- Pool fees range from 0.75% (Foundry USA) to 2.5% (Antpool, F2Pool) — at $30,000/year revenue, this difference is $525/year per machine
- FPPS+ is the optimal payout structure — it pays for every share plus transaction fee income with no variance
- Foundry USA is the recommended pool for US operators: lowest fees, FPPS+, US-based compliance, and the largest hashrate share (~30%)
- Pool flexibility is non-negotiable in hosting contracts — confirm you can point machines at any pool before signing
- Solo mining is not viable at any scale in 2026 — with 234 TH/s and 650 EH/s network hashrate, expected time to a solo block is approximately 7,600 years
Pool selection is one of the few ongoing operational decisions in mining that directly and immediately affects your net revenue. Every percentage point in pool fees reduces your take-home by exactly that amount, every day, for the entire life of your operation. Unlike hardware decisions (made once) or hosting decisions (changed rarely), pool choice is immediately reversible — and optimizing it is therefore purely a matter of knowing the options.
Beyond fees, pool selection involves understanding payout structures (FPPS vs PPLNS and what variance means for cash flow), hashrate concentration and what it means for network decentralization, minimum payout thresholds, and the practical question of whether your hosting provider gives you full pool flexibility or locks you in.
This guide covers the four major pools relevant to US-based operators in 2026 — Foundry USA, Antpool, F2Pool, and Braiins Pool — with complete fee comparisons, payout structure explanations, and a final recommendation.
Why Pool Fees Compound into Real Money
At current economics, an Antminer S21 Pro earns approximately $82.40/day gross. On an annualized basis, that is approximately $30,076/year. The difference between a 0.75% pool fee and a 2.5% pool fee:
- At 0.75% fee: $30,076 × 0.0075 = $225.57/year paid to the pool
- At 2.5% fee: $30,076 × 0.025 = $751.90/year paid to the pool
- Annual difference: $526.33 per machine
For an operator running 10 S21 Pros, the fee difference between Foundry USA and Antpool is approximately $5,260/year — more than enough to offset years of switching costs. For a 50-machine operation, it is over $26,000/year. Pool fee optimization is one of the highest-leverage, lowest-effort improvements available to any operator.
Understanding Payout Structures
Before comparing specific pools, it is essential to understand the three payout structures they offer, because they affect not just variance but in some cases total expected revenue.
FPPS — Full Pay Per Share (Recommended)
Full Pay Per Share pays you for every valid share your miners submit to the pool, regardless of whether the pool found a block during your mining session. The "full" designation means you also receive a proportional share of transaction fees from blocks the pool mines — not just the block subsidy.
Why this matters: transaction fees in Bitcoin blocks have grown significantly as a portion of total block reward, particularly during periods of high network activity. In 2024, transaction fees occasionally exceeded the block subsidy. FPPS+ structures ensure you receive this transaction fee income proportionally, rather than seeing it go entirely to the pool or being excluded from your payout calculation.
FPPS provides the smoothest, most predictable payout curve. Revenue correlates directly with hashrate submitted, with no luck component.
PPS — Pay Per Share
Similar to FPPS but excludes transaction fees from the payout calculation. The pool retains all transaction fee income and typically uses it to subsidize the pool's operating costs. PPS rates are therefore slightly lower in effective yield than FPPS+ even at the same nominal percentage fee, because the transaction fee pool goes to the operator in FPPS but to the pool in PPS.
In periods of low transaction fee activity, PPS and FPPS+ converge. During high-fee periods, FPPS+ is meaningfully better.
PPLNS — Pay Per Last N Shares
Payout is calculated based on the shares you contributed in the window (N shares) before each block is found. This creates variance around your expected payout — if the pool has a "lucky" streak (finding blocks faster than statistically expected), your per-share payout is higher. If the pool hits a "dry spell," your per-share payout is lower for that window.
Over long periods, PPLNS and FPPS converge to the same expected value. The difference is variance — PPLNS adds short-term income volatility that most operators don't need. For operators who want smooth, predictable monthly cash flow, FPPS or FPPS+ is the better choice.
The Four Major Pools Compared
| Pool | Fee | Structure | Global hashrate | Min payout | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundry USA | 0-0.75% | FPPS+ | 28-35% | 0.005 BTC | US operators, low fees |
| Antpool | 2.5% FPPS / 2% PPLNS | FPPS or PPLNS | 15-20% | 0.001 BTC | Bitmain hardware, low min payout |
| F2Pool | 2.5% | PPS+ | 10-15% | 0.005 BTC | Global operations, track record |
| Braiins Pool | 2% | FPPS | 2-4% | Lightning (any amount) | Braiins OS users, lightning payouts |
Foundry USA — The Recommendation for US Operators
Foundry USA has become the largest Bitcoin mining pool by hashrate, controlling approximately 28-35% of global hashrate as of mid-2026. Founded by Digital Currency Group in 2020, it is US-based, US-regulated, and built specifically for the institutional and professional mining market — though individual operators are fully welcome.
The fee structure is the most compelling in the market: 0-0.75% FPPS+. The 0% tier is available for operators meeting minimum hashrate thresholds; most individual operators qualify for the 0.75% tier, which is still dramatically better than any competitor. At 0.75% on $30,000/year revenue, you pay $225/year in pool fees — versus $750 at Antpool's 2.5% FPPS.
One concern with Foundry is its hashrate concentration — 30%+ of global hashrate in a single pool is significant from a network decentralization perspective. Bitcoin's security model benefits from distributed hashrate. Some operators diversify across pools for this reason, even at some cost to fee optimization.
Antpool — Bitmain's Integrated Pool
Antpool is operated by Bitmain, the dominant ASIC manufacturer. It is the second-largest pool by hashrate and integrates tightly with Bitmain firmware — the pool address is the default in all Antminer configurations. The main appeal for individual operators is the low minimum payout (0.001 BTC vs 0.005 BTC for most competitors), which matters for operators with a single machine who want frequent payouts.
The fee structure (2.5% FPPS or 2% PPLNS) is not competitive with Foundry, and for most operators there is no compelling reason to pay 2.5% when 0.75% FPPS+ is available. If you use Bitmain hardware and want the integrated experience, Antpool is a functional choice — but not the financially optimal one.
F2Pool — Veteran Global Pool
F2Pool is one of the oldest pools, founded in China in 2013 with strong global infrastructure. It has a long track record of reliable payouts and strong uptime. At 2.5% PPS+, fees are identical to Antpool FPPS but with PPS structure rather than FPPS — meaning transaction fee income is excluded from your payout.
F2Pool is a reasonable choice for operators who value the track record and global infrastructure over fee optimization, or for operations where Foundry USA's regulatory posture is a concern. Not the optimal fee structure, but a reputable option.
Braiins Pool — Pioneer Pool with Lightning Payouts
Braiins Pool (formerly Slushpool) was the world's first Bitcoin mining pool, launched in 2010. Now operated by Braiins, makers of the Braiins OS alternative firmware for ASIC miners, it offers the unique feature of Lightning Network payouts with no minimum payout threshold — useful for operators who want to accumulate small amounts or test Lightning infrastructure.
At 2% FPPS, fees are lower than Antpool and F2Pool but higher than Foundry USA. The Braiins OS integration is compelling for operators running the alternative firmware (which sometimes offers higher hashrate through overclocking). For standard Bitmain stock firmware users, Foundry's 0.75% remains the better choice on pure fee economics.
Pool Flexibility: The Non-Negotiable Hosting Requirement
Before choosing a pool, confirm your hosting provider allows full pool flexibility. The ability to point your miners at any pool address is a basic right that all reputable hosting providers offer — and a red flag in any contract that restricts it.
Some hosting providers operate affiliated pools or have commercial relationships with specific pools that incentivize them to lock clients in. This arrangement benefits the hosting company (through affiliate fees or pool revenue sharing) at your expense. Abundant Miners offers full pool flexibility — you point your machines wherever you choose.
When evaluating any hosting contract, pool flexibility belongs on your checklist alongside uptime guarantees, exit terms, and fee structure. See our complete hosting guide for the full 12-question checklist.
Why Solo Mining Is Not Viable in 2026
Some operators ask about solo mining — operating without a pool and collecting the full block reward when you find a block. The math makes this clearly impractical at any reasonable scale:
- Global network hashrate: approximately 650 EH/s (650,000,000 TH/s)
- Your hashrate (1 S21 Pro): 234 TH/s
- Your share of global hashrate: 234 ÷ 650,000,000 = 0.000036%
- Expected blocks per year: 52,560 (network) × 0.00000036 = 0.019 blocks per year
- Expected time to find one block: approximately 54 years per machine
Even with 100 machines (23,400 TH/s), expected time to a solo block is over 6 months. Solo mining at this scale exposes you to years of operating costs with no income. Pools exist precisely to smooth this variance into predictable daily payouts.
Common Mistakes in Pool Selection
- Defaulting to Antpool because it's Bitmain's pool. Antpool's 2.5% fee is meaningfully higher than Foundry USA's 0.75%. The Bitmain integration is a convenience, not a reason to overpay by $525/year per machine.
- Not checking pool uptime history. Pool downtime during which your miner cannot submit shares is lost revenue. Major pools publish uptime statistics. Verified 99.9%+ uptime is the minimum acceptable for a production operation.
- Choosing PPLNS for higher expected returns. PPLNS's expected value equals FPPS over long periods — there is no free lunch. The only difference is variance timing. FPPS is always preferable for predictable cash flow management.
- Signing a hosting contract that restricts pool choice. Losing pool flexibility costs you the ability to optimize fees. If your hosting contract locks you into a 2.5% pool instead of 0.75%, that is approximately $525/year per machine in lost income embedded in the contract terms.
- Not monitoring pool connection uptime on your machines. Hardware occasionally loses pool connection and begins submitting to a default backup pool — often one with higher fees. Monitor pool connectivity on each machine monthly.
Expert Tips for Pool Optimization
- Start with Foundry USA. For US-based operators, Foundry's 0-0.75% FPPS+ is the optimal combination of fee level, payout structure, and regulatory posture. This is the correct default choice unless you have a specific reason to deviate.
- Set up backup pool addresses. All major pools allow you to configure primary, secondary, and tertiary pool addresses in your miner settings. If the primary pool is unreachable, your miner fails over to the backup automatically. Configure Foundry as primary and F2Pool or Braiins as backups.
- Consider diversifying across two pools for large fleets. Running 50%+ of your hashrate through a single pool creates concentration risk — if that pool has extended downtime, all your income stops. Splitting across two pools reduces this risk at minimal fee cost if both pools offer competitive rates.
- Use our deal analyzer to model pool fee impact. Enter your hardware, hosting cost, and BTC price assumptions, then compare outputs at 0.75% and 2.5% pool fees. The annual difference at scale is one of the clearest ROI improvements available.
- Revisit pool selection as your fleet grows. Minimum hashrate tiers for 0% Foundry fees become accessible as you scale. What is optimal for a 2-machine operation may differ from what is optimal for a 50-machine fleet.
The Bottom Line
Pool selection is one of the highest-leverage, lowest-effort optimizations available to mining operators. For most US-based operators in 2026, Foundry USA at 0-0.75% FPPS+ is the clear choice: lowest fees, optimal payout structure, US-based compliance, and the largest global hashrate for maximum payout smoothness.
The fee decision — 0.75% vs 2.5% — is worth approximately $525/year per machine at current economics. On a 10-machine fleet, that is $5,250/year in additional take-home revenue with no hardware change, no hosting change, and no operational complexity. This is the simplest optimization in mining.
Confirm pool flexibility before signing any hosting contract, configure backup pool addresses on all machines, and monitor pool connectivity monthly. Use our deal analyzer to model the fee impact on your specific setup, and our profitability audit for a complete review of your operational configuration.