Total Cost of Ownership Guide
Profitability calculators show you a daily-net number based on hardware specs and electricity. Real total cost of ownership is broader, and people miss it routinely. Here’s the full picture, with a worked example.
The seven cost lines
1. Equipment (capex)
The price of the rig itself, including any reseller margin and shipping to your final location. For a current-generation Bitcoin miner: $3,500–$5,500 per unit new, $2,000–$3,500 refurbished. PSUs are usually included; check before assuming.
2. Electricity (opex — the dominant line)
Power draw × hours × your $/kWh. For a 3,500 W miner running 24/7 across a year:
- 3,500 W × 8,760 hours = 30,660 kWh/year
- At $0.06/kWh: $1,840
- At $0.10/kWh: $3,066
- At $0.15/kWh: $4,599
This single line typically dominates the cost stack. Get it wrong by $0.02/kWh and you’re off by ~$600/year per rig.
3. Cooling / ventilation
Ignored by most calculators. Reality:
- Home setups: budget $200–$1,500 one-time for ducting, intake/exhaust fans, possibly an inline blower. If the room needs AC to keep the rig below thermal-throttle temperatures, that AC also costs power — which then compounds with cost line 2.
- Hosted setups: cooling is bundled into the hosting rate. No separate line.
Hot rigs throttle themselves to protect the chips, which means lower hash rate, which means lower revenue. A rig running at 80°C ambient produces ~10% less hash than the same rig at 65°C.
4. Pool fees
Most pools charge 1–2.5% of mined revenue. On $3,100/year of gross, that’s $30–$80. Small but real, and worth checking — some smaller pools charge 4–6% and aren’t worth it.
5. Hosting fees (if applicable)
Either bundled into a per-kWh rate, or split as a flat monthly fee plus pass-through power. Typical all-in hosted rate: $0.07–$0.085/kWh in low-cost regions. Watch for variable-rate clauses — see our hosted mining article.
6. Maintenance and failure
ASICs are not zero-maintenance. Realistic annualised costs:
- Fan replacement: 1–2 fans per year per rig. $30–$60 each, $80–$120 in labour if you’re paying.
- PSU failure: ~3% annualised across a fleet. $200–$400 to replace.
- Hashboard failure: ~5% annualised. Repair cost $300–$800; full replacement $700–$1,500.
- Total expected maintenance: $80–$300 per rig per year for a healthy fleet, considerably more for older or refurbished hardware.
7. Hardware depreciation
The rig is not worth what you paid for it after 12 months. Mining ASICs depreciate primarily because each new generation is more efficient — your S21 today competes against S25-equivalent rigs in 2028 that produce more hash per watt.
Realistic depreciation schedule for a 2025 flagship:
| Age | Resale value |
|---|---|
| 0 months | 100% (purchase price) |
| 12 months | 60–75% |
| 24 months | 30–50% |
| 36 months | 15–30% |
| 48+ months | 5–15% (uneconomic for new operators) |
If you plan to mine for 24 months and resell, treat the depreciation hit as a real cost, not a paper number.
Worked example: 1 × Antminer S21 XP, 24-month horizon, hosted at $0.075/kWh
| Line | Value |
|---|---|
| Equipment (purchase price) | $4,200 |
| Shipping to host | $200 |
| Electricity (3.5 kW × 17,520 h × $0.075) | $4,600 |
| Pool fees (~1.5% of gross) | $95 |
| Maintenance (estimated) | $200 |
| Resale value at 24 months (~40%) | −$1,680 (offsetting depreciation) |
| Net 24-month cost | $7,615 |
| Gross revenue (24 × $260/month avg) | $6,240 |
| Net 24-month return | −$1,375 |
The naive calculation (revenue minus electricity) shows +$1,640 over 24 months. The real TCO calculation shows you actually lose money on that horizon, because depreciation and shipping eat the difference. Whether mining is profitable for you depends entirely on running this calculation honestly with your actual numbers.
What the numbers don’t include
- BTC price appreciation. If you HODL the mined BTC instead of selling daily, the financial picture changes substantially — but so does your risk profile (you’re now exposed to BTC price as well as operational risk).
- Block reward halving. The next halving is in 2028. After it, gross revenue per TH/s halves overnight unless transaction fees compensate. Plan TCO with a halving haircut if your horizon spans it.
- Difficulty growth. Network hash rate has grown ~40% per year on average. Your rig’s share of revenue shrinks proportionally over time, all else equal.
- Tax treatment. Mined BTC is income at fair market value when received in most jurisdictions. Then capital gains apply on disposal. Talk to an accountant.
How to actually use this
Before buying any rig:
- Run our per-miner profitability calculator with your actual electricity rate.
- Take the daily net, multiply by your planned holding period.
- Subtract your one-time costs (rig + shipping + cooling).
- Add back realistic resale value for your horizon.
- Subtract pool fees (1.5% of gross) and expected maintenance ($150/year).
- Compare to your alternative use of capital (treasury bills currently yield ~4.5%; that’s your hurdle rate).
For a guided walk through which miner fits your situation, see How to Choose Your First Miner. To compare home vs hosted operating costs in detail, see Home Mining vs Hosted Mining.
If the result is positive and exceeds the hurdle rate by a margin you’re comfortable with, the math works. If it doesn’t, no marketing material will change that.