Mining pools for ZEC
A pool combines your hashrate with others so you are paid a steady share instead of waiting to find a block alone. Three pools cover almost every Z15 owner. The main choice is what you want to be paid in. Hosted with us, you add or switch pools yourself in Foreman.
2Miners
The largest dedicated Zcash pool. PPLNS payouts, clear stats, low minimum payout. Our default for anyone who wants to hold the ZEC they mine.
- Payout: ZEC to your own address
- Model: PPLNS
- Stratum:
zec.2miners.com:1010
ViaBTC
Large multi-coin pool with PPS+ (you are paid per share, the pool carries block luck). Good if you want the smoothest daily income.
- Payout: ZEC to your ViaBTC account, withdraw to any wallet
- Model: PPS+
- Stratum:
zec.viabtc.io:3256
NiceHash
A hashrate marketplace. Your Z15 sells blog-zec-mining-explained.html">Equihash hashrate and you are paid in Bitcoin. Simplest if you want BTC and no ZEC wallet.
- Payout: BTC to your NiceHash wallet
- Model: marketplace, paid per accepted share
- Stratum:
equihash.auto.nicehash.com:9200
Fees, minimum payouts and ports change. Check the pool's own page before you configure a miner.
ZEC or BTC: which payout?
ZEC. You keep exposure to the coin you mine. If you believe in Zcash's privacy mission, or simply expect the price to rise, this is the point of owning the hardware. Shielded addresses are supported by the pools above.
BTC via NiceHash. You convert at the moment of mining. Less to manage, one wallet, but you give up ZEC upside and typically earn slightly less because the buyer takes a margin.
Many of our customers split: one machine on 2Miners for ZEC, one on NiceHash for BTC. Foreman shows both.
What a pool fee really costs
A 1% fee on a Z15 Pro earning —/day net is a few cents. Payout model and reliability matter more than a half-percent difference.
Hosted with us?
Pool set-up is included. Send us the pool, your wallet address and a worker name, and the miner is configured before it goes live. Switch any time in Foreman.
Hosting packagesSources & further reading
Independent references we use ourselves. They open in a new tab.
- MiningPoolStats: ZcashLive comparison of ZEC pools by hashrate and fee.
- 2Miners ZEC poolPool stats, payout rules and connection details.
- ViaBTCPPS+ Zcash pool.
- NiceHashHashrate marketplace, paid in BTC.
- Zcash walletsOfficial list of wallets that give you a ZEC address.