How to Mine Monero: Complete Setup Guide 2026
- Monero uses the RandomX algorithm, which is designed to run best on CPUs. You do not need a dedicated ASIC or a high-end GPU to mine XMR.
- Get a Monero wallet first, then download XMRig from the official GitHub page. Configure it with your pool address and wallet, then run it.
- The best pools for Monero in 2026 are SupportXMR, MoneroOcean, and P2Pool. Fees range from 0% to 1%.
- Block rewards are fixed at 0.6 XMR every two minutes through Monero’s tail emission. There is no halving.
- A high-end CPU like the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X produces around 25–28 KH/s and earns roughly 0.003–0.004 XMR per day at current network difficulty.
- Monero mining is profitable if your electricity is below $0.08/kWh. Above that, returns become marginal for most home setups.
- Mining on Android is technically possible but damages hardware and generates negligible rewards. It is not worth attempting.
Most proof-of-work coins have been taken over by industrial ASIC farms, and made home mining impractical for anyone without a warehouse and a cheap power contract. Monero is a deliberate exception. Its RandomX algorithm was built to run efficiently on general-purpose CPUs and resist ASIC optimization. This means your desktop can compete with dedicated mining hardware in a way that is impossible with Bitcoin or Litecoin.
That is the starting point worth understanding before anything else. Now, let’s get into the main details of mining Monero.
Table of contents
How Monero Mining Works
RandomX, the algorithm Monero switched to in 2019, requires at least 2GB of L3 cache per thread and uses a just-in-time compiler to generate random virtual machine code. This design heavily favors CPUs, which handle those operations efficiently, while making ASIC development economically unviable. GPUs can run RandomX but typically produce lower hashrate per watt than a good CPU.
Block rewards are fixed at 0.6 XMR per block and are confirmed every two minutes. This is Monero’s tail emission model, introduced in 2022. It keeps miner incentives in place indefinitely rather than tapering rewards to zero the way Bitcoin’s halving schedule does. For miners, it removes one of the major long-term uncertainties of most other proof-of-work coins.
Monero Mining Hardware: What You Actually Need
A modern multi-core desktop CPU with a large L3 cache. AMD Ryzen processors consistently outperform Intel on RandomX due to their cache architecture and memory bandwidth.
| CPU | Hashrate | Power Draw | Est. XMR/day |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 9 7950X | ~25–28 KH/s | ~170W | ~0.003–0.004 |
| AMD Ryzen 9 5950X | ~19–22 KH/s | ~105W | ~0.0025–0.003 |
| Intel Core i9-13900K | ~14–17 KH/s | ~125W | ~0.002–0.0025 |
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | ~8–10 KH/s | ~65W | ~0.001–0.0015 |
Estimates based on current network difficulty and XMR price. Figures change with network conditions.
You also need at least 8GB of RAM, with 2GB allocated per mining thread. Most mid-range to high-end desktop builds already meet this requirement without any upgrades.
If you have an older CPU, it can still mine Monero. The returns will be lower, but since there is no hardware investment required beyond what you already own, the effective cost is just electricity. The question is whether that electricity cost produces a net positive, which is covered in the profitability section below.
Step-by-Step Setup
So, how do you actually start mining Monero? Four steps: wallet, software, pool, configuration.
Step 1: Set up a Monero wallet. You need a receiving address before anything else. The official Monero GUI wallet is available at getmonero.org and supports both desktop and CLI. Feather Wallet is a lighter desktop alternative. For privacy, use a subaddress specifically for mining rather than your primary wallet address, which keeps your mining activity separate from your other transactions.
Step 2: Download XMRig. XMRig is the standard mining software for Monero in 2026. Download it directly from the official GitHub releases page at github.com/xmrig/xmrig. Never use a third-party repackage. Windows users should download the MSVC build. Linux users should download the corresponding binary for their distribution.
Note: Some antivirus software flags XMRig as malware because the same tool is used in unauthorized mining attacks on compromised machines. Since you are installing it yourself, add it to your antivirus whitelist before running.
Step 3: Choose a mining pool. Pool mining converts unpredictable solo block finds into regular, proportional payouts. The main options for Monero in 2026:
SupportXMR charges 0.6% and uses a PPLNS payout model. One of the longest-running Monero pools has a good reputation for stability.
MoneroOcean takes 0% on XMR payouts and intelligently switches to whichever RandomX-compatible coin is most profitable at a given moment, then pays everything out in XMR. Particularly good for lower-hashrate miners because it maximizes revenue from small rigs.
P2Pool is a decentralized peer-to-peer pool with no central operator and no fees. You run a local Monero node alongside your miner. Payouts come directly from the blockchain rather than through a pool custodian. Setup is more involved, but the model aligns with Monero’s broader privacy and decentralization philosophy.
Step 4: Configure XMRig. Open the config.json file in the XMRig folder. The key fields to fill in are the pool URL and port (e.g. pool.supportxmr.com:3333), your wallet address or subaddress, and a worker name to identify your machine in the pool dashboard. Set the CPU thread count to match your core count. Save the file and run xmrig.exe (Windows) or ./xmrig (Linux).
Within a few minutes, you should see green “accepted share” messages in the terminal. Log into your pool dashboard and confirm the worker is visible and submitting shares.
Use a good mining calculator to understand earnings.
In short: it isn’t profitable unless free hardware or free electricity.
SeeFailure on Reddit
Is Mining Monero Profitable in 2026?
For most people at average electricity rates, the answer is marginal. For those with cheap power, it works.
So let’s look at the costs and potential earnings.
A Ryzen 9 7950X at 170W costs roughly $0.41/day in electricity at $0.10/kWh. At current XMR prices and network difficulty, the same machine earns around 0.003–0.004 XMR/day. At the current XMR price of around $200, that is roughly $0.60–$0.80/day in revenue, leaving a net margin of $0.20–$0.40/day before hardware depreciation.
At $0.08/kWh or below, the margin improves enough to be worth running continuously. At $0.12/kWh or above, a modest drop in XMR price puts the operation at a loss. The profitability window for Monero mining is narrow, and it is sensitive to price. Anyone going in expecting consistent dollar returns should stress-test their numbers at XMR prices 30–40% lower than current levels before committing.
The advantage Monero has over other mineable coins is that you likely already own the hardware. If your CPU is sitting idle, the marginal cost of mining is electricity only, and the barrier to entry is a 15-minute software setup rather than a multi-thousand-dollar hardware purchase.
If the electricity math doesn’t work for your setup but you still want XMR exposure, you can convert USD to XMR on Paybis without any hardware or trading account.
Common Mistakes When Mining Moreno
So what goes wrong for most new Monero miners? Let’s look at the usual suspects together.
Downloading XMRig from unofficial sources
Several websites distribute modified versions of XMRig pre-configured to redirect a portion of your hashrate to the site owner’s wallet. Always download from the official GitHub release page and verify the checksum if one is provided.
Mining on a phone or laptop
Mobile mining produces 20–40 H/s, a fraction of what a desktop CPU achieves, while generating heat that accelerates hardware wear. The rewards do not cover the electricity, and the thermal stress is real. A phone is not a mining device. A laptop under continuous full CPU load will degrade faster than a desktop doing the same work, and the economics are equally poor.
Skipping huge pages configuration
XMRig performs significantly better with huge pages enabled, a system-level memory setting that the software will prompt you to activate. On Windows, this requires running XMRig as administrator. On Linux, it requires a brief terminal command. Most miners skip this step and leave 10–20% of their hashrate on the table without realizing it.
Bottom Line
Monero mining is the most accessible proof-of-work mining available in 2026. The hardware you need is a decent CPU, the software is free, and the setup takes under an hour. Whether it is worth running depends entirely on your electricity rate. Below $0.08/kWh, it generates a small but steady stream of XMR. Above that, the margin is too thin to rely on.
If you prefer to skip the setup entirely, buying Monero gets you XMR exposure without the electricity overhead. The same applies to Bitcoin: buying BTC on Paybis takes less time than configuring a miner and carries none of the operational overhead.
FAQ
Can I mine Monero on a PC?
Yes. RandomX is optimized for CPUs, so a standard desktop PC with a modern multi-core processor can mine Monero competitively. A high-end CPU like the Ryzen 9 7950X or 5950X will produce the best results, but any reasonably modern processor can contribute.
Can I mine Monero on Android?
Technically yes, but it produces 20–40 H/s and causes significant heat buildup that accelerates hardware wear. The earnings do not cover the cost in battery and hardware degradation. It is not worth attempting.
How long does it take to mine 1 Monero?
At 25 KH/s (Ryzen 9 7950X) on a pool, it takes roughly 250–300 days to accumulate 1 XMR at current network difficulty. Most miners track daily earnings rather than time-to-one-coin, since you receive continuous fractional payouts rather than whole coins.
What is the current Monero block reward?
0.6 XMR per block, fixed since Monero’s tail emission was introduced in May 2022. Blocks are confirmed every two minutes. There is no halving schedule.
Do I need an ASIC to mine Monero?
No. RandomX was specifically designed to make ASIC mining impractical. A good consumer CPU outperforms most ASIC attempts on this algorithm, which is intentional. It is one of the few remaining coins where home hardware remains genuinely competitive.
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