Open the black box: the four numbers behind every mining calculator, and the one figure that tells you if a Bitcoin miner makes sense.
By Michal Beno, CEO, OneMiners12 November 2026
A Bitcoin miner is profitable when the Bitcoin it mines is worth more than the electricity it burns. You need just two numbers: the hashprice (what 1 TH/s earned per day, about $0.03596 on 19 October 2026) and your rate per kWh. Multiply, subtract, done. This guide shows the method step by step on real miners.
Profitability calculators can feel like a black box. You type in a model, a number appears, and you are not sure where it came from. In this guide we open the box. Once you understand the four inputs, you can check any calculator, including ours, and spot the ones that are too optimistic.
$0.03596
hashprice per TH/s per day, 19 October 2026
$81,843
Bitcoin price used
1,029 EH/s
network hashrate (3-day average)
3.6c
lowest OneMiners rate per kWh
The four numbers that decide profitability
Your miner's hashrate (TH/s): how much work it does. Printed on the product page.
Your miner's power (watts): how much electricity it uses. Also on the product page.
Your electricity price (per kWh): the one big number you can choose, by choosing where the miner runs.
Hashprice: what the network pays per TH/s per day. It moves with the Bitcoin price, the network's total hashrate and transaction fees.
What is hashprice?
Every day the Bitcoin network pays miners a fixed reward per block plus transaction fees. On 19 October 2026, the last 144 blocks (about one day) paid 451.95 BTC. That reward is shared by everyone mining, in proportion to their hashrate. Divide the dollar value by the total network hashrate and you get the hashprice.
Hashprice = BTC paid per day × BTC price ÷ network hashrate in TH/s
451.95 × $81,843 ÷ 1,028,586,823 TH/s = $0.03596 per TH/s per day.
The calculation, step by step
Revenue = TH/s × hashprice
Power cost = watts ÷ 1,000 × 24 × rate per kWh
Profit = revenue − power cost − pool fee
The pool fee is usually a small percentage of revenue. Check your pool's terms.
Antminer S21 XP Hyd at OneMiners Texas, 7-year prepaid
On 19 October 2026 network numbers, this Bitcoin miner would have brought in about $17.01 a day against $6.13 of electricity. Tomorrow's numbers will be different. That is why the next step matters more.
Antminer S19k Pro: same maths, very different result
At an average US home price this older miner costs more to run than it mines. At a low hosting rate it stays positive. Same machine, different electricity.
The number that matters most: your break-even power price
Revenue moves every day, so a single profit figure goes out of date fast. A more useful number is the break-even electricity price: the rate per kWh at which a miner's power bill equals its revenue. Below it, the miner covers its power. Above it, it doesn't.
Break-even (per kWh) = hashprice ÷ (J/TH × 24 ÷ 1,000)
J/TH is efficiency: watts divided by TH/s. The more efficient the miner, the higher its break-even price, and the more room you have.
Break-even electricity price, 19 October 2026
US cents per kWh, before pool fee. Higher is safer.
Bitcoin network data from mempool.space on 19 October 2026: BTC price $81,843, 451.95 BTC paid to miners over the last 144 blocks, 3-day average network hashrate 1,029 EH/s. These change every day. Efficiency from OneMiners shop specs.
Read the chart like this. On 19 October 2026, the most efficient miners covered their power at anything below about 16 cents per kWh. The older Antminer S19k Pro broke even at about 6.5 cents, so it only makes sense on very cheap power. Every OneMiners 7-year prepaid rate sits between 3.6 and 6.6 cents.
What changes the result
Five things that move the numbers
| If this happens | Hashprice | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin price rises | Up | Revenue per TH/s rises |
| More miners join the network | Down | Your share of the reward shrinks |
| Transaction fees spike | Up | Extra revenue on top of the block reward |
| The next halving (2028) | Down sharply | The block reward halves; efficient miners matter more |
| Your electricity price rises | No change | Your costs rise. A fixed rate removes this risk |
Network difficulty was estimated to change by +0.55% at the next adjustment and rose 5.92% at the last one (mempool.space, 19 October 2026).
Only the last row is under your control. That is why we always tell people to choose an efficient miner and lock a low electricity price; you cannot control the Bitcoin price, but you can control the cost side.
How to spot an over-optimistic calculator
MYTH
Today's profit will be the same every day.
FACT
Hashprice changes daily. Look at the break-even electricity price instead.
MYTH
Electricity is a small detail.
FACT
It is the biggest running cost. A few cents per kWh can flip a miner from positive to negative.
MYTH
Uptime is always 100%.
FACT
Real miners restart, get serviced and sometimes fail. A good host guarantees a floor: OneMiners guarantees 95%+.
MYTH
The halving won't affect me.
FACT
The 2028 halving cuts the block reward in half. Inefficient miners are hit first.
Your five-minute checklist
Before you buy
Copy the miner's specs
TH/s and watts from the product page.
Find today's hashprice
Use a live source, or our calculator.
Use your real power price
Including every fee. Hosting rates at OneMiners already include management.
Work out the break-even price
Hashprice ÷ (J/TH × 0.024). Compare it with your rate.
Leave a safety margin
Choose a setup where your rate sits well below break-even.
Hashrate (TH/s)
Terahashes per second: how much mining work a machine does.
Hashprice
What 1 TH/s earned in one day, in US dollars.
J/TH
Joules per terahash: energy per unit of work. Lower is more efficient.
Difficulty
How hard it is to find a block. It adjusts about every two weeks.
Halving
The block reward halves about every four years. The next is expected in 2028.
We built our calculator to show the inputs, not hide them. Run your own numbers, check them against this method, and compare our rates with anyone's. No one can promise you a profit; we can give you a low, fixed electricity price.
Quick questions
How do I know if a Bitcoin miner is profitable?
Compare its daily revenue (TH/s × hashprice) with its daily power cost. Or compare your power price with its break-even price.
What electricity price do I need?
It depends on the miner. On 19 October 2026 efficient models broke even at around 12-16 cents per kWh; older ones much lower.
Why does my calculator show a different number?
Different hashprice, pool fee or uptime assumptions. Check the inputs.
Is mining profitable at home?
Rarely, for most miners. The 2026 US household average is about 18.2 cents per kWh.
Where is your calculator?
On our profitability page.
Run your own numbers, then lock a low rate.
Open the calculatorSee hosting ratesMichal Beno
CEO of OneMiners, the global Bitcoin mining hosting and hardware platform with 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. Electricity rates, miner and container prices were read on oneminers.com on 19 October 2026 and can change; check the live site before you order. Examples assume a miner running 24 hours a day and are not a forecast. Network figures are from mempool.space on 19 October 2026 and change every day. Bitcoin mining results depend on BTC price, network difficulty and electricity costs, which change. No return is offered or implied.
