Best Zcash Mining Pools in 2026: Fees, Payouts, and How to Choose for Your Z15 Pro

Direct answer: The best Zcash mining pools for an Antminer Z15 Pro in 2026 are the long-running Equihash pools with low fees and flexible payouts: 2Miners, NanoPool, ViaBTC, AntPool, and F2Pool all operate mature ZEC pools. Most charge between 0.9% and 2.5% and pay out automatically once your balance crosses a threshold you choose. For a Z15 Pro earning about 0.215 ZEC per day at current network hashrate, the pool fee matters far less than power cost, but picking a reliable pool with a low payout threshold is still worth a few minutes of setup time.

What is the best Zcash mining pool for a Z15 Pro in 2026?

There is no single best pool for everyone, because the differences between the major ZEC pools are small. What separates them is fee, payout threshold, payout schedule, and server location. For a Z15 Pro owner in 2026, the practical recommendation is:

• Lowest typical fees: 2Miners and NanoPool run around 0.9% to 1%.
• Large pools with exchange integration: ViaBTC and AntPool, with 1% PPLNS fees and extra services.
• Big-brand alternatives: F2Pool and Binance Pool, usually around 2% to 2.5%.
• Auto-conversion pools: smaller multi-coin pools that pay out in BTC or other coins instead of ZEC.

Any of the first three groups will serve a Z15 Pro well. The table below shows the typical numbers, but pool fees do change, so always confirm on the pool's own page before connecting your miner.

How does Zcash pool mining work?

Zcash produces a fixed daily emission: about 2,250 ZEC per day across roughly 720 blocks, with a block reward of 3.125 ZEC after the 2024 halving. That emission is divided among every active miner in proportion to hashrate. At a network hashrate near 9 GSol/s, a Z15 Pro's 860 kSol/s is about 0.0096% of the network, which works out to roughly 0.215 ZEC per day, around $110 gross at ZEC $512.

Mining pools combine the work of thousands of machines, find blocks far more often than any single miner could, and split each block reward among members by their contributed work. Most ZEC pools use PPLNS (Pay Per Last N Shares), which pays based on your shares in the most recent rounds and is considered fair over time. A few pools offer PPS-style payment at a higher fee. For a home or small-farm operator, PPLNS on a reputable pool is the standard choice.

What should you check before picking a Zcash pool?

• Fee: the pool's cut of your reward, usually 0.9% to 2.5%. At $110 gross per day, each 1% costs about $1.10 per day, about $33 per month.
• Payout threshold: the minimum balance before the pool sends your ZEC. Most pools let you set this anywhere from 0.05 to 1 ZEC.
• Payout schedule: how often the pool sends payments, from every few hours to a few times per day.
• Server location: closer servers mean lower latency and fewer stale shares. Pick the region nearest to you.
• Uptime and reputation: a pool that misses blocks or pays late costs you real money. Stick with pools that have years of history.

Zcash mining pools compared: fees and payouts

Pool	Typical Fee	Payout Model	Payout Threshold	Notes
2Miners	~0.9%	PPLNS	Adjustable, low	Long-running ZEC pool, clear setup guides
NanoPool	~1%	PPLNS	Adjustable	Runs both ZEC and ZEN pools
ViaBTC	~1%	PPLNS	Adjustable	Exchange integration, extra services
AntPool	~1%	PPLNS	Adjustable	Bitmain's own pool, solid for ASICs
F2Pool	~2.5%	PPLNS	Adjustable	One of the oldest pools in the industry
Binance Pool	~2.5%	PPLNS	Adjustable	Pays via Binance account

Fees above are typical mid-2026 values and can change; check the pool's fee page before you connect. The Z15 Pro firmware accepts a standard stratum address directly. As an example, 2Miners uses zec.2miners.com:1010 for its ZEC pool. Set your miner's pool URL to that style of address with your Zcash address as the worker name, and you will start mining within minutes.

Should you solo mine Zcash with a Z15 Pro?

Solo mining means your machine keeps the full 3.125 ZEC block reward, but only when it finds a block. A single Z15 Pro controls about 0.0096% of the network, so at current hashrate you would average one block roughly every two weeks. In practice that average hides extreme variance: you could wait months, then hit two blocks in a week. Solo mining is a lottery ticket with the same expected value as pool mining but a very different cashflow. Unless you run a large farm, pool mining is the sane choice.

How long until your first ZEC payout?

At about 0.215 ZEC per day, a Z15 Pro earns roughly 0.009 ZEC per hour. On a pool with a 0.1 ZEC payout threshold, your first payout arrives in about 11 hours. With a 0.5 ZEC threshold it takes two to three days. Zcash transaction fees are tiny, so there is no reason to set a high threshold: a lower one gets your earnings into your wallet sooner and reduces pool-custody risk.

Can you mine Horizen (ZEN) on the same pool?

Yes. ZEN uses the same Equihash algorithm, and most of the pools above run a Horizen pool alongside their Zcash pool. A Z15 Pro can switch between ZEC and ZEN in the miner's web interface in about a minute, which is handy when the price ratio between the two coins shifts. With ZEN near $4.16 in August 2026, ZEC remains the more valuable target for most operators, but the option costs nothing.

Zcash mining pool FAQ

Which Zcash mining pool is best for a Z15 Pro?
2Miners, NanoPool, ViaBTC, and AntPool all run mature ZEC pools with fees near 1%. Pick the one with the lowest fee, the payout threshold you want, and a server close to you.

Is pool mining or solo mining better for Zcash?
Pool mining, for all but the largest farms. A single Z15 Pro solo-mining averages one block every two weeks or so, with months-long dry spells possible.

How long does it take to get a ZEC payout?
At 0.215 ZEC per day, a 0.1 ZEC threshold pays out in about 11 hours, and a 0.5 ZEC threshold in two to three days.

What fee should I expect from a Zcash mining pool?
Typically 0.9% to 2.5%. At current prices that is about $1 to $2.75 per day on a Z15 Pro's gross earnings.

Can I mine Zcash and Horizen on the same pool?
Yes. ZEC and ZEN are both Equihash, and most major pools run both, so your Z15 Pro can switch coins without changing pools.

The bottom line

The pool you choose does not change your hardware's efficiency, but it does determine how smoothly your ZEC reaches your wallet. A reputable pool with a fee near 1%, a low payout threshold, and a nearby server will serve a Z15 Pro well for years. Pair it with the most efficient machine on the algorithm and the math stays simple: about 0.215 ZEC per day at current network hashrate, roughly $110 gross at ZEC $512.

Buy the Antminer Z15 Pro 860kSol/s, in stock at The Miner Island at $6,799 with a 60-day warranty, free DDP shipping on orders over $5,000, and a 3% Bitcoin payment discount. Every unit is bench-tested before it ships, so you can point it at your chosen pool the day it arrives.

Data sources: live prices from CoinMarketCap on August 9, 2026 (ZEC ~$512, ZEN ~$4.16); network parameters from z.cash; Horizen updates from horizen.io. Pool fees and payout thresholds change; confirm current values on each pool's page. Mining profitability depends on volatile factors including coin price, network difficulty, and electricity rates. Figures are illustrative, not a guarantee of results.