Mining cryptocurrency is not that complicated. All you need is the right mining software and an algorithm that is well suited to your device. After that, you can leave your device where it is and go about your day knowing that you are making money. Just remember to factor in the power costs when calculating your profit.
As long as you have a powerful device, mining crypto is going to be at least slightly profitable for you. Considering how powerful mobile phone processors have become in recent times, that device could very well be your phone.
However, your phone is a fragile device, and it is important to consider the ramifications of mining on your phone before you go ahead. As such, we will begin by looking at whether or not it is worth it to mine Bitcoin on your phone. After that, we will look at the 5 best apps to mine Bitcoin through your mobile device.
Important: Ever since cryptocurrency mining malware made clear the dangers of mining currency on your phone, crypto mining apps have been banned by both Google and Apple. As such, you will need to download their APKs (Android) or Jailbreak and access a repository containing the app (iPhone).
Is Mining Bitcoin on Your Phone Worth it?
This is the first thing that you need to consider. While you may be tempted to harness the power of your brand new Note 20 Ultra or iPhone 12, you may also be worried about the damage that mining may cause to your phone. After all, there must be a reason Apple and Google banned all the mining apps, right? Here are a few reasons why you may or may not want to mine Bitcoin on your phone:
Pros of Mining Bitcoin on Your Phone
Mining Bitcoin on your phone has a lot of advantages, some of which are:
- You can mine whenever, wherever you want.
- It is very easy to monitor how your mining is going.
- You can choose the amount of threads to dedicate to mining., reducing the load on your phone.
- New algorithms such as CryptoNight allow you to take maximum advantage of your phoneās power.
Cons of Mining Bitcoin on Your Phone
These are the disadvantages of mining Bitcoin on your phone:
- Your phone will be constantly used, and it will be damaged no matter how easy you go on it (mainly due to overheating).
- Mining will rapidly drain your phoneās battery life and its health.
- Despite your processorās very fast speed, even the best mining algorithm will not make it mine particularly fast, as mining is done much better on GPUs and ASIC rigs.
- Most cryptocurrency mining apps are not polished and lack a lot of features.
- Since the apps are not regulated due to being banned, it is possible that they have malware that harms your device.
- Electricity costs to charge your phone may be more than your mining revenue.
Should I Mine Bitcoin on My Phone?
If you want to stay on the safe side, you should only mine with a phone that you are willing to lose. For example, if you have a throwaway device and electricity is cheap where you live, or if you have a device that you are planning to upgrade anyway, then you should mine cryptocurrency on it.
However, if you have a brand new phone or a device that you are planning to use for a few years, then avoid mining crypto on it. Even if you donāt damage it irreparably, mining will drastically reduce its lifespan.
Now that you know the pros and cons of mining Bitcoin on your phone, letās look at the top 6 Bitcoin mining apps!
1. MinerGate Miner: The Best Bitcoin Mining App
MinerGate is the most polished, refined, and complete mining experience that you can get on your phone. While other apps may provide you a barebones interface, not enough features, or lock access behind paid features, MinerGate is the one app that has managed to achieve a somewhat widespread acceptance among mobile crypto miners.
What people love about MinerGate is its transparency. Knowing the harmful effects mining can have on your device, MinerGate provides features that can help mitigate this damage. Its features include:
- A profit calculator that can help you estimate the money that you would make from mining.
A chat feature to get help from more experienced mobile miners. - Support for numerous cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Monero, and Dashcoin.
- A wallet comes with the app to store your earnings (we would advise you to still move your currency to cold storage).
- Option to purchase cloud mining for a safer, more efficient way to mine.
- A tool to check the price of major cryptocurrencies.
This is perhaps the most complete mobile mining app you can get. However, if MinerGate is not your thing, then here are a few other apps you can look at:
2. AA Miner: The Mining App for Beginners
The main draw of AA Miner is that it makes mining incredibly simple for the user. If you are someone who is new to crypto mining, then this is probably the best app for you to start mining on.
Making use of the CryptoNight algorithm, the app makes mining easy by letting you begin with just a few clicks. The interface, while barebones, is very easy to navigate.
Of course, the app is not nearly as rich in features as MinerGate, but it still has support for multiple cryptocurrencies. Here is what you get with AA Miner:
- Support for many altcoins including Monero, Bytecoin, and Litecoin (it supports more than 50 coins in total).
- Support for running the app in the background, or only when plugged into an outlet.
- Ability to run the app on only selective threads.
Unfortunately, the app does not support a lot of different algorithms, so you are restricted in that sense. However, if you want to try multiple algorithms to see what works best for you, you can look at Crypto Miner later on in the list.
3. Droid Miner: Worth the Cost for Some
Droid Miner is an app that is not used by a lot of mobile miners because it is not free. However, it has some features that make it better than many other mining apps.
The only problem is that all of the additional features that it offers are also offered by MinerGate. That app outclasses Droid Miner in almost every way and makes you wonder whether you should pay for it in the first place. That said, here are the main features of Droid Miner:
- You can mine any currency that uses the Scrypt or the SHA-256 algorithm.
- The app comes with an earnings calculator.
- Ability to select the number of threads used by the app.
If you donāt want to use MinerGate for whatever reason, Droid Miner can be a great app. However, as the name suggests, it is only available on Android.
4. Crypto Miner: Customizability Galore
Where Crypto Miner lags behind in features, it makes up for in terms of the options you get when it comes to mining.
Just to be clear, the app itself does not provide you a lot of customizability. You pretty much get the standard features that you would expect from a mobile cryptocurrency app. However, when it comes to mining, there arenāt many apps that can compete with Crypto Miner. Here is what you get:
- Access to more algorithms than most other crypto mining apps.
- Support for various different currencies.
- Ability to be notified whenever you generate coins (the app runs in the background).
If everything seems too complicated, then donāt fret. The app also has presets that work well with most phones, so you can avoid all the complications. Just remember that some of the features (such as the algorithms) are locked behind a premium version of the app.
5. NeoNeon Miner: A Worthy Alternative
NeoNeon Miner can be considered the last resort for mobile Bitcoin miners. Not because itās a bad app, but simply because it does not excel at anything in particular.
It does provide you a lot of control over how you mine, but it does not clutter the interface with useless elements. All you need to do is to join a mining pool and begin mining (all the mobile cryptocurrency mining apps require that you join a mining pool). Here is what you get with NeoNeon:
- Automatic optimization for your SoC.
- Ability to track your activities through the mining log.
- Switching between mining pools is easy.
Overall, NeoNeon is a good middle of the road app that is easy to set up but surprisingly versatile once you get into the details.
Conclusion
We just took a look at the 5 best Bitcoin mining apps that you can use. From these, MinerGate stands above all the rest. In fact, it may be the only complete crypto mining app available that any individual can use. The others may be better for certain use cases, and you should consider all options before you make a decision.
Just make sure that you know what you are doing before you begin mining. As we stated at the beginning, mining is very harmful for your device. As such, using it on your daily driver is not in your best interests.