Home Miner vs Hosted S21 Pro: Real Numbers (2026)

Home miners are having a moment. They’re quiet, plug into a normal outlet, and double as a space heater. But if your goal is to earn, how do they compare with a full-size miner in a hosting site?

We ran the numbers with this week’s revenue data.

Revenue from MiningNow at time of writing (Oct 29, 2026: about $0.0363 per TH per day for Bitcoin); not a guarantee of future earnings.

The three machines

	Avalon Nano 3S	Avalon Q	Antminer S21 Pro
Hashrate	6 TH/s	90 TH/s	245 TH/s (our used units: 220–245)
Power	140 W	Up to 1,800 W (adjustable from 600 W)	3,510 W
Efficiency	~23 J/TH	~20 J/TH	~14.3 J/TH
Noise	Quiet, built for a desk	Quiet, built for living spaces	Datacenter-loud; not for the house
Outlet	Standard outlet	Standard outlet	Dedicated 240V circuit
Where it lives	Desk	Living room / basement	Hosting site

Specs from our listings: Avalon Nano 3S, Avalon Q, used S21 Pro. The Avalon Q is shown at full power (1,800 W); it can run at lower power settings, which cuts heat, hashrate and power cost together. S21 Pro figures use a 245 TH unit; a 220T unit earns about $7.98/day.

Daily numbers

Home power costs vary a lot. We show two example rates: 15¢ and 30¢ per kWh. Check your own bill.

	Revenue/day	Power/day at 15¢ (home)	Power/day at 30¢ (home)	Power/day at 7.75¢ (hosted)
Avalon Nano 3S	$0.22	$0.50	$1.01	n/a
Avalon Q	$3.26	$6.48	$12.96	$3.35
S21 Pro	$8.89	$12.64	$25.27	$6.53

Profit per day:

	At home, 15¢	At home, 30¢	Hosted, 7.75¢
Avalon Nano 3S	−$0.28	−$0.79	n/a
Avalon Q	−$3.22	−$9.70	−$0.09
S21 Pro	−$3.75	−$16.38	+$2.36

Revenue from MiningNow at time of writing; not a guarantee of future earnings. Excludes pool fees.

What the numbers say

At typical home power prices, all three lose money on electricity alone. That’s not a knock on home miners. Most people buy them for other reasons.

The heat isn’t wasted. If you’d heat that room with an electric heater anyway, a home miner turns some of that heating bill into sats. In winter, the real cost of a home miner can be much lower than the table shows. That’s the honest case for home mining, and it’s a good one.

For pure earnings, efficiency and power price win. The S21 Pro uses about 28% less power per TH than the Avalon Q, and hosting at 7.75¢ cuts the power bill roughly in half versus a 15¢ home rate (and by about three-quarters versus 30¢). That’s the difference between losing money and making it.

Practical differences

• Noise: home miners are built to be quiet. A full-size S21 Pro is not something you want in the house.
• Wiring: a 3.5 kW miner usually needs a dedicated 240V circuit. Home miners plug into a normal outlet.
• Heat: 3.5 kW of heat is a lot for one room, and it’s unwelcome in summer.
• Hands-on: a home miner is a fun way to learn. A hosted miner is out of sight; the site handles uptime.
• Upfront cost: home miners cost less up front. As of Oct 29, 2026: Avalon Nano 3S from $260, Avalon Q from $1,430 (USA stock), and used S21 Pro (220–245 TH/s, USA stock) from $1,170. Prices move fast, so we confirm your final price after you order.

Which should you pick?

• You want to learn, or heat a room in winter: a home miner is a great start. Browse our home miners.
• You want the best return: an efficient full-size miner on cheap power. If you don’t have cheap power at home, host it.
• You’ve outgrown your home miner: buy an S21 here and we’ll host it in Iowa or Idaho at 7.75¢/kWh, metered, so you only pay for the power it uses. Setup is $50 per machine bought from us, plus the first month of power as a deposit. No noise, no 240V wiring.

Get a hosting quote · Telegram or WhatsApp +1 (951) 598-1515 · Hosting details

The math

• Revenue/day = hashrate (TH) × $0.03626 (MiningNow, Oct 29, 2026)
• Power/day = watts ÷ 1,000 × 24 h × rate
• Avalon Q: 1.8 kW × 24 = 43.2 kWh/day. S21 Pro: 3.51 kW × 24 = 84.2 kWh/day. Nano 3S: 0.14 kW × 24 = 3.36 kWh/day.

Revenue from MiningNow at time of writing; not a guarantee of future earnings.