# Poll - anyone here mining ZEC without a pool and making money?

**URL:** <https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/poll-anyone-here-mining-zec-without-a-pool-and-making-money/14827>\
**Category:** Mining\
**Created:** [March 20, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/poll-anyone-here-mining-zec-without-a-pool-and-making-money/14827 "2017-03-20T15:04:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![nikmit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8edcca/32.png) [@nikmit](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/nikmit)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/poll-anyone-here-mining-zec-without-a-pool-and-making-money/14827/1 "2017-03-20T15:04:04Z")

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If none of the options work for you suggest a new option and I’ll add it.  
I’d really like to not have to join a pool, trying to figure out if I’m being stupid 🙂

_Poll ([view on site](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/poll-anyone-here-mining-zec-without-a-pool-and-making-money/14827/1))_

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**Author:** ![CryptoYeti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@CryptoYeti](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/CryptoYeti)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/poll-anyone-here-mining-zec-without-a-pool-and-making-money/14827/2 "2017-03-21T01:03:03Z")

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Like most coins once ZEC reaches a certain level of mining popularity, you will need a certain level of hash rate to be consistently profitable mining solo. While over a long enough time-frame in theory each method (pool, solo) is equally profitable, the realities of finding a block within a usable time frame to offset expenses (ROI on rig hardware and electrical costs being the big two) make joining a pool a must for smaller miners.

You could get lucky and find a block day one, or unlucky and not find one for 6 months, all the while you are inuring the expenses of mining. So most people choose the pool for the more consistent and predictable payouts. Of course if you have a 200+ rig mining farm (1000+ GPUs), you may find solo mining more profitable as you do not need to pay pool fees. I just made that up and do not know the current solo versus pool breakeven point, but I am sure it is higher than most miners, myself included, can muster.