We do not publish fixed break even numbers because they are meaningless outside a specific date and difficulty. Use our profitability calculator to compute break even for your hardware under current conditions.
Two Types of "Break Even"#
Type 1
Electricity Break Even Price
The BTC/USD price at which daily revenue = daily electricity cost. This tells you whether your miner is covering its running costs right now. It does not account for hardware purchase price.
Type 2
Hardware Payback Period
The time until daily net income (revenue minus electricity) fully recovers the hardware purchase price plus the installation fee. This is the ROI question. See our payback period guide.
The Electricity Break Even Formula#
Step 1: calculate your daily electricity cost.
Daily Electricity Cost ($) = (Power_W ÷ 1,000) × 24 × $/kWhExample: Whatsminer M70S at a typical 3,500 W draw and $0.07/kWh: (3,500 ÷ 1,000) × 24 × $0.07 = 3.5 × 24 × $0.07 = $5.88/day
Step 2: calculate your daily BTC mined. This requires your hashrate, network difficulty, and block subsidy. The formula is:
Daily BTC = (Hashrate_TH × 86400 × Block_Subsidy_BTC) ÷ (Difficulty × 2³²)Block subsidy: 3.125 BTC/block as of the April 2024 halving, unchanged until ~April 2028. Difficulty changes every ~2 weeks, never use a fixed number for planning.
Step 3: break even BTC price:
Break Even BTC Price = Daily Electricity Cost ÷ Daily BTC MinedIf BTC trades above this price, the miner covers its electricity costs. Below it, it does not. Do not use a single BTC price for planning; model a range.
Why Break Even Is Always a Moving Target#
The denominator in the break even calculation (your daily BTC mined) changes every time network difficulty adjusts (roughly every two weeks). When difficulty falls, you mine more BTC per day, and your break even BTC price falls. When difficulty rises, the reverse happens.
In 2026, network difficulty fell approximately 10.7% across six consecutive downward adjustments. This benefited existing miners by lowering their break even prices. As of early June 2026, network difficulty was approximately 139 T, but this will change. Sources: CoinWarz, minerstat (as of early June 2026; trackers diverge slightly in methodology).
For a deeper look at how difficulty adjustments affect ROI over time, see our difficulty and ROI guide.
How $0.07/kWh Affects Your Break Even#
Because break even price = daily electricity cost ÷ daily BTC mined, cutting your electricity cost by about 62% (what $0.07/kWh vs. the $0.183/kWh US residential average for July 2026 achieves) cuts your break even BTC price by about 62%, for the same hardware, same difficulty, same pool.
This does not mean mining at lower electricity rates guarantees profit. If BTC falls below even the lower break even price, the miner is still unprofitable. But a lower electricity rate provides a meaningful margin of safety.