ROI in mining
ROI in mining is the payback period: how many months of net income it takes for a miner to give back the money spent on buying it.
What ROI is
The abbreviation itself means return on investment. In mining it almost always refers to a time span: the asic's price divided by net monthly income. Buy an ASIC for a notional six thousand, it brings in five hundred a month after power, so the ROI is twelve months.
The trap is that the divisor does not sit still. Difficulty grows and monthly income slowly melts, so the real term is almost always longer than the head-on calculation. A seller promising payback at today's profitability for the whole term either does not understand how this works, or understands it all too well.
The second trap is the rate. On cheap power the asic pays for itself and then earns. On the Spanish household rate, net income for most models sits around zero or below, and ROI simply does not exist: you cannot divide a price by zero. Better to know that before the purchase, not after.
And a third one people forget: the asic wears out and ages. In two or three years, generations with better J/TH will arrive, and yours lands in the risk zone at any market dip. A good ROI is one that fits inside the lifetime of a generation, not inside a theory.
The short version
| Stands for | return on investment |
| Formula in mining | asic price divided by net monthly income |
| What spoils the math | difficulty growth, price, rate, wear |
| Realistic target | a term within an asic generation's lifetime |
| When there is no ROI | net income at zero or below |
How to count honestly
Use net income after electricity, not revenue. The gap is huge: on a household rate the power bill eats most of the revenue, and ROI counted on revenue differs from the honest figure several times over.
Count at today's difficulty and price, no growth. Then rerun the same term with income a quarter lower: that is roughly what a year of difficulty growth without price growth looks like. If that version still suits you, the purchase makes sense.
Do not forget the one-off costs: shipping, wiring for the required current, a PDU, ventilation or soundproofing. For a home setup they can add a sizable chunk to the asic's price, and that whole chunk has to pay itself back too.
The logic on an example
Two asics for the same money: one gives more hashrate, the other better J/TH. On cheap power the first pays back faster, its revenue is higher. On expensive power the second wins, because the power bill eats the first one's whole edge. The answer to which is better always starts with your rate.
You can test both on your own numbers in the calculator: it shows net monthly income, and all that is left is dividing the asic's price at your supplier by that figure.
Related terms
Where to go next on the site
Numbers
Hardware
- Antminer S21 tool
- Antminer S21 Pro tool
Guides
- ASIC Miner knowledge base
Questions and answers
What ROI counts as normal
There is no hard norm. On an industrial rate the market usually lives in the range of one to two years. Promises of payback in a handful of months are either the peak of a bull market or advertising.
Why the real term always runs longer than the calculated one
The math uses today's difficulty, and difficulty grows. Income in coins melts from one adjustment to the next, and only the price can compensate for it.
Does an asic on a household rate have an ROI
For most models on the Spanish household rate, net income is around zero or negative, so there is nothing to pay back with. For exceptions, check the break-even point of the specific model in the calculator.
Should I count on reselling the asic
As insurance, not as a plan. Used ASIC prices move with the coin and fall when new generations ship, guessing them two years ahead is impossible.
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 .