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Payouts and profitability

PPS vs PPLNS vs PROP: payout schemes explained

Last updated: 5 November 2026

PPS, PPLNS and PROP explained in plain English: what each scheme pays, who carries the luck, and how PPS+ works on this pool.

PPS, PPLNS and PROP in short

A payout scheme decides how the pool shares out what it earns. Each scheme answers one question differently: who carries the luck of finding blocks.

  • PROP pays you your share of each block the pool finds. Your income follows the pool's real luck.
  • PPS pays a fixed amount for every valid share. The pool carries the luck and usually charges a higher fee for it.
  • PPLNS pays when a block is found, weighted over the last N shares. It sits between PROP and PPS.

This pool runs either PROP or PPS+. Which one is in force is shown live on the pool statistics.

How does PROP (proportional) pay?

In a proportional scheme, you earn from each block the pool actually finds. The block is split in proportion to the shares you added to that round.

Your income tracks the pool's real luck. Across many blocks it is steady, with the small natural wobble of variance. Whether this pool is running PROP, and at what fee, is shown live on the pool statistics.

The Payments page listing payouts sent to miners
Payouts in practice: sent automatically to your own wallet. There is no claim step and no account.

How does PPS (pay per share) pay?

In pure pay per share, the pool pays a fixed amount for every valid share you submit. It pays whether or not the pool found a block.

That removes luck from your income entirely. The pool takes on all the variance instead, and usually charges a higher fee to cover it. You get smoothness, and you pay for the insurance.

How does PPLNS (pay per last N shares) pay?

PPLNS pays out when a block is found. It weighs the last N shares before that block, not just the current round.

A row of shares on a timeline with a grey block partway along and a new block at the end. A dashed window spans the last shares before the new block, reaching back past the earlier block, and an arrow leads from the new block to the coin stack paid to those shares.
PPLNS pays the last N shares before a block, even shares from before the previous block.

It rewards steady, loyal miners and resists pool hopping. The cost is payouts that are slightly more complex and still linked to luck. In behaviour it sits between PROP and PPS.

Which payout scheme is best for you?

No scheme is best for everyone. Each one is a trade-off:

  • PPS buys smoothness for a higher fee.
  • PPLNS rewards consistency.
  • PROP keeps it simple and transparent. It pays you exactly your share of what the pool earns.

For most miners, a low-fee pool is the clearest deal, whichever scheme it runs.

How does PPS+ work on this pool?

This pool can also pay per share, as PPS+. Every valid share is paid a fixed amount as it arrives.

On top of that, the block's transaction fees are shared out when the block matures. Which scheme is in force, PROP or PPS+, is shown live on the pool statistics.

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