Cryptocurrency mining is one way of earning extra coins from the digital currency industry. Initial Bitcoin miners are known to have made massive profits from mining. However, due to various factors, mining profitability has declined. With time, mining has evolved with different options hitting the market. Currently, one can download mining software and start earning. Mining software is ideal for cryptocurrency enthusiasts who would like to earn without going through the difficulties of purchasing multiple high-end GPU rigs. One of the popular software is NiceHash.
What is NiceHash?
NiceHash Miner is a free mining software that links sellers and buyers of computing hashing power. The platform allows sellers to rent their computing power and in return earn Bitcoins. Since joining the market, NiceHash has become one of the largest hash power marketplaces in the world, with over 170,000 miners, more than 3.3 million orders served, and over 181,000 BTC paid out.
All Nicehash services operate in the cloud. In simple terms, Nicehash enables users to rent hashing power in return for a fixed fee. The miners then share the revenue earned during the mining process. The platform reduces costs because mining can take place remotely without the need for expensive mining hardware.
A buyer has the capability of selecting their preferred cryptocurrency to mine. They, therefore, put a price tag for the seller’s hash power and place an order. If the hashing power sellers show interest, the order is then fulfilled. On the other hand, miners can operate the NiceHash mining software or link it to ASICs and the normal PC to NiceHash stratum servers and clear the order by the buyer.
In terms of payment, earnings are in Bitcoin. The seller of computing power is compensated in Bitcoin for each valid contribution he made to the mining process.
Getting Started With NiceHash
Before becoming a NiceHash buyer, you need an account which is created on the NiceHash website. You need an email and a strong password. You will then confirm the email and log into the account. NiceHash will then provide an internal NiceHash Bitcoin wallet for depositing and withdrawing Bitcoins. Sellers can use the wallet to receive the payment for hashing power. Note that any amounts lower than 0.001 Bitcoins cannot be withdrawn. Furthermore, with the wallet, you get rig monitoring and on-website technical support.
How to Become A Buyer/Seller on NiceHash
To buy hashing power, you will need a minimum of 0.005BTC. Buyers on the platform can enter into contracts of less than a day and the price varies based on the market price of the cryptocurrency. Furthermore, the total mining difficulty of the relevant algorithm also plays a major role. Buyers can enter into two types of contracts: The standard bidding contract. This contract allows you to tweak the price at the value you want. We also have a fixed contract, where the price is set higher than in the case above but is fixed for the duration of the contract.
To buy the hashing power, you will need an account and a minimum deposit of 0.005BTC. Select the cryptocurrency you would like to mine alongside the pool. Save the pool data to your NiceHash list of pools then verify it with the NiceHash Pool Verifier. You will then place a new order in the marketplace. Pick your algorithm and select either the EU marketplace or the U.S. marketplace. Each marketplace comes with its own pricing for standard and fixed orders. Lastly, go to your pool and check your earnings.
To sell hashing power, you will need some computer hardware capable of mining. Then download the NiceHash mining software and register an account where you will deposit your mining profits. Finally, you will run the software.
NiceHash Fees
Using NiceHash services attracts some fees. For buyers, NiceHash charges a non-refundable 0.0001 BTC fee for any new order and 3% fee on what you spend on buying hashing power. However, sellers on the NiceHash platform have a unique scale. For payouts for balances of less than 0.1 will be charged 5% for the external wallet. Payouts for balances greater than or equal to 0.1 BTC to the external wallet is charged at 3%. Lastly, payouts for balances greater than or equal to 0.001 BTC to NiceHash wallet is 2%. Withdrawals from NiceHash internal wallet to an external wallet are subjected to the withdrawal fee. This will depend on the withdrawn amount and withdrawal option. Withdrawals are manually confirmed once on a daily baisis. Deposits to NiceHash wallet are subjected to the deposit fee, which depends on the deposited amount.
NiceHash also has a referral bonus. The bonus includes a 5% revenue share of what NiceHash earns from your referral.
NiceHash Security
NiceHash advises on various measures to keep your account secure. The platform puts emphasis on keeping your email secure. To check if your email has ever been compromised you need to can use the HaveIBeenPwned service. It is a good practice to have a separate email for financial or crypto related accounts. Furthermore, NiceHash employees do not have access to user passwords. The platform recommends users to use password managers like KeePass.
Additionally, the platform has a two-factor-authentication feature. This feature greatly reduces the risk of being hacked online.
NiceHash Profitability
One of the most asked questions regarding Nicehash is – Is Nicehash profitable? Now, it depends on your and your computer. Basically, if you’re living in an area where the electricity is cheap or close to 0 – Nicehash can be pretty profitable. But dont expect the nicehash profit to be extraordinary. With a gaming laptop or PC not older than 1 year, you can easily do a $1-$1.5 per day with Nicehash. Assuming that you don’t leave your PC or laptop online all the time, let’s say the profit per day is $1 – which makes a $30 per month, paid in BTC. In a year, that would be a $360 at the current BTC price. But if the BTC price would increase – so would your Nicehash profit. If BTC doubles up until next year this time – you’d have around $650-$700 ish – which is enough to buy a new laptop so you’d mine with two PCs or two laptops at once. But again, the Nicehash profit really depeds on the price that you’re paying on electricity.
NiceHash also comes with a mining profitability calculator– which we’re going to speak afterwards. You can plug in the type of hardware you are using and the electricity charges, and you can predict your profits in a specified period. A user can tell the approximate profit in a day, week or even month. Not all hardware is profitable due to variation in Bitcoin prices.
With time, NiceHash profitability has significantly declined due to various factors. The mining sector has been overflooded something that has a direct negative impact on profits. The situation has been worsened with the declining Bitcoin prices. Furthermore, security concerns have forced many people to ditch the service.
NiceHash has a mining profitability calculator where you plug in the type of hardware you are using and the electricity charges. The calculator will then predict your profits during the specified timeframe. A user can tell the approximate profit in a day, week or even month. As a result of Bitcoin price variations, not all hardware will be profitable. However, NiceHash profitability has significantly declined due to various factors. The mining sector has been overflooded something that has a direct negative impact on profits. Furthermore, security concerns have forced many people to ditch NiceHash, something that has affected its profitability.
Nicehash Miner Calculator
The best thing that Nicehash done was created a Nicehas miner calculator that would answer to your question – is nicehash profitable? The nicehash profitability calculator basically tells you how much you could earn with a specific setup or hardware configuration. Its super useful, especially if you don’t want to waste any time mining and testing new platforms. However, there were cases when the earnings were much higher than the Nicehash calculator estimated – so its probably best to give it a try.
For example, with a Intel CPU i9-9980XE and a electricity cost of 0.1 USD/kWH – the nicehash profit would be 0.21 USD per day. Pretty low, but this only for 1 CPU – let’s add a GPU also. With an Nvidia TItan XP – the income would be 1.01 USD per day with a 0.1 USD/kWH price.
So in total, the nicehash profit would be a $1.22 USD per day – but that could increase or decrease depending on the market. If you have a Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti – your nicehash daily profit would be 1.40 USD. But after testing the profit with the Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti card, the profit was 1.61 with free electricity.
NiceHash Pros
NiceHash is beginner friendly. Due to its relatively easy setup, less risk involved and easy one-click operation, NiceHash is very beginner friendly. One does not require technical knowledge to set up the platform.
Multi-algorithm. NiceHash picks the most profitable algorithm to mine for you after reviewing your hardware. Hence, you will always be mining the best bang for buck portable coin.
NiceHash Cons
Bitcoin only payouts. With the high Bitcoin transaction fees, NiceHash is not a good choice for smaller miners, but with the potential inclusion of altcoin payouts, it might be an option for some.
Minimal profits. Compared to pool mining, NiceHash mining has minimal profits.
Alternative to Nicehash
In 2017, NiceHash suffered an exodus of clients after around 4, 7000 Bitcoins were lost through a phishing attack. The security breach affected NiceHash’s reputation in the market. NiceHash is currently compensating users who were affected by the attack. Despite the service relaunching, users lost faith and started looking for other options.
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HoneyMiner
HoneyMiner is a sophisticated crypto mining software that allows you to earn passive income. Notably, the software does not require any technical skills or equipment to operate. Despite being new in the market, HoneyMiner has some positive reputation. First, the software is easy to set up after download. A new user is only required to have an email address to create an account.
The software works by scanning different tokens and selects profitable ones for mining. The selected tokens are automatically mined and sent to you daily. With HoneyMiner you earn about $1 to $3 on a daily basis making it a perfect NiceHash alternative.
On the security aspect, HoneyMiner uses the SSL system and encryption to protect users. Additionally, all servers linked to HoneyMiner are decentralized and entirely anonymous. Although the sign-up process is easy, users are required to go through the 2-factor authentication process.
With the ongoing developments, HoneyMiner is expected to add additional features in the HoneyMiner Pro version. The new features will upgrade the mining experience making it more profitable. There are also some HoneyMiner alternatives, in case you tried it and wasn’t happy with it.
MiningPoolHub
MiningPoolHub has positioned itself in the market as a mining software that caters for both newcomers and experienced miners. Users have a variety of options to chose from. They can select from Simple Coin mining, Algo Switch mining and Multi Algo Switch. All these options are for different categories of miners. The Algo Switch capability stands out because it enables users to mine different coins under the same algorithm. The user interface is friendly to any miner.
MiningPoolHub comes with the Auto profit switch feature. This capability means that you can switch mining coin or algo based on profitability. Additionally, users can trade mined coins with other altcoins like Zcash, Monero, and Dash automatically.
Users can get a reduced pool fee of 0.9%. The reduced charges make MiningPoolHub a good NiceHash alternative.
On the downside, MiningPoolHub has many pages that might turn off some users who are impatient to navigate. Furthermore, insufficient information about the pool makes it hard for one to make a decision.
MiningPoolHub vs Nicehash
A lot of people are asking – what is better? Miningpoolhub or nicehash. The thing is, miningpoolhub vs nicehash is not really contest as each of them have different users. Nicehash is for small miners like you and me that uses their laptop to mine a few crypto. MiningPoolHub on the other hand is more complicated to set up, but the earnings are way higher – like 30% to 50% higher if not even more. The users that mine on MiningPoolHub are people that know how to configure a miner and have one rig or more mining devices. But for a normal small miner, Nicehash profit is more than good.
So, is Nicehash worth it? depends. You want to make around $15-$30 in crypto per month – yes. You want to get rich fast mining? No, then its certainly not for you. For more informations, you can check out the nicehash calc and see how much you’d do per day with your current setup.
Cudo Miner
Cudo Miner is another NiceHash alternative compatible with Windows, Ubuntu and Mac OS. Note that you will have to create an account before you proceed with the mining process. This miner is automatic reducing manual configuration and intervention by up to 95% without losing profitability. Apart from a desktop application, Cudo Miner has a dedicated Web Console for monitoring and remote management.
Cudo Miner comes with an automatic algorithm switching feature that ensures only profitable coins are mined. If you are a seasoned miner, you will have to customize your computer to mine a specific coin by disabling the auto algorithm and manually select the coin to mine. The software can be used by both new and experienced miners based on its friendly user interface.
This software stands out based on its inbuilt GPU overclocking settings. It is worth pointing out that Cudo Miner does not interfere with your computer’s operation. Cudo Miner remains dormant in the background on your computer and will intelligently start mining when the system is idle.
Even though the Cudo miner is recently launched, its among the best nicehash alternative that you can find on the market.
Computta
Developers of Computta believe that anybody who owns a computer should be able to earn from mining. This is why you don’t require any technical skills to operate the software after installing it on your computer. Furthermore, everything on Computta is free and fully automated. All you need is a reliable power source, and you are ready to start earning money from mining. It is an excellent NiceHash alternative because it works on almost 95% of computers running on the Windows Operating System. However, potential users have been calling on developers to come up with different apps for other platforms like iOS.
After installing the software, users are exposed to a two-step mining process without any complexities. Mining coins is enabled through the Auto Pilot feature.
Notably, all earnings from mining changed into Bitcoins, and the balance is in US Dollars. On average, a regular user can earn at least $22 on a monthly basis. Computta developers usually charge a fee of 25% on all your profits.
Unlike other mining software, Computta has an attractive referral system. If a user invites ten personal referrals to the platform, they can create a referral network of 2960 sub-affiliates averagely.
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Kryptex Miner
Kryptex Miner is a platform that allows you to mine using your CPU and GPU. Note that Kryptex does not support cloud mining. Unlike NiceHash, this miner deploys a smart computer hardware sensor to estimate how much you can earn over a certain period of time by testing your PC’s performance. The platform combines the processing power of thousands of computers to run a complex distributed cryptocurrency computations.
Your earnings are paid to a Bitcoin wallet address. Additionally, you can receive earnings through the Qiwi Visa Wallet which is a free online bank card. Kryptex Miner works on Windows and it is easy to install with a user-friendly interface.Kryptex is an old mining platform and probably a reliable nicehash alternative – but make sure to check the earnings with both services before you take a decision.
Among the olders Nicehas alternatives, there’s Minergate. MinerGate is a mining software that offers users with a platform for mining altcoins like Ethereum, Zcash, Monero, Litecoin, Bitcoin Gold, Ethereum Classic,TRON, Bytecoin, Monero-Classic and Block Producer EOS. This is a good NiceHash alternative because it offers you two mining options. The first option allows you to mine one or more cryptocurrencies that deploy the same algorithm. With the second option, you get to choose the most profitable coin to mine. The algorithm maximizes your mining output of your Laptop, PC, or server. You can also check our past article about Minergate alternatives.
However, MinerGate allows you to limit how much computing power of your hardware will be used to mine. To keep your mining returns safe, MinerGate uses a valid SSL certificate, 2F, and email verification. Once your payout minimum amount is reached, you are paid directly into your wallet. Note that MinerGate does not allow miners to store their earnings on the platform for security reasons. MinerGate mining fees stands between 0% and 1.5%. Minergate is an alternative to nicehash, but its probably not the best.
Conclusion
Using NiceHash is easy and quick to set up, a capability that has contributed to its popularity in the industry. However, NiceHash seems to have some shortcomings that are unsuitable to individuals looking for a different mining experience. All the mentioned alternative suit different types of miners. Following the hack on NiceHash, some miners lost faith in the software hence the need to look for other profitable alternatives in the market.
Before settling on any software, carry out an extensive evaluation before making any decision.
However, it is advisable to settle on a software that has all users in mind. MiningPoolHub is unique since it levels can suit beginners and experienced miners. A feature NiceHash lacks.
Miners with focus on different coins have a reason to switch from NiceHash. NiceHash only pays in Bitcoin, but other software like MiningPoolHub pay depending on the preferred coin.
With MiningPoolHub, you are guaranteed a smooth mining experience since you don’t need advanced knowledge to start earning your passive income.