Bitcoin Forum

I had been trying to compare the growing number of mining pools and their features at one point, and there wasn't a concise table that summarized them. So, I decided to put one together:

http://pastehtml.com/view/awb1vg03r.html

Please help me fill in the question marks and fix any mistakes, as well as contribute information on any pools that I may have overlooked.

If you can post the info for me using the terminology of my table, I'll add it.  No disrespect intended here, it's simply that I've found that trying to track down the information individually for so many pools, and then translating it into the standard language of my table is MUCH more time consuming than is necessary.  I don't have the time to join every pool to figure out the features or read pages and pages of pool threads to track down the most up to date answers. If each pool expert can simply come here occasionally and give me their information in an organized post, I can easily add it, and everyone benefits.

Also, if you are a pool operator providing me with your info, be honest and help all of us out by providing ALL of the info (i.e. not just the green ones).  That way we don't get stuck with a lot of question marks.

Thanks!

Don't know what do you mean by "e-mail change payout lock", but we have optional permanent address lock and e-mail confirmation for address change.

Also both proportional and pay-per-share payout modes are available.

Very nice :D Now if only there was some kind of real time pool size comparison or user-generated uptime rating...

Most pools provide their total hashrate data and it's shown as pie chart at http://bitcoinwatch.com , but there is no averaging for more precise results.

I think I accidentally conflated two separate features.  I need to add a row for e-mail confirmation for address change, and have a separate row for payout lock on wallet address change.

lots of errors
Bitcoinpool has long pooling
eligius has json api
should add mtred and swepool

Thanks, working to correct this info now.  It's hard to read through these entire mining pool threads to find this info, and the first posts aren't always updated, hence the errors.

Hi,

found this wiki page yesterday https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Comparison_of_mining_pools
maybe it would be good to merge your table in there later  8)

Excellent, I hadn't seen that when I searched around the other day.  One thing I'm confused about on that list is that it says slush has LP.  According to the phoenix miner running on my computer, it doesn't, unless I'm doing something wrong.

Updated, but still needs a lot of info filled in.

One thing you could add:

Transaction fee on withdrawal. Some pool charge 0.01, some charge 0.

Since the pools usually put the transactions into the blocks they solve that is an additional fee. Say someone withdraws every time their balance reaches 1 BTC, then 0.01 is an extra 1% fee.

Continuum does support long polling and does have a JSON-RPC API. It has automatic payout at 1BTC, no manual one. Username == Bitcoin address, like Eligius.

Can anyone answer the question marks on BTCmine?  I'd join to check it myself, but they aren't accepting new sign ups for the next few weeks.

Maybe Add "Support by GUIMiner" ?

A proper GUI to set up the miner is imho the most important feature for all those newcomers after the latest press covering of BitCoins. I guess there are some not so techie users out there who are not interessted in every little tech detail and want to stay away from concol windows/unix/etc., but would love a "One Click Solution" to start mining - GUIMiner is their answer.

Cheers

Drasek

Yeah, I can add "GUI support preset in:", and then list which GUI tools it is supported in (guiminer, bitminer, etc). 

On a side note, I would like to see at least some of the pool owners of the smaller pools help me fill in the question marks, as it would help them advertise their features. It's difficult to find out all of this information without scouring through page after page of forum threads for each individual pool.

Deepbit doesn't takes any additional fees for sending payments.

Thanks Tycho, info added, and you're not even one of the smaller ones! :)

I think I am going to contact each of the mining pool operators to ask if they would like to contribute to this.  Are there really no miners who use the pools with the question marks on them who can help fill this in?

MtRed has Automatic Payout and Instan Payout, Long Polling, Multiple workers, account/address settings, email or not, https, i just added wallent change logs and will ad an email settings to that.

Just updated with latest information provided.

Bitcoins.lc pays the 0.01 transaction fee when paying out. In addition I believe that it is the only pool running proportional which pays you immediately a block is solved, no waiting for the 120 blocks to be solved.  Also the guy who runs it runs an ISP so it seems pretty stable infrastructure and internet confection.

Will

Hello,

Here is some info for our Pool at https://mineco.in

Name: MineCo.in
Location: UK
Type: Share Based
Fees: 0%
Transaction Fees: Shared
Transaction Fee: 0
Web Interface: Yes
GUI Preset: in GUI Miner next release
Automatic Payout Threshold: Yes, configurable
Instant Payout: No
Long Polling: Yes
Multiple workers: Yes
e-mail isn't username: yes
e-mail notification on idle: no
JSON API: Yes
HTTPS (SSL): yes
IPv6 : no
wallet address change security features : no

Added.


Doesn't Eligius do that?



Added.

Updated: Added "share validation waiting period" row, as well as filled in additional info.  Significant cleanup and rearranging of columns.

Added address and port information.

You should add the size of the pool to that chart to, like hashing power wise at the time of writing or w/e. I think that is something ppl might want to know when comparing. Good job btw!

Heres the proper information for BitClockers.com Bitcoin Mining Pool (http://bitclockers.com):

1% Proportional
TX Fee @ Withdrawal: NO, thats rediculus.
web GUI: YES
LP: YES
Threshold: YES
Instant Payout: YES
Wait for Share Validation: NO, we insure all blocks.
Multi Workers: YES
Email is not Username : YES
Idle Work Notification: YES
JSON API: YES
SSL: YES
IPv6: YES, on selected pool servers.
Wallet Change Security: YES, we also have other automatic metrics for account theft.
GUI Preset Support: YES, GUIMiner and BitMiner

We also have 3 pools combined in Denver, Chicago, and Czech Republic. We were the first pool to market with combined/redundant pools. Our website is cloud hosted, as well as our SQL database cluster. We also provide Live Support 24hrs a day. Our pool uptime is currently ~99.95%.


Side note: I cant figure out why BitClockers.com been around 100 GH/s, higher than some other pools listed on http://bitcoinwatch.com/, for some time now. Yet we're still not on the graph there. I guess

Thanks! I'm avoiding adding the size info for now because it's pretty dynamic, and the smaller pools are hard to track. I'll think about adding it in the future, though.  It's pretty easy to just give a link to one of the current pie charts out there.

Maybe somewhat of a substitute could be the formation date of the pool, if I can get people to provide that?

Bitcoins.lc has a "instant payout"-function. It's also WE that pays the transaction fee, please make a note about that.

Thanks, nice spreadsheet!

/ Jim

BTC Guild was formed on May 9, 2011.  Just celebrated our 1 month anniversary last week :)

Can you clarify? If you pay any transaction fee on withdrawal, then shouldn't you be marked as "none"?



You're welcome!

I think I need some clarification on what people are calling "instant payout".

When I say "instant payout button", I am simply referring to a feature allowing the user to go to their account at any time and click a button (or link, or whatever) to request AT LEAST their confirmed bitcoins be sent to their wallet right then and there. If one can ONLY get confirmed bitcoins in this manner then I qualify the "yes" with "for confirmed shares only".

This is in contrast with what some might be calling "instant payout", where there is NO waiting period to confirm one's credited bitcoins after each block is solved.  I am referring to that as "no" on "share validation waiting period".

Maybe I am not using the consensus terminology here, but I think these are two distinct features that shouldn't be confused, and I'm still not sure if my info is accurate because of this discrepancy in terms.

Oh, and I just updated it again. :)

To clarify: The user/customer (You) does not pay any transaction fee when he/she requests a payout.
We do however add 0.01 from our own wallet to make the transaction go through faster. (Hence the INSTANT payout)

I'm not sure if we should be marked as none or not, but the user does NOT pay anything for neither using the pool or requestion payouts :)

EDIT:
We do not have any waiting time or unverified funds. As soon as the block is solved - the money shows up in your account :)

Now I'm starting to follow. I'm putting you down as "none" for transaction fee. Instead, it sounds like this practice of the pool attaching 0.01 to each transaction to speed up the payout is a feature that needs a concise name and a separate row.  Is this what people are generally referring to as "instant payout"?  If so, then I definitely need to revise my terms.

Can you add my site?

www.nofeemining.com

Location: USA
Type: proportional (share-based) with cheating protection
Required fee: 0%
Transaction fee: shared
Transaction fee on withdrawal: none
web GUI: yes Web 2.0
long polling: yes
automatic payout threshold: yes, configurable
instant payout button: yes for confirmed shares
share validation waiting period: up to 50 blocks
multiple workers per user account/address: yes
e-mail isn't username: no
e-mail notification on idle: yes
JSON API: coming soon
HTTPS: yes
IPv6: no
wallet address change security features: yes, payout lock and email alerts
gui preset support: not yet
additional features: graphs and statistics
address:port nofeemining.com:8332


Thank you

Here is some info for our new Australian Pool at https://ozco.in
Name: Ozcoin
Location: Australia
Type: pay-per-share
Fees: 1%
Transaction Fees: kept by pool
Transaction fee on withdrawal: none
Web Interface: Yes
GUI Preset: coming soon
Automatic Payout Threshold: Yes, configurable, no fee
Instant Payout: Yes 2% fee
share validation waiting period yes
Long Polling: Yes
Multiple workers: Yes
e-mail isn't username: yes
e-mail notification on idle: no
JSON API: Yes
HTTPS (SSL): yes
IPv6 : no
wallet address change security features : yes, pin number required to make changes
address:port  ozco.in:8332

irc.freenode.net #ozcoin

Nice table man, been looking for good ones :)

I'll add the last two posts later this evening. :)

If you don't mind, maybe a third this evening  ;)

Name: pool.bitp.it
Location: United States
Type: Scoring
Fees: 0%
Transaction Fees: kept by pool
Transaction fee on withdrawal: none
Web Interface: Yes
GUI Preset: no
Automatic Payout Threshold: no
Instant Payout: Yes
share validation waiting period: yes
Long Polling: Yes
Multiple workers: Yes
e-mail isn't username: yes
e-mail notification on idle: no
JSON API: no
HTTPS (SSL): Yes
IPv6 : no
wallet address change security features : No
address:port  pool.bitp.it:8334

Since we are not a "canned" operation like some pools, we don't use pushpool. We wrote our entire backend, and therefore has a much lower stale rate than any other pool. Just ask our users  ;D

Fixed.

/troll


edit: issue has been resolved.

Finally updated and revised! (Sorry it took so long!)

Edit:  NVM, just did some math.  Disregard.

Just updated it again with another new pool, and rearranged some things.

Thank you very much :)

regards, talpan

Could you add my pool ?

Triplemining.com, the only fee that takes a 1% fee to redistribute under 'mini pool' owners and a jackpot system, so everything and more is returned to the users ..

Transaction fee: kept
Transaction fee on withdrawal: none
webpage UI: Yes
Longpolling: Yes
automatic payout threshold:yes
instant payout button: Yes for confirmed
share validation waiting period: yes
multiple workers per user account/address: yes
e-mail isn't username: yes
e-mail notification on idle:yes
JSON API: no coming soon
HTTPS (SSL): yes
IPv6: yes
wallet address change security features: yes , email and cool down period
GUI preset support :no
additional features: Jackpot, 'Mini pool system'
address:port: eu.triplemining.com : 8344
https://www.triplemining.com

Thanks :)

Hey, since my pools info is lacking...

1% proportional (is 0% but moving to 1%).
tx fees are btc client minimum (currently .01, but .005 once client allows)
Full web UI (a lot of other pools are based on my UI)
Auto Payout threshhold (1-25)
Instant Payout of confirmed
Currently 120 confirms for payout
Full control of workers, many available per username.
username is not based on email
No idle email yet, currently only JSON/Web/Android/Browser monitoring
SSL supported
IPv6 should be supported
Account changes require additional PIN
No preset support
Also have Chrome browser extension monitor

Thanks for putting up the chart.

Another pool for you :)

Name: ArsBitcoin.com
Formation Date: June 15th, 2011
Location: USA
Type: proportional (share-based)
Fees: 0%
Transaction Fees: kept by pool
Transaction fee on withdrawal: none
Web Interface: Yes
Long Polling: Yes
GUI Preset: no
Automatic Payout Threshold: Yes, configurable
Instant Payout: Yes
share validation waiting period: yes
Multiple workers: Yes
e-mail isn't username: yes
e-mail notification on idle: no
JSON API: no
HTTPS (SSL): No
IPv6 : no
wallet address change security features : yes (pin number required to make changes, email on address change)
address:port:  arsbitcoin.com:8344
http://arsbitcoin.com (http://arsbitcoin.com)

I must say that triplemining.com design is the best :P

Thanks guys for continuing to send me new pool information.  Just updated it!

Eclipse MC pays to 8 decimal places now

New pool for you to add :)

rfcpool

Location: UK
Type: Prop & PPS
Fee: 0% Prop, 7% PPS
TXN Fees: Kept
TXN Fee for withdraw: No
Web: Yes
LP: Yes
AutoPayout: yes, configurable
Instant Payout: Yes, for confirmed funds, 8dp precision allowed
Share Validation: yes, 120 blocks
Multiple Workers: Yes
Email isn't username: Yes
Idle Notifes: Yes
JSON API: The beginnings of one, coming soon
SSL: Yes
IPv6: No (maybe soon..)
wallet security: payout lock for 24h after change
GUI Preset: No
Address: pool.rfcpool.com:8332 (or :80)

Hi
Some updates for http://ozco.in if we can please
we are now a 0fee pool
we opened on 7 July 2011
looking to add some premium features on top of our current features for donors e-mail notification on idle is uunder strong consideration. will get back on that :)
cheers
Graet

Just updated it with some minor additions. Thanks, and keep the info coming!

BTC Guild switched to paying out all 8 decimals.

Bitcoins.lc shares transaction fees + full block.

Thanks for the quick corrections.  Updated.

Whoops, it looks like I missed Caesium's and Graet's latest posts.  I'll update the table with the info they've provided as soon as I get the chance.

Cheers :)

It's possible to request full-precision payment from deepbit pool via "instant payment" function.

What about on automatic payout? Does it send the exact precision out that you enter?

Hi
Some updates for http://ozco.in if we can please
Required fee 0%proportional
Decimal places paid out 8
share validation waiting period  yes 100 confirmations
we opened on 7 July 2011

Cheers,
More soon when premioum features are offered for donors

Automatic payment sends only down to bitcents. The rest is not lost, just stays on your balance until next try.

I can't know what bitcoin software is installed on user's PC, so I won't enable full-precision payments automatically for everyone. If some user wants it, he can just click the request button on the site.
And .XX payment looks better in the table :))

Updated!  Thanks guys for keeping the information coming.  By the way, I try to update this thing once a week, so don't get too concerned if a few days go by and you don't your info updated yet!  :)

Simplecoin.us updates:
btc account locking and payout notification added.
Gui miner preset should be in source soon.

I'll update with this info soon, simplecoin. I've been working on other things for the past few weeks and haven't been focusing on the mining side of things.

Speaking of mining pool features, it looks like there is a new feature that I need to add to the table called "no invalids", eh?  Anyone care to provide a brief explanation of how this feature works?  Thanks!

Thanks, there's actually a bigger change though:
0% Fee, 0 transaction fee, PPLastNShares payout

can you study some about http://digbtc.net ?
and add it in the table.

You're sharing the transaction fee?

rfcpool updates

TYPE:  PPLNS
FEE: 0%
TXN Fees: Shared
JSON API: yes (live, no delay)
GUI Preset Support:  guiminer

Please add a row for pool-hopping measures or features. Not using hopping myself, so I would rather know how effective their methods are.

Any plans to add MMC to the list (see sig.)

some updates for Ozcoin Pooled Mining Pty Ltd please :)

Transaction fee: included in block payouts and paid to miners (shared)
e-mail notification on idle: available to members that set 1% donation level

additional features: Registered trading entity in the country of operation,
very low stale shares,
cgminer developer mines and helps users on ozco.in,
great stats especially the "more blocks" page at https://ozco.in/blocks.php even more info availabe to logged in membersc,
irc support with webchat access from site,
forum.

If you can post the info for me using the terminology of my table, I'll add it.  No disrespect intended here, it's simply that I've found that trying to track down the information individually for so many pools, and then translating it into the standard language of my table is MUCH more time consuming than is necessary.  I simply don't have the time to join every pool to figure out the features or read all the pages and pages of pool threads to track down the most up to date answers. However, if each pool expert can simply come here occasionally and give me their information in an organized post, I can easily add it, and everyone benefits.

Here you go! :)

Location: Europe
Type: PPLNS (proportional per last N shares)
Fee: 0.5%
Transaction fee: kept by pool
Transaction fee on withrawal:  .005 BTC (instant payment) .0005 BTC (auto pay)
Decimal places paid out:  8
wenpage ui: yes
long polling: yes
auto payout threshold: yes, configurable
instant payout button: yes
share validation:  120
multiple workers per user account/address: yes
e-mail isn't username: yes
e-mail notification on idle: coming soon
JSON API: yes
HTTPS (SSL): yes
IPv6: no
wallet address change security features: yes
GUI preset support: no
additional features: cheat proof, graphs, embedded forum
address:port - mining.mainframe.nl:8343

It's been a little over two months, and I've finally updated it again. I'm going back to school at the moment, so that is why there's been a delay. I don't have much time now to research this stuff on my own.  If each pool owner, or people who use any one of the pools, would simply scan the relevant column on the chart and post the updated info here in the format and wording I use, it would go a long way to getting this thing filled in.

Updates to simplecoin.us:

Location: US
Type: PPLNS, SMPPS or Proportional (PPS coming as well)
Coins: BTC, GG (SC, TB & Merged NMC coming soon)
Fee: 0%
Transaction fee: kept by pool
Transaction fee on withrawal:  0 BTC
Decimal places paid out:  8
webpage ui: yes
long polling: yes
RollNTime: yes
auto payout threshold: yes
instant payout button: yes
share validation:  120 (unconfirmed payout soon)
multiple workers per user account/address: yes
e-mail isn't username: yes
e-mail notification on idle: no
JSON API: yes
HTTPS (SSL): yes
IPv6: not currentyl online
wallet address change security features: address locking & pin
GUI preset support: yes
additional features: Multi-Coin, Multi-Pool, all on one site and one port.
address:port - pool.simplecoin.us:8337 , port 80 for those with firewall trouble.

Updated.  Let me know if there are any new developments that don't match the chart.

I also noticed I'm now missing the following pools:

bitchomp.info
asspennypool.com
abcpool.co
nmcbit.com
cointron.com
masterpool.eu

It'd be great if people (preferably the pool owners) could post these pools' info in the table's format, and then I'll update it.

Eclipse has DGS for pool hopping countermeasures.

Please update for my pool:
SSL: yes
wallet address change security features: yes
share validation waiting period: 100 blocks
Decimal places paid out: 8

Thanks.

Eligius corrections:

• Transaction fee on withdrawal: none
• automatic payout threshold: yes, configured globally by poll
• pool hopping countermeasures: n/a (pool hopping isn't a problem for SMPPS)
• HTTPS (SSL): n/a (no passwords to secure)
• IPv6: yes, native

an update for ozco.in when you are available :)

we now have a US server and our preffered mining is on
us.ozco.in:8999
us.ozco.in:80
cheers

Could you add my pool, BitMinter, to the features table please?

Formation date: 2011-06-18
Location: US
Type: PPLNS
Required Fee: 0%
Transaction fee: shared
Transaction fee on withrawal: none
Decimal places paid out:  8
Webpage ui: yes
Long polling: yes
Automatic payout threshold: yes, configurable
Instant payout button: no
share validation waiting period: yes
pool hopping countermeasures: PPLNS
multiple workers per user account/address: yes
e-mail isn't username: yes
e-mail notification on idle: no
JSON API: no
HTTPS (SSL): yes
IPv6: no
wallet address change security features: no
GUI preset support: BitMinter miner
NMC merged mining: yes
additional features: Custom miner starts from browser with 1 click. Custom pool backend with very few stales.
address:port - mint.bitmitner.com:8332

Thanks!

By the way, didn't Swepool, Mainframe and RFCPool shut down?

Could you please add yourbtc.net.

Formation date: n/a
Location: Germany
Type: Double Geometric
Required Fee: 0%
Transaction fee: shared
Transaction fee on withrawal: none
Decimal places paid out:  8
Webpage ui: yes
Long polling: yes
Automatic payout threshold: coming this weekend
Instant payout button: no
share validation waiting period: yes
pool hopping countermeasures: Double Geometric
multiple workers per user account/address: yes
e-mail isn't username: yes
e-mail notification on idle: yes
JSON API: yes
HTTPS (SSL): yes
IPv6: no
wallet address change security features: no
GUI preset support: n/a
NMC merged mining: yes
additional features: Running poolserverj with very few stales
address:port - yourbtc.net:8999

Thanks!

That's a shame. :D Guess you mean stales? ;D

Thanks for pointing that out. It has been corrected.

Eclipse has added the option to take an immediate payout, thereby allowing unconfirmed block payments for a small fee (in addition to getting payment for work completed on a block not yet found).

Major updates at Ozcoin :D

Location: AU/US/EU
Type:  double geometric method
Required fee: 0
Transaction fee: kept by pool
instant payout button: auto payout script every 10 mins
share validation waiting period: yes after 120 blocks, no for 5%+ donors
pool hopping countermeasures: Hopping-proof, low-variance reward system
e-mail notification on idle: yes
wallet address change security features: yes (e-mail alerts on account changes)
NMC merged mining: yes
address:port us.ozco.in:8332 us.ozco.in:80 eu.ozco.in:8332 au.ozco.in:8332
e-mail notification on payout: yes
auto payout script: runs every 10 mins

Thanks

"e-mail notification on idle" parameter is incorrect in this table.
We have e-mail notifications when no getwork requests are received from user's miner for some time.

"Formation date" is 24.02.2011

Holy thread necro...

There's a sticky at the very top of this forum that provides the useful information for mining pools.  It may not include as much information as the link on this thread, but it is everything a miner needs to make an informed choice.  It's also actually kept up to date.