONEMINERS VIEW
OneMiners' model is built around this exact test. The catalogue publishes price per machine, the hosting centers page publishes every power rate, and the calculator combines them. If the all-in number is below spot, you are acquiring Bitcoin at a discount. If it is not, OneMiners will tell you to buy.
MORE FROM ONEMINERS
How Much Does It Cost to Mine 1 Bitcoin in 2026? →Best Crypto Mining Stocks 2026 vs Owning Miners →Cloud Mining vs OneMiners Hosting: Why Owning Your Miner Wins →Run the test on your own numbers
Calculate your numbers first
Put your machine and your electricity rate into the OneMiners Bitcoin mining calculator. If your rate sits above the machine's break-even line, stop there.
Choose the Bitcoin miner
Pick hardware on efficiency and capital per terahash, not on headline hashrate. The full Bitcoin miner catalogue lists live prices and specs.
Activate the hosting
Place it where power is cheap and fixed. OneMiners publishes every rate on its hosting centers page, from 4.80 cents per kWh, or 3.64 cents on a 7-year prepaid contract.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to mine Bitcoin or buy it?
Cheaper to mine if your all-in cost per coin is below spot. On a hosted rate near 4.80 cents with a value machine, it is; on a household tariff, it is not.
What does it cost to mine one Bitcoin in 2026?
Electricity alone is about $22,927 on a 9.5 J/TH machine at 4.80 cents. Including hardware over 36 months, the best value machines land between $75,906 and $84,543.
Does the Bitcoin price change the answer?
Less than you think. A price rise lifts mined and bought coins alike. It does make mining revenue in dollars higher, which shortens payback.
What happens to the comparison after the 2028 halving?
Revenue per terahash halves, so cost per mined coin rises. This model already includes it.
Is cloud mining the same as mining?
No. Cloud contracts rarely give you the hardware or a published power rate. See cloud mining vs hosting.
Can I mine Bitcoin at home instead?
Technically yes, economically rarely. Household tariffs put the cost per coin well above spot for every current machine.
How long do I need to mine for it to be worth it?
Several years. Mining is a long-horizon strategy; the machine's value is front-loaded before each halving.
Can I start with less capital?
Yes. OneMiners Pay Later starts with 25% down.
START WITH ONEMINERS
Find out whether your coins would be wholesale or retail.
Calculate your numbersChoose a Bitcoin minerActivate hostingSOURCES AND DATA
- Bitcoin network difficulty, block height and supply: mempool.space and blockchain.info, read 24 September 2026
- Bitcoin price: CoinGecko spot, 24 September 2026
- Transaction fees: mempool.space reward statistics, last 144 blocks
- Bitcoin miner prices and specifications: live OneMiners catalogue, 24 September 2026
- Hosting electricity rates: published OneMiners location pages
- Scenario assumptions: 20% annual hashprice decline, 2028 halving at block 1,050,000, constant Bitcoin price, zero residual hardware value
Michal Beno
CEO of OneMiners, the global Bitcoin mining hosting and hardware platform with 15 published hosting locations, 7-year fixed electricity contracts and a 7-year hardware warranty. He writes about the economics of industrial Bitcoin mining.
Informational only, not financial advice. Every figure in this article is a snapshot taken on 24 September 2026 from the live Bitcoin network and the live OneMiners catalogue and published hosting rates. Mining revenue moves with Bitcoin's price, network difficulty and transaction fees, and can fall as well as rise. No fixed return is offered or implied. Do your own research before buying hardware or hosting.
