The issue of Bitcoin mining has been around for a while already. Ever since Bitcoin came around, the question of how to mine it has become one of the most topical ones. With time passing by, more and more software was developed to mine the crypto leader, resulting in numerous solutions available today with а functionality for all tastes.

Key info

• 2020 has been a bull year for Bitcoin, which has definitely fueled the interest of the public toward Bitcoin mining
• It’s impossible to start mining without having specialized software and hardware
• There are tons of types of software for Bitcoin mining differing by multiple characteristics, so each miner will definitely find a match

During the first years of Bitcoin’s existence on the market, there were millions of traders and regular users interested in mining it, because it was promising and relatively easy to start. As Bitcoin’s popularity and price rose, the entry barriers grew accordingly to the stage where individual miners found it completely impossible to mine on their own without joining a large mining pool. This has made small-scale miners forget about their ambitions, and the overall interest in mining started to decline, which was occasionally supported by bearish movements and halvings. This year, the crypto market witnessed things turning upside down, with Bitcoin’s price skyrocketing to over $18K and the hashrate growing by over 30%, which brought the interest in mining back on stage.

Newly emerged miners need to remember that mining Bitcoin requires at least the following infrastructure: a wallet supporting Bitcoin, specialized hardware (ASICs among the most popular ones), and software to maintain and finalize the job.

By happy chance, there is a large number of alternatives to choose from. The market offers software with hundreds of characteristics, and all equipment differs greatly, so it may be very complicated for newbies not to get lost in the abundance of options. This article covers the software that’s recognized to be the best of the best to provide maximum mining opportunities for coin seekers. The covered options passed battle-testing basically on Windows OP, but the majority of them are available for use on other operating systems.

As a matter of fact…

Cryptocurrency mining software is regularly spotted by computers as harmful software, but in most cases, it happens by mistake due to bugs in the antivirus programs. To avoid it, it’s preferable to use original mining software.

CGMiner

CGMiner is considered to be one of the most popular software products among Bitcoin chasers. It’s an open-source program that was one of the pioneers of the mining software market. CGMiner works perfectly on Windows, Linux and macOS.

The main distinctive characteristic of CGMiner is that it’s built on an initial CPU code. The software can boast of a highly user-friendly interface and automatic support of most mining hardware. CGMiner provides high efficiency due to sophisticated coding and doesn’t use much CPU or RAM.

CGMiner can be used with a large number of mining pools with an automated adjustment from one pool to another. Most notably, it doesn’t have a limit to the size of mining transactions and provides smooth performance when these transactions are processed.

On the contrary to the rest of the software covered by this article, CGMiner has to be compiled manually by the miner. A guide to it is publicly available, but the process takes time and effort, which may not work in CGMiner’s favor when choosing software.

Anticipating that miners would rather opt for a more automated solution, CGMiner developers launched a compiled option, but it’s often copied and offered for download by pirate websites, so it’s important to make sure that the used software is original.

In general, CGMiner is a wonderful example of highly efficient and functional mining software. It offers users multiple functions, from detecting unreliable operations up to monitoring a cooling speed. Uncompiled versions allow users to adjust the settings according to their needs and desires.

Friendly interface: 3/10
Capabilities: 4/10
Price: free

EasyMiner

As evident from the name, this software is devoted to facilitating the process of mining crypto. EasyMiner is offered for free as open-source software with personal adjustment abilities.

EasyMiner is only used on Windows and in most cases, is preferred by users mining Bitcoin or Litecoin. Nevertheless, it is technically suitable for mining any scrypt-based cryptocurrency. EasyMiner is optimized for most mining hardware and can be utilized both for individual mining and mining in a pool.

Among EasyMiner’s competitive advantages is its security level which reaches a military grade. The system is designed to protect user accounts from any malicious activity, which is extremely important for software that helps mining coins. Sophisticated account protection goes hand-by-hand with an exceptionally simple and user-friendly interface that will facilitate mining and cut downtime losses. EasyMiner gives miners access to a chatroom where they can meet and discuss relevant issues, thus combining users around EasyMiner and enhancing user loyalty. EasyMiner doesn’t use much of the CPU or GPU, bringing maximum results from mining.

The only thing that potential miners may not like about EasyMining is the absence of an automatic switch between mined currencies. The switch must be made manually with the necessary settings adjusted and additional files uploaded. Nevertheless, as anything with EasyMiner, it is quite easy.

Friendly interface: 7/10
Capabilities: 6/10
Price: donations

Awesome Miner

Awesome Miner is the choice of thousands of miners as it works perfectly well with numerous cryptocurrencies and algorithms. At the moment, it supports only Windows and Linux, but the offered versions have most of the features set up in advance, so that miners don’t lose time digging into technical detail.

Awesome Miner offers a variety of software versions to satisfy the needs of most miners on the market. For example, there are pre-compiled versions and fully automated versions where the program executes the full control over mining and monitors coins, switching algorithms to mine more profitable ones.

Awesome Miner is used by many miners as it supports mining of more than a hundred cryptocurrencies, and the program is easy to use for mining each of them. Awesome Miner enables its users to control their mining in full, including the clock speed or power. The software product is tailored to provide maximum profitability by adjusting the mining process with a profit switching toolkit. The miner offers multiple functions so that users can create their own model of mining coins, but despite the abundance of features, the interface is very easy to understand.

Awesome Miner is available for free and works simultaneously with two miners. For more advanced miners, Awesome Miner offers a more multifaceted paid pro version with additional services. Both versions of the miner support most of the currently used mining hardware.

Friendly interface: 8/10
Capabilities: 9/10
Price: free and paid versions

BFGMiner

BFGMiner enjoys tremendous popularity among Bitcoin miners. It offers diverse features such as dynamic clocking and monitoring. BFGMiner can be used with different OS, mostly with Windows and Linux.

MacOS users can also use BFGMiner, but it’s preferable to install the pre-compiled software, otherwise, the installation may be time-consuming. The software is a modular ASIC/FPGA miner that works with numerous device drivers for Bitcoin, thus allowing miners to use multiple algorithms and mining hardware.

BFGMiner is entirely written in C language, which makes it fully applicable for Bitcoin mining with no speed losses. It provides rather fast speeds and is applicable to work with obsolete CPU systems as well as with ASIC, FPGA and GPU, which makes it highly efficient, saving much effort and time.

The interface represents a command line that helps to pick a server and setup parameters. In general, these are the main distinctive characteristics of BFGMiner – a simple, clear and understandable soft for active mining.

Friendly interface: 2/10
Capabilities: 3/10
Price: free

MultiMiner

Those fond of BFGMiner but not wishing to use their specific CLI can make use of MultiMiner. MultiMiner is a cryptocoin mining software product applicable for Windows, macOS and Linux.

MultiMiner uses BFGMiner as a base for their mining solution and works to simplify switching ASICs or GPU or other applicable hardware between currencies such as Bitcoin. The miner boasts of a basic user-friendly interface enabling users to control the mining process.

MultiMiner is very well designed for newbies as it helps them get involved with mining through a Getting Started guide that gives hints about coins, pools and engines. The guide monitors when updated versions emerge and automatically install them.

The miner provides different strategies, enabling users to trade multiple coins switching from one to another depending on profitability, mining difficulty, operational costs, etc. MultiMiner operates with 20 various algorithms, among them Ethash, scrypt and other popular instruments that allow for fast-speed mining of Bitcoin and a range of other coins.
MultiMiner has a remote control option through a mobile app that allows users to efficiently control their mining via a mobile phone. This software is targeted to cater to the needs of both miners and power users.

In total, MultiMiner has an intuitive interface and a great number of built-in functions that combined with a remote control option create a wonderful alternative to BFGMiner for those who feel they would like to use a next-level soft.

Friendly interface: 8/10
Capabilities: 7/10
Price: donations

Cudo Miner

Cudo Miner is a multi-algorithm type of mining software supporting CPU and GPU. The interface is less than simple to navigate, and the program is applicable to install to any operating system. Cudo Miner offers high efficiency and profitability powered by numerous features and setting adjustments to cater to the needs of all categories of users.

Cudo Miner is offered in a pre-compiled version, so the miners who like to spend as little time as possible on setup will find the program more than applicable. Among the unique features, there is its own mining pool, which is very functional and simplifies the process of Bitcoin mining a few times.

Cudo is able to automatically switch algorithms to opt for coins with the highest profitability. The only thing that miners should do manually is define time and intensity. The miner is mainly used for mining Bitcoin, but is capable to mine Ethereum Monero and Rive as well.

Cudo Miner offers remote management of mining devices through a specialized web application where users can set overlocks, monitor workers, process payments and exercise all other actions to fully control their mining. Cudo Miner is one of the simplest software products used by miners from beginner to advanced levels.

Cudo Miner is commission-based software, so it’s not free to use. The commission constitutes up to 6.5% depending on the number of mined coins and can be reduced to 1.5% for miners that mine over 10 Bitcoin.

Friendly interface: 8/10
Capabilities: 7/10
Price: commission

Kryptex

Kryptex has a specified approach toward mining crypto. It’s not a regular miner that enables users to opt for a crypto to mine, establish a pool and manage the mining. Kryptex remunerates miners for lending computing power.

To start using Kryptex, miners should download and install the software. Once a user creates an account, the program gets down to mining and shows the amount of earned crypto.

Miners get Bitcoin without having to make any effort and, as the Kryptex developers state, the majority of the mined coins go to hashrate lenders with only a small percentage left for the software.

The amount that users are able to earn depends on the technical specifications of used computers and hardware. It’s preferable to use computers with powerful graphic cards. Anyway, the software can calculate how much users can earn using their computers before the mining starts.

Kryptex is offered in lite and pro versions, the latter paying higher rewards. Of course, an individual or pooled mining can be much more profitable than just lending power. Kryptex’s interface is the simplest one of all software covered by the article. Kryptex is a great alternative for those who don’t want to manage the mining process and are ready to handle electricity expenses.

Unlike other miners, Kryptex can remunerate in fiat money via Visa or Mastercard payment systems, so miners can mine Bitcoin and get paid in fiat for that.

Friendly interface: 10/10
Capabilities: 3/10
Price: free