A sale price is a one-time event.
Hosting costs are daily. And daily costs decide whether your S23 becomes a boring earner or a slow leak.
So I don’t buy an S23 just because it’s discounted. I buy it when my net profit method says the setup can survive real life: electricity, pool fees, and uptime that is never 100%.
Step 1: Start with revenue, then remove the three silent killers
Most revenue calculators show gross revenue. That is useful, but it’s not decision-grade.
What I plan with is net:
Net Profit per day = (Revenue per day × (1 — Pool Fee)) × Uptime Factor — Electricity Cost per day
Where:
- Pool Fee is usually around 0% to 2% depending on pool and payout scheme (use your pool’s actual number)
- Uptime Factor is your realistic uptime as a decimal (example: 0.98 for 98%)
- Electricity Cost per day = kW × 24 × $/kWh
This one equation forces honesty. Fees, uptime, and power are where most “great deals” quietly die.
Electricity is the king input, so I choose hosting rate first
A small discount on hardware rarely beats a better $/kWh.
OneMiners publishes hosting electricity rates by location and category (premium, online-ordered miners, external miners). Examples from their hosting centers page:
- Nigeria: Premium $0.048/kWh, Online ordered $0.052/kWh, External $0.058/kWh
- Norway Arctic: Premium $0.06/kWh, Online ordered $0.064/kWh, External $0.069/kWh
- Finland: Premium $0.061/kWh, Online ordered $0.065/kWh, External $0.071/kWh
- USA No Fees Hosting: Premium $0.074/kWh, Online ordered $0.079/kWh, External $0.084/kWh
Operator rule: If you’re stuck deciding between “slightly cheaper miner” vs “meaningfully cheaper power,” power usually wins over time.
Yes, there’s a $0.04/kWh Nigeria program, but I treat it like a contract
OneMiners has published details about securing $0.04/kWh in Nigeria via a pre-paid energy plan / investment program.
That rate can move your net profit a lot, but it’s not “free money.” It’s a commitment.
Before I use that rate in a spreadsheet, I confirm:
- what the prepaid term covers (duration, capacity, eligibility)
- what happens if you exit early
- how billing is handled during downtime and maintenance
If the answers are not clear, I do not build my ROI on the best-case rate.
Uptime must be realistic, not optimistic
Even if a host mentions strong uptime targets or guarantees, I still don’t plug in 100% uptime.
OneMiners states it targets an average uptime and guarantees a minimum uptime across facilities.
My default planning assumptions
- Conservative: 0.95
- Realistic target: 0.97 to 0.99
- Only use 0.99+ if you have long performance history and clear reporting you trust
Rule: uptime errors are silent ROI killers, because your power math keeps running even when hashing stops.
Pool fees matter, but less than people think
Pool fee differences do matter, but they are usually small compared to electricity and uptime.
A pool fee change from 1% to 2% is a 1% swing on revenue.
But a power rate swing from $0.084 to $0.048 can be a massive swing on net.
Still, I always include the pool fee in the model (and I use the real number for the pool I’m actually going to use).
A quick example (how the math stays honest)
Let’s say your S23 setup shows $40/day gross revenue on a good day.
Assume:
- Pool fee: 2% (0.02)
- Uptime: 98% (0.98)
- Power draw: 5.5 kW (example)
- Hosting rate: Nigeria premium $0.048/kWh
Electricity
5.5 × 24 = 132 kWh/day
132 × 0.048 = $6.34/day
Net
Revenue after pool fee: 40 × (1–0.02) = $39.20
Revenue after uptime: 39.20 × 0.98 = $38.42
Net profit: 38.42–6.34 = $32.08/day
Now rerun the same unit in the USA with no premium fees at $0.074/kWh:
132 × 0.074 = $9.77/day
Net becomes $28.65/day
That’s a $3.43/day difference purely from the power rate, with the exact same miner and pool assumptions.
The policy reality I don’t ignore (because it changes your risk)
I treat hosting checkout like a contract decision, not an impulse buy.
OneMiners states that orders for hosting (including preorders and installment orders) are non-refundable and governed by the Hosting and Performance agreement, and it also states all sales are final with refunds/exchanges limited to damaged/defective items.
Operator translation:
- Do your math before you commit
- Understand your hosting terms before you rely on a batch date or promo price
My final buy/don't buy filter for an S23 sale
I buy only when:
- I have a confirmed hosting rate (not “starting at”) from a location I’m comfortable with
- Net profit is positive even with conservative uptime (0.95 to 0.98)
- I included pool fees and didn’t pretend they are zero
- I understand the hosting terms, especially refund rules
- If I’m using the Nigeria prepaid $0.04 program, I understand the commitment in writing
