CAPEX and OPEX
CAPEX is what you bought once; OPEX is what you pay every month. Beginners count the first and forget the second, and the second is what decides things.
What CAPEX and OPEX are
CAPEX takes in the hardware: the asic, the power supply, a PDU, cable and breaker, a rack, an extractor, the electrician's work. That is the figure you see straight away, and it usually gets counted with care.
OPEX takes in electricity, internet, consumables and repair: thermal paste, fans, a spare power supply, the pool fee, DevFee 2.8 percent on custom firmware, a hosting charge if the asic does not stand at your place. Electricity here outweighs everything else put together.
The difference lies in how these figures behave. CAPEX you pay once and know exactly. OPEX runs every month and depends on your rate and on the price of hash, that is, on two values you do not control.
Hence a practical conclusion. An asic at a good price will never pay back on a bad rate, while a pricier one on a rate twice as low will. What you have to count is the breakeven point and the payback period together, not the purchase price.
Quick reference table
| CAPEX | asic, power supply, PDU, electrics, rack |
| OPEX | electricity, internet, consumables, fees |
| Main OPEX line | electricity |
| Custom firmware DevFee | 2.8 percent |
| What decides payback | the rate, not the purchase price |
How to count
Add up CAPEX in full, including what usually gets forgotten: the breaker, cable of the right cross section, a PDU and the electrician's work.
Count OPEX by the month: multiply the kilowatt hours by your own rate, then add consumables and fees. How kilowatt hours are counted is covered on a separate page.
Compare monthly revenue with OPEX. If there is no gap, CAPEX will never come back, and that is not a question of patience.
Put your own figures into the profitability calculator: it already accounts for the model, the algorithm, draw and your rate.
An example in numbers
An asic at 3.5 kW eats 84 kWh a day. On a rate of 0.135 euros that is about 11 euros a day and roughly 340 euros a month for electricity alone. Add the pool fee and consumables, and you get your OPEX. If monthly revenue comes in below that sum, a second asic will fix nothing.
Related terms
Where to go next on the site
Numbers
Hardware
- ASIC Miner knowledge base
- Antminer S21 tool
Software
- Software firmware
Questions and answers
What matters more for payback
The rate. It sits in OPEX and moves the payback period more than the price of the asic does.
Should you count your own labor in OPEX
On one asic there is no point. From ten up, maintenance becomes a noticeable line, and then it gets counted.
Where does custom firmware belong
DevFee 2.8 percent is OPEX: it is taken from the work of the miner every day rather than once.
How the terms connect
Every link in the chain is clickable. Orange marks where you are now.
Looking for an ASIC miner
The catalog holds 212 models. You can compare them by hashrate and by joules per terahash, then plug your own rate into the calculator and see what stays in your pocket.
Page written and checked by Denys Klimchuk. Updated .