Understanding Hashrate:
KH/s, MH/s, GH/s, TH/s Explained

What is Hashrate?

At its core, cryptocurrency mining is a guessing game. Your hardware generates random hash values as fast as possible, trying to find one that meets a target set by the network. Hashrate is simply the number of these hash calculations your hardware can perform each second.

Every hash attempt is like buying a lottery ticket. The more tickets (hashes) you produce per second, the better your chances of winning (finding a valid block). Hashrate is the fundamental measure of mining power.

The Hashrate Unit Scale

Hashrate units follow the standard metric prefix system, just like bytes (KB, MB, GB). Each unit is exactly 1,000 times the previous one:

// Converting between units:
1 MH/s = 1,000 KH/s = 1,000,000 H/s
1 GH/s = 1,000 MH/s = 1,000,000 KH/s
1 TH/s = 1,000 GH/s = 1,000,000 MH/s

// Example: Your miner shows 45,200 KH/s
45,200 KH/s = 45.2 MH/s
45,200 KH/s = 0.0452 GH/s

Why Different Coins Use Different Units

You'll notice that Bitcoin hashrate is discussed in EH/s, while Monero uses MH/s and some GPU-mined coins use GH/s or TH/s. This is not arbitrary — it depends on two factors:

1. The Mining Algorithm

Different mining algorithms have different computational costs per hash. A single SHA-256 hash (Bitcoin) is much simpler to compute than a single RandomX hash (Monero). Hardware can crank out billions of SHA-256 hashes per second but only thousands of RandomX hashes.

2. The Hardware Landscape

SHA-256 has highly optimized ASIC miners that push individual machine hashrates into the TH/s range. Add thousands of those together in mining farms, and you get network hashrates in EH/s. CPU-mineable algorithms like RandomX max out in the KH/s range per machine.

Your Hashrate and Mining Rewards

The fundamental equation in mining is simple: your share of the network hashrate equals your share of the mining rewards. A mining profitability calculator automates this math for you.

Your daily reward = (Your hashrate / Network hashrate) × Daily block rewards

// Example: Mining Ravencoin with one RTX 4070
Your hashrate:    30 MH/s = 0.00003 TH/s
Network hashrate: 5 TH/s
Your share:       0.00003 / 5 = 0.000006 = 0.0006%

// If the network produces ~7,200 RVN/day in block rewards:
Your daily RVN:   7,200 × 0.000006 = ~0.043 RVN/day

Hashrate and Difficulty

Network difficulty adjusts to maintain a target block time as total network hashrate changes. This is closely tied to the concept of mining luck. When more miners join (increasing total hashrate), difficulty goes up, and each individual hash has a lower probability of finding a block. When miners leave, difficulty drops.

This means doubling your hashrate doesn't double your rewards if the network hashrate also doubled. What matters is always your relative share of total hashrate.

What Affects Your Hashrate

Several factors determine how fast your hardware can hash:

Hardware (GPU/CPU Model)

This is the biggest factor. A flagship GPU like the RTX 4090 will always outperform a budget card like the RTX 4060 — see our lists of the best GPU mining coins for benchmarks. Similarly, a Ryzen 9 7950X with 16 cores crushes an older 4-core Intel for CPU mining.

Mining Algorithm

The same hardware produces vastly different hashrates on different algorithms. An RTX 4090 might achieve 160 MH/s on one algorithm but only 60 MH/s on another, because algorithms stress different parts of the GPU (compute units, memory bandwidth, cache).

Overclocking Settings

Tuning your GPU's core clock, memory clock, and power limit can significantly boost hashrate. Some algorithms are core-limited (benefit from higher core clocks) while others are memory-limited (benefit from memory overclocking).

Temperature Throttling

When your GPU gets too hot, it automatically reduces clock speeds to protect itself. This thermal throttling directly reduces your hashrate. Maintaining good airflow and keeping temperatures below 80°C is essential for sustained hashrate.

Driver Versions

GPU drivers can affect mining performance. Sometimes a new driver improves hashrate on certain algorithms, while other times it causes regressions. Many miners stick to specific "known good" driver versions.

Pool Hashrate vs Network Hashrate

When mining in a pool, you'll see two hashrate numbers:

• Pool hashrate — The combined hashrate of all miners in the pool. This determines how frequently the pool finds blocks.
• Network hashrate — The total hashrate of every miner on the network across all pools and solo miners.

// Your earnings flow through two levels:
Pool's share of blocks: Pool hashrate / Network hashrate
Your share of pool:    Your hashrate / Pool hashrate

// Combined:
Your share of network = Your hashrate / Network hashrate
// The pool is just a middleman that smooths out variance

A larger pool finds blocks more frequently but splits the reward among more miners. A smaller pool finds blocks less often but you get a bigger share of each block. Over time, your expected earnings are the same regardless of pool size — the difference is in how smooth or lumpy your payouts are.

Reported vs Effective vs Average Hashrate

On your pool dashboard, you'll typically see three different hashrate numbers. Understanding these prevents unnecessary panic:

Why Your Effective Hashrate Fluctuates

New miners often worry when they see their effective hashrate jumping between 70% and 130% of their reported rate. This is completely normal and not a sign of hardware issues.

Common Hashrates by Hardware

Here are typical hashrates for popular mining hardware across common algorithms. Actual results vary based on overclocking, silicon quality, and driver versions:

GPU Mining

CPU Mining

Note: These are approximate values. Your actual hashrate depends on RAM speed (especially for RandomX), cooling solution, BIOS settings, and mining software optimization. Always check the specific mining software's benchmarks for your exact hardware.

Quick Reference: Common Units by Coin

Confused about which unit to use? Here's a cheat sheet: