PPS, PPLNS, FPPS and more: how pools pay out rewards
The payout method determines who bears the risk of the pool's “luck”: with PPS and FPPS it is the pool, with PPLNS and TIDES it is you. PPS and FPPS pay you a fixed amount for every piece of work submitted, even when the pool finds no block – which is why they have a higher fee. PPLNS pays only from blocks the pool actually finds, so payouts fluctuate, but the fee is usually lower. In the long run, the averages differ mainly by the difference in fees.
Summary
- PPS – a fixed payment for each share, without transaction fees. The most stable payouts.
- FPPS – like PPS, plus an average share of transaction fees. Used by many large Bitcoin pools.
- PPS+ – block reward via PPS, transaction fees via PPLNS.
- PPLNS and TIDES – a share of the blocks the pool actually finds. Payouts fluctuate, the fee is lower.
- SOLO – the whole block or nothing. With a single machine it is a lottery.
What a share is and why the pool counts it
The pool can't wait for your miner to find a whole block – with Bitcoin that would take decades. So it gives it an easier task: find a hash that meets a much milder condition. Each such solution is one share. The number of shares corresponds exactly to how much work your machine has done.
Occasionally a share also meets the network's full condition – and the pool has a block. The payout method then determines how the reward for that block (and for everyone else's work) is divided. How blocks and rewards come about is explained in our article What is cryptocurrency mining and how does it work.
Overview of payout methods
| Method | How the payout is calculated | Luck risk borne by | Transaction fees | Payout stability | Typical fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPS | a fixed amount for each share based on the expected block reward | pool | no | very high | higher |
| PPS+ | block reward as PPS, transaction fees as PPLNS | pool / you for fees | yes, based on actual blocks | high | higher |
| FPPS | a fixed amount per share including average transaction fees | pool | yes, network average | very high | higher (e.g. Braiins Pool 2.5%) |
| PPLNS | when a block is found, it is split according to your shares among the last N shares | you | yes | fluctuates | lower |
| TIDES | a PPLNS variant with a window of 8× network difficulty; a share counts towards several blocks while it is in the window | you | yes | fluctuates, but smoother | depends on the pool (OCEAN) |
| PROP | the block reward is split according to shares since the last block | you | yes | fluctuates | hardly used today |
| SOLO | whoever finds the block gets all of it | you | yes, in full | extremely low | 0–2% of the block found |
How PPS and FPPS work
Every day, the pool calculates how much your shares should earn on average and pays you that amount. When the pool is unlucky and doesn't find a block for two days, it loses out, not you. For this insurance, it charges a higher fee.
Classic PPS pays only the block reward (3.125 BTC for Bitcoin today). FPPS adds the average value of transaction fees on the network, so you get more when traffic is busy. That is why many Bitcoin pools have switched to FPPS – for example, the Czech Braiins Pool in December 2023 (with a 2.5% fee).
How PPLNS and TIDES work
With PPLNS, the pool only pays once it finds a block. It divides the reward according to how many shares you submitted among the last N shares before the find. When the pool is lucky and finds blocks in quick succession, you earn more than average. When it is unlucky, less.
“N” also penalises pool hopping: anyone who joins only briefly has few shares in the window. Anyone who mines long-term in one pool receives on average the same as with PPS, just without the insurance surcharge in the fee.
TIDES is used by the OCEAN pool. The window is eight times the network difficulty, so one share counts towards the reward from several consecutive blocks until it drops out of the window. Payouts are therefore smoother, and the pool does not hold the coins in custody – rewards go directly to miners.
Example: one machine, three payout methods
Let's take an Antminer S21 Pro+ with a hashrate of 234 TH/s. At today's income of 0,84 Kč per 1 TH/s a day, its work is worth roughly CZK 197 a day (as of 18 Oct 2026, before electricity).
- FPPS with a 2.5% fee: about CZK 192 every day. It changes only with difficulty and price, not with the pool's luck.
- PPLNS with a fee of, say, 1%: about CZK 195 a day on long-term average. Individual days, however, differ. A pool with 0.1% of the network hashrate finds a block on average once a week – and the payout then arrives in bursts.
- SOLO: the network has around 1,000 EH/s, so this machine would find a block on average about once every 80 years. If it does, it gets 3.125 BTC plus fees, over CZK 5.5 million today. Most often, however, it gets nothing.
For comparison: a small Bitaxe miner with 1.2 TH/s would find a solo block on average once every 16,000 years. People still mine solo with it – as a lottery, which we write about in our Bitaxe Gamma 601 guide.
Which method to choose
| Your situation | Recommended method | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You need predictable income to pay off a machine or hosting | FPPS | stable daily payout, easy to plan |
| You mine long-term in one pool and short-term swings don't bother you | PPLNS or TIDES | lower fee, on average slightly more coins |
| You mine a smaller coin where the pool only finds a block occasionally | PPS or PPS+ | with PPLNS you would wait a long time for a payout |
| You have a small miner and want to try your luck | SOLO | a small chance of a whole block, no regular income |
Whatever you choose, also check the minimum payout amount. A small machine may take weeks to reach it – more in our article Minimum balance for pool payouts.
How to find out which method a pool uses
- On the pool's website, open the fees section (Fees, Rewards, Payout scheme).
- Look for the method's abbreviation and the fee amount. Some pools offer several methods and you choose in your account settings.
- Check whether transaction fees are included (FPPS, PPS+) or only the block reward (PPS).
- See how often the pool sends payouts and what the minimum is.
What next
- The pool is just one step. You will find the whole process from choosing a coin to the first payout in our guide How to mine cryptocurrency.
- What individual machines earn today is shown in our ASIC miner profitability overview.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Will I earn more with PPLNS or FPPS?
What happens to my PPLNS shares if I change pool?
Why did my PPLNS pool pay nothing on some days?
Does solo mining with one ASIC miner make sense?
Is the pool fee paid from revenue or separately?
This text was prepared with the help of AI. Facts, figures and procedures were checked by Yegor.
