If you are wondering whether to mine Monero, you probably want one honest number: how much money would I actually make? This article gives you real figures for 2026 — actual hardware, real hashrates, real electricity costs — and answers the question most guides dance around. The short version: for almost everyone, Monero mining is not a way to get rich. It is closer to buying Monero at a discount (or a premium) using your electricity bill. Whether it is worth it comes down almost entirely to what you pay per kilowatt-hour. None of this is financial advice; it is math you can check yourself.
How Mining Pays: The One Formula
Monero uses an algorithm called RandomX that is designed to run best on ordinary computer processors (CPUs), not on GPUs or specialized machines. The whole network shares a fixed pot of new coins. Because of Monero's tail emission, every block pays 0.6 XMR, and a new block arrives about every two minutes. That is 432 XMR per day shared among everyone mining, forever.
Your share is simply your speed divided by the whole network's speed:
Your daily XMR = (your hashrate ÷ network hashrate) × 432 XMR
As of mid-2026 the network runs at roughly 6 GH/s (6 billion hashes per second) and XMR trades around $350 — though both move constantly, so treat every dollar figure below as a snapshot, not a promise. Plugging those in, each 1 kH/s (1,000 hashes per second) of your own speed earns about $0.025 per day before power. That single number is the key to everything else.
Real Hardware, Real Output
Here is what common, actually-available hardware produces. Hashrates are typical tuned figures; power is measured at the wall (the whole machine, not just the chip). Dollar figures use $350 XMR and a 6 GH/s network.
| CPU | Speed | Power | XMR / month | Gross / month | Net / month* | Profitable below |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 5 5600X (budget, ~$130 used) | ~7.2 kH/s | ~100 W | ~0.0156 | ~$5.45 | −$1.75 (loss) | ~7.5¢/kWh |
| Ryzen 9 7950X (~$550) | ~22 kH/s | ~200 W | ~0.0475 | ~$16.60 | ~$2.20 | ~11.5¢/kWh |
| Ryzen 9 9950X (~$600, most efficient) | ~27 kH/s | ~170 W | ~0.0583 | ~$20.40 | ~$8.20 | ~16.7¢/kWh |
*Net assumes electricity at 10¢ per kWh, running 24/7. Raise your power price and the net falls fast; lower it and mining swings clearly positive.
Electricity Is the Whole Game
Notice the last column. Every processor has an electricity price above which it loses money every single day. That break-even is the only number that really decides whether you should mine:
- Under ~7¢/kWh — even a modest CPU is mildly profitable, and a good one does well.
- Around 10–12¢/kWh (typical US residential is ~16¢) — only the most efficient chips clear a small profit; budget CPUs lose.
- Above ~17¢/kWh — essentially nothing is profitable at retail power prices. You would pay more for electricity than the coins are worth.
This is why "is Monero mining profitable?" has no single answer. Someone with cheap hydro power or solar can profit comfortably; someone on an expensive urban grid is paying a premium to mine. Same hardware, opposite outcome.
The Hardware Never Pays for Itself
Here is the part that reframes the whole question. Take the best case above — a Ryzen 9 9950X netting about $8 a month. That chip costs roughly $600. Ignoring the rest of the computer, it would take about six years of nonstop mining just to earn back the processor — and that assumes price and difficulty never move against you (they will). Buy a CPU specifically to mine and you will almost certainly never recover its cost from mining alone.
That is the honest bottom line: mining does not pay off hardware. It only makes sense on a computer you already own and were going to keep anyway, using its spare time.
So Is It Just "Buying Monero With Electricity"?
For most people, yes — and that is the right way to think about it. When you mine, you are converting electricity (and a little hardware wear) into XMR. If your power is cheap, you are effectively buying Monero at a small discount to the market price, with the bonus that it arrives directly in your wallet with no exchange, no account, and no KYC. If your power is expensive, you are buying Monero at a premium — at which point you should simply buy it outright and skip the noise, heat and wear.
Framed that way, the decision is easy:
- Mine if you have cheap or included electricity, a capable CPU you already own, and you want to accumulate XMR privately over time.
- Just buy if your electricity is average-to-expensive, you would need to buy hardware, or you want a specific amount of Monero now.
If You Decide to Mine
The setup itself is genuinely simple. You need three things: a modern multi-core CPU, the free miner XMRig, and a pool so your small hashrate earns steady payouts instead of waiting years for a solo block. Well-regarded pools include P2Pool (decentralized, 0% fee, the most private option), SupportXMR and MoneroOcean. Point the miner at the pool, paste in your Monero address, and payouts trickle in automatically.
Two practical notes. First, mining runs your CPU near 100% continuously — expect heat, fan noise and added wear, and make sure your cooling can handle it. Second, only mine on hardware you own or have explicit permission to use; quietly mining on someone else's machine (or a work computer) is not okay. For step-by-step setup, see How To Mine Monero and Best Monero Mining Software.
Check the Numbers Yourself
Everything here is a mid-2026 snapshot, and the two inputs that matter — the XMR price and the network hashrate — drift constantly. Before committing, redo the math with today's figures: take your CPU's hashrate, divide by the current network hashrate, multiply by 432 XMR and by today's price, then subtract your daily power cost (watts × 24 ÷ 1000 × your kWh price). A live calculator such as minerstat's Monero page will do it for you, but doing it by hand once makes the whole thing click. For a matching walk-through of daily output, see How Much Monero Can I Mine In A Day?
The Bottom Line
Monero mining in 2026 is real, legal in most places, and refreshingly accessible — any decent PC can do it. But it is not a money machine. At typical hardware and average electricity prices you will make a few dollars a month at best, and you will never earn back a CPU bought just for mining. The realistic and honest framing is this: mining is a way to accumulate Monero using your electricity, worthwhile mainly when that electricity is cheap and the computer is already yours. If that describes you, mine and enjoy the private, direct payouts. If it does not, buying Monero is faster, cheaper and simpler.
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- Can You Still Mine Monero? A 2026 Guide
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