Bitaxe Gamma vs Antminer S19 Pro: 2026 Test with Real Numbers

By Dominik Lederer, Founder, Hardware Engineer & Solo Mining Expert  ·  Updated: July 29, 2026

What has changed in the Bitaxe Gamma vs Antminer S19 Pro comparison since 2020?

The Antminer S19 Pro was launched in May 2020. At that time, it was the benchmark: 110 TH/s from 3,250 watts, 29.5 joules per terahash. Six years later, this exact efficiency figure is its problem. Because the chip in the Bitaxe Gamma 601, the BM1370, comes from the Antminer S21 Pro and is a complete ASIC generation newer. With an average consumption of 17 watts and 1.3 TH/s, the Bitaxe achieves around 13.1 J/TH.

This is the actual core of this comparison, and it is overlooked in almost every review: A solo miner is a machine that converts electricity into lottery tickets. The exchange rate for this conversion is called efficiency. Everything else is packaging.

How much electricity does an Antminer S19 Pro cost in Germany per year?

Let's calculate it cleanly, without estimates. 3,250 watts times 8,760 operating hours results in 28,470 kilowatt hours per year. At the German household electricity price, which according to Verivox in July 2026 is around 31.1 cents for existing customers and up to about 35 cents for new contracts, this amounts to 8,854 to 9,965 euros in electricity costs per year.

For comparison, the Bitaxe: 17 watts times 8,760 hours is 149 kilowatt hours, i.e., 46 to 52 euros per year. Or in other words: the S19 Pro burns as much electricity in just under two days as the Bitaxe does in an entire year.

An average German four-person household consumes around 4,000 kilowatt hours annually. The S19 Pro alone requires seven times that amount. Anyone who wants to operate it in an apartment also has a connection problem: 3,250 watts of continuous load is not a good idea for a normal 16-amp household line to which something else is connected.

Who has better block chances, Bitaxe Gamma or Antminer S19 Pro?

Here the S19 Pro wins, and significantly. This should not be downplayed. The calculation does not require an estimated network hashrate; it goes directly through the Difficulty.

Expected waiting time for a block equals Difficulty times 2 to the power of 32, divided by your own hashrate. The Difficulty is currently 126.23 trillion (epoch from block 959,616, last retarget minus 0.74 percent, queried live at mempool.space). This results in an implicit network hashrate of around 904 EH/s.

• Bitaxe Gamma 601, 1.3 TH/s: statistically one block in 13,220 years, i.e., an annual chance of 1 in 13,220.
• Antminer S19 Pro, 110 TH/s: statistically one block in 156 years, i.e., an annual chance of 1 in 156.

A factor of 85 in favor of the S19 Pro. If you only look at this one number, you'll buy the Antminer. And with that, you'll make the most expensive mistake you can make in this hobby.

Why does the Bitaxe buy more block chance per euro of electricity cost?

Because computing power is not what you pay for. You pay for electricity. And the S19 Pro requires 191 times the power consumption for its 85 times computing power.

Let's put both devices on the same scale, block chance per year divided by electricity costs per year, calculated at 35 cents per kilowatt hour for both:

Key Figure	Bitaxe Gamma 601	Antminer S19 Pro
Efficiency	13.1 J/TH	29.5 J/TH
Electricity costs per year	52 Euros	9,965 Euros
Block chance per year	1 in 13,220	1 in 156
Block chance per 100 Euros of electricity	1 in 6,890	1 in 15,570

The factor between the two is 2.26. It can be verified in two completely independent ways: once through the cost calculation above, and once through the ratio of efficiencies (29.5 divided by 13.1 equals 2.26). That both ways lead to the same number is no coincidence, but proof that the calculation is correct.

For every euro of electricity spent, you get approximately 2.3 times more block chance with the Bitaxe than with an S19 Pro. This is the figure that is not found in any datasheet.

How loud is an Antminer S19 Pro really in a living room?

The S19 Pro has a manufacturer-specified noise level of 75 dB, generated by four fans. This is not a number that needs to be debated. 75 dB is roughly equivalent to a busy street, right next to you, 24/7, 365 days a year. Added to this are 13.2 kilograms of equipment and an permissible ambient temperature range of 5 to 40 degrees.

And now a correction in our own right. In the May version, it stated that the S19 Pro was "10,000 times louder" than a Bitaxe. Physically, this is correct for sound power, a 40 dB difference corresponds to a factor of 10,000. However, for the human ear it is misleading: we hear logarithmically, 40 dB more is perceived as approximately 16 times as loud. Still a huge difference, but the 10,000 was a marketing number, not a listening experience.

For the Bitaxe itself, we stick to our line from the volume test: For the standard fan, there is no certified dB value in the Bitaxe ecosystem, because the standard measurement according to EN 60704 is simply not carried out for open-source small series. What we can prove is our own measured value for the Noctua cooling upgrade "Low Profile Plus Ice": under 20 dB. If you want a hard number, you should look at this value and not at rounded manufacturer promises.

What does a used Antminer S19 Pro cost in 2026, and is that an argument?

This is where it gets interesting. ASIC Miner Value lists the S19 Pro (110 TH/s) as of July 24, 2026, starting at approximately 253 US dollars, or around 223 euros (conversion derived from the BTC-ECHO BTC currency pair, approx. 0.88 euros per US dollar, exchange rate dependent). The price has crashed because the machine is unprofitable worldwide under current market conditions. The Bitaxe Gamma 601 "Arctic Night" costs 149 euros, which is only about two-thirds of that.

The low purchase price sounds like a bargain. It's a trap. The S19 Pro is cheap because nobody wants to run it anymore. After eight to nine days of continuous operation in Germany, it has consumed its own purchase price in electricity. After that, it costs another 740 to 830 euros every month. A device whose purchase price becomes a rounding difference compared to its operating costs is not a cheap device.

"A miner that has consumed its own purchase price in electricity after eight days is not cheap. It's just cheap to buy."
Dominik Lederer, Founder Polarblocks

What does the comparison with lottery and industrial mining bring?

Because the raw hashrate figures don't answer the actual question, here are the metrics that really count in everyday life. The Antminer column represents the 3,500-watt industrial class, calculated with the proven values of the S19 Pro.

	Bitaxe Gamma 601	Traditional Lottery (Eurojackpot)	Industrial Antminer (3,500W class, here S19 Pro)
Chances of winning per year	1 in 13,220 for a block. Win: 3.125 BTC plus transaction fees, currently around 175,500 euros (exchange rate dependent, as of July 29, 2026). Runs around the clock without you having to do anything.	1 in approximately 1.34 million for the main prize, with one tip for both draws per week (individual chance 1 in 139,838,160, calculated personally). Only valid if you remember to do it every week.	1 in 156, clearly the best raw chance. Bought with an electricity bill that eats up the potential winnings over the years.
Running costs in home office	46 to 52 euros per year, so less than four euros per month. The miner sits next to the monitor and doesn't bother anyone.	Around 270 euros per year for two tips per week at 2 euros each plus about 60 cents processing fee (varies regionally). Costs no electricity, but new money every week.	8,850 to 9,965 euros per year. Plus 75 dB continuous noise and 3,250 watts of connection power, which cannot be sensibly accommodated in any rental apartment.
Drawer risk (boredom factor)	Low. The OLED display shows hashrate and temperature live, the AxeOS dashboard invites checking. You set it up once and still keep looking at it.	High. Nothing happens between draws. The ticket sits in the drawer until it expires.	Very high, but for the opposite reason: it doesn't end up in the basement out of boredom, but because of the electricity bill. Switched off after a few weeks is the norm.
Learning effect & Blockchain fascination to touch	High. Open firmware, own solo pool, own wallet address. You understand difficulty, shares, and coinbase transaction because you see them on your own device.	None. Ticking a number field doesn't explain anything about the mechanics behind it.	Medium. Technically you learn a lot, but the device is a closed industrial machine with manufacturer firmware and belongs in a hall, not next to your desk.

Is the Antminer S19 Pro still worth it for home use in 2026?

No, and not for subjective reasons. With German household electricity, both devices have a negative expected value, but in completely different leagues. The statistical annual yield of the Bitaxe is around 13.27 euros against 46 to 52 euros in electricity costs, resulting in a calculated annual loss of about 39 euros. For the S19 Pro, there is a statistical yield of around 1,123 euros against up to 9,965 euros in electricity, resulting in a loss of around 8,840 euros. The difference is a factor of 230.

39 euros a year is the price of a habit, like a lottery ticket, only quieter and with better odds. 8,840 euros a year is a announced wrong decision. If you want to understand the Bitaxe calculation in detail, you can find it in our expected value analysis.

The S19 Pro still has its place. It's in Texas, in Paraguay, in Ethiopia, wherever the kilowatt-hour costs under four cents. It has no business in a German apartment, and a used price of 223 euros doesn't change that.