Best Bitcoin Mining Pools for 2026: 12 Pools Compared by Fee, Payout Scheme and Minimum Payout
Short answer first. For a home miner with one to a few ASICs, the pools that combine a low disclosed fee with a low payout threshold are Trustpool (1%, PPS+, 0.001 BTC), Luxor (2.5%, FPPS, 0.001 BTC) and EMCD (4%, FPPS, 0.0001 BTC). For anyone who values pool size and track record over fee, F2Pool, ViaBTC and AntPool (all 4%) remain the default choices. Foundry USA and Neopool run on undisclosed, tier-based or individual pricing, which makes them hard to compare on paper and better suited to large farms that negotiate terms directly.
Everything below is based on fees and thresholds published by the pools themselves and re-checked on 2026-08-10. Where a pool does not publish its fee, the table says so instead of guessing.
The comparison table
| # | Pool | Fee | Payout scheme | Minimum payout | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trustpool | 1% | PPS+ | 0.001 BTC | Lowest disclosed fee in the list |
| 2 | NiceHash | 2% | RTPPS | 0.00001 BTC | Hashpower marketplace, not a classic pool |
| 3 | Luxor | 2.5% | FPPS | 0.001 BTC | Pro tooling and hashrate analytics |
| 4 | Promminer | 3% | FPPS | 0.0001 BTC | BTC-focused |
| 5 | Kryptex Pool | 3% | PPS+ | 0.001 BTC | Convenient for Kryptex users |
| 6 | ViaBTC | 4% | PPS+ / PPLNS | 0.001 BTC | Multi-coin, auto-conversion |
| 7 | F2Pool | 4% | FPPS / PPLNS | 0.005 BTC | One of the oldest global pools |
| 8 | Binance Pool | 4% | FPPS | not published | Exchange integration |
| 9 | EMCD | 4% | FPPS | 0.0001 BTC | Wallet and exchange services in one place |
| 10 | AntPool | 4% FPPS / 0% PPLNS | FPPS / PPS / PPLNS | 0.005 BTC | Large ecosystem, many coins; fee per MiningPoolStats (pool-reported) |
| 11 | Neopool | not disclosed | FPPS | 0.001 BTC | Individual rates |
| 12 | Foundry USA | not disclosed (tiered) | FPPS | 0.01 BTC | Institutional: application and KYC required |
Fee and threshold sources are linked from each pool's row in the live pool ranking, which also recomputes net BTC/day for your hashrate and electricity price. The list is sorted by disclosed fee; it is not a ranking by "quality", because the right pool depends on your hashrate.
How to read the table
Fee
The headline percentage is only part of the cost. Under FPPS the pool pays block reward plus transaction fees; under PPS+ the transaction-fee part is usually paid pro rata; under PPLNS you carry the luck variance yourself. Two pools with the same 4% can differ by more than a percent in what actually lands in your wallet. The FPPS vs PPLNS calculator shows the gap for your numbers. The payout schemes reference goes through each scheme in detail.
Minimum payout
At 1 TH/s (a Bitaxe) a 0.005 BTC threshold means waiting a very long time for the first payout; at 0.0001 BTC the same device pays out regularly. The days-to-first-payout calculator does that arithmetic for all 12 pools.
Undisclosed fee
Neopool and Foundry USA do not publish a single number. That is not automatically bad: large farms often get better terms than the public rate. But for a small miner it means you cannot compare them on paper.
Which pool for which hashrate
Bitaxe or a single hobby device (about 1 TH/s)
Threshold matters more than fee. EMCD, Promminer (0.0001 BTC) or NiceHash (0.00001 BTC). Trustpool at 0.001 BTC is also workable.
One to three ASICs (100-600 TH/s)
Fee and payout scheme start to matter. Trustpool (1%, PPS+) and Luxor (2.5%, FPPS) are the first two to check. If you prefer a large, long-established pool and accept 4%, F2Pool or ViaBTC.
A rack or a small farm (1-10 PH/s)
Here FPPS stability and pool uptime usually outweigh a percent of fee. F2Pool, ViaBTC, AntPool, Luxor. This is also the point where it makes sense to ask Foundry USA or Neopool for individual terms.
10 PH/s and up
Negotiate directly. Public fees stop being the deciding factor.
The pool picker walks through the same logic step by step.
What this list does not do
It does not rank pools by hashrate share or by "luck": those numbers move daily and are better read live on the pool's own statistics page. It does not include pools that only mine altcoins (2Miners, HeroMiners, Nanopool, WoolyPooly, SupportXMR are in the full ranking but are not Bitcoin pools). And it does not account for referral discounts, which change often.
POOL BTC is a comparison site, not a mining pool, and is not affiliated with BTC.com Pool. Some pool links on the site are affiliate links; the ranking methodology and changelog explain why that does not affect positions.
Frequently asked questions
Which Bitcoin mining pool has the lowest fee in 2026?
Among pools that publish a rate, Trustpool at 1% (PPS+). NiceHash at 2% is a hashpower marketplace rather than a classic pool.
Which pool is best for a home miner?
One with a low payout threshold and a disclosed fee: EMCD, Promminer, Trustpool or Luxor, depending on how much hashrate you have.
Is a 4% fee too high?
Not necessarily. Under FPPS a large pool with high uptime and full transaction-fee payout can net you more than a smaller 2% PPLNS pool with high variance. Run both through the calculator.
Why are Neopool and Foundry USA listed without a fee?
They use tier-based or individual pricing and do not publish a single public number.
How often is this table updated?
Fees and thresholds were verified on 2026-08-10. Changes are logged in the ranking changelog.