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After spending 30 hours on research and testing (with our own money) 12 different cloud mining service providers, we found that the IQ Mining is currently the best cloud mining provider with excellent reputation and great offerings. Their packages come with a great strategy of mining altcoins (which is easier) and immediately convert them to BTC to reduce risk. The IQ Mining provides SHA-256, SHA-256 PRO, Ethereum and EQUIHASH contracts with the first payout available the next day after a start. It supports all major fiat payment systems as well as popular cryptocurrencies.

Our pick

IQ Mining

• Beneficial mining contracts with quite affordable prices and bonus system for account holders. Minimum investment is just $17
• Support for SHA-256, SHA-256 PRO, Ethereum, Equihash, while mining contracts can be signed for 1, 2, 5 years or lifetime.
• All the tokens mined are traded for Bitcoins immediately and profit is received in BTC.

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Good news: this article will tell you about the best and most trusted services which let users mine altcoins in the cloud by signing contracts with them and get real profit from this venture.

What is a Cloud Mining

Unlike fiat money which is printed on paper or presented in the form of coins, digital money such as cryptocurrency is generated by means of solving mathematical problems and approving transactions. It can be made only if you have a special set of powerful computer equipment.

Cloud mining is a process of renting CPU power from the distant data centers which run special mining hardware and mining altcoins using it. Cloud mining is also known as hash mining since people pay for ‘hash power’ measured in Gigahertz per second or GH/s. When there are several miners who generate a transaction block to get altcoins as a reward, the volume of hash power plays a very important role since only the first miner to do that will win the prize. At the same time, the service fee for a contract also depends on the volume of hash power ordered the higher it is, the more pricey cloud mining contract there is.

Categories of Cloud Mining

In fact, cloud mining can be of three basic categories:

1. Hosted mining
   It is a process when a person uses a leased machine of one of cloud mining providers and uses this equipment to mine altcoins.
   
2. Virtual Hosted mining
   It is a process when a person uses his own virtual private server with the special software installed.
   
3. Leased hashing power

   It is a process of leasing some portion of the hashing power used by the company (no physical or virtual equipment is required).

Advantages of Cloud Mining

Why do many new and experienced miners avoid buying expensive equipment and use services of cloud mining platforms? The reason for that is multiple benefits guaranteed by cloud mining in comparison with hardware one.

1. The maintenance cost is lower or even can be absent at all
   Electricity costs are much cheaper since you use electricity only to power your computer. There is no need to connect servers and other equipment to the electricity. Moreover, the best cloud mining companies locate their data centers in the countries with cheap electricity costs so you do not pay much too.
   
2. No hardware is required
   When you buy hardware, you must have special skills to install and use it. Moreover, this hardware is exclusive so it may take some time to get it and have it delivered. With cloud mining, it takes only several minutes to start mining.
   
3. Possibility to try different hash rate
   The purchase of the hardware limits you to a certain hash rate and its possible fluctuations. When you use cloud mining services, you can choose between several accounts with different hash rate to get the most profitable solution.
   
4. Maintenance, ventilation, and physical space are out of your obligation
   Hardware mining requires all these factors for a successful operation.
   
5. Daily payouts
   Most of the cloud mining companies pay out altcoins mined or their price on a daily basis.
   
6. Possibility to quit mining if the price for Bitcoin drops greatly
   You do not need to think about what to do with the expensive equipment if BTC value will decrease significantly.
   

8 Trusted Cloud Mining Sites

It is always great to use services of crypto mining platforms which have already deserved the trust of hundreds of users and confirmed their legitimacy. We have compiled a list and provided descriptions of the top 8 best cloud mining websites to consider for mining different altcoins.

1. IQ Mining

Location: London
Launched in: 2016
Contracts: 1, 2, 5 and lifetime (Bronze, Silver, and Gold)
Price (min-max): $17 $76,647
Payment Methods: MasterCard or VISA cards, BTC, ETH, LTC, and other digital currencies.
Coins: 150 (LTC, ETH, XMR, DASH, ZEC)
Minimum Investment: $17

IQ mining is a cloud mining service launched at the end of 2016 which has attracted thousands of miners for 2 years of its existence. It offers beneficial mining contracts with quite affordable prices and bonus system for account holders. In fact, there are three basic accounts on the platform with the hashing power from 500 Gh/s to 500,000 Gh/s. The equipment to be rented is also different including SHA-256, SHA-256 PRO, Ethereum, Equihash, while mining contracts can be signed for 1, 2, 5 years and lifetime. The service has a video presentation showing data centers and an engineer working in the company, but still, there is no accurate information about founders and owners of the platform.

There are multiple altcoins to be mined though Bitcoin is absent among them. At the same time, all the tokens mined are traded for Bitcoins and profit is received in BTC only. The withdrawal process takes up to 24 hours and your profit is delivered directly to the wallet.

2. Hashing24

Location: Dublin
Launched in: 2016
Contracts: open-ended
Price (min-max): $41.90 $3,142.35
Payment Methods: Bitcoins, altcoins, Visa, MasterCard, Bank wire transfer
Coins: Bitcoin
Minimum Investment: $41.90

Hashing24 is a cloud mining service established in 2016 though its creators have been in the mining industry since 2012. This service looks outstanding among others thanks to 100% hash power stability and low maintenance fees and payouts.

The platform has a Demo Mining feature to try mining for free and understand how it works. The platform does not own its own facilities but uses hashing power from one of the industry leaders BitFury company. Unlike other platforms, there are open-ended contracts on Hashing24 which stop working when your account runs out of money and you cannot cover the maintenance fee, which is quite low only 0.00033 USD. There are no set contracts on the platform making it possible to choose a suitable hashing power and payment method. Payouts of your earnings are made on a daily basis. The minimum withdrawal sum is 0.001 BTC.

3. Nuvoo Mining

Location: Canada
Launched in: 2017
Contracts: 4 contracts (Starter, Bronze, Silver, and Gold)
Price (min-max): $66.7 $800
Payment Methods: Visa/Mastercard, Bitcoin, Bank transfer
Coins: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin
Minimum Investment: $66.7

NuVoo is a Canadian company founded in 2017 and based in Quebec. Its data centers are located there too using electricity generated by hydroelectric power stations and taking advantage of HVAC which was specially developed for these facilities and is environmentally friendly and economical. Such an approach allowed the company to offer quite competitive prices in the industry. There are 4 contracts which already include the cost of electricity, hosting, hardware cooling, and maintenance. The hashing power of the Starter account is 621,5 Gh/s, while the maximum hashing power is offered for the owners of the Gold account 7,463.53 Gh/s.

The company offers mining of 3 altcoins using such algorithms as SHA256, Scrypt, and Ethash. No matter what altcoin you mine, all the profit is paid in Bitcoin. The minimum withdrawal amount is 0.002 and it can be processed every day. The service also offers different promotions and bonuses to its miners including 10% bonus for a new miner brought.

NuVoo is a trusted and legit cloud mining service which suggests following the work of its data centers online making its work transparent. Moreover, most of the reviews of miners about this service are positive too.

4. CCG Mining

Location: London
Launched in: 2016
Contracts: 1-year contract and unlimited contract with 4 levels of investment
Price (min-max): $50 $4,389.99
Payment Methods: Bitcoin and Payoneer, T/T, Western Union, Bank cards
Coins: BTC, ETHEREUM, ZCASH, MONERO, DASH, LTC or LBRY
Minimum Investment: $30

CCG mining company has been established in 2017 but has already taken one of the top positions in the mining industry. Its farms are located in 6 countries including Poland, Great Britain, Russia, Latvia, Austria, and the Czech Republic and the website is translated into 27 languages. The company says about low power consumption and plans to build the largest data center in the world.

It is very easy to start mining in CCG even for beginners who can watch a video lesson on this topic. Miners can choose 1-year or lifetime contracts of 3 different types and prices for Bitcoin as well as 2-year contracts for other altcoins. There is also a possibility to reinvest not to lose on the changes in the rate. The daily profit is between 0.007% and 0.6% while the maintenance fee depends on the altcoin mined (BTC 0.00034 USD per 1Gh/s, Dash 0.00037 USD). There is no maintenance fee for mining other altcoins. The platform offers a referral program with bonuses from 3% to 6% and a possibility to reinvest too.

5. Genesis Mining

Location: Iceland
Launched in: 2010
Contracts: open-ended, usually for 2 years (Gold, Platinum, Diamond for Bitcoin)
Price (min-max): $30 $2,399
Payment Methods: Visa, MasterCard, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Dash
Coins: 13 (Bitcoin, LiteCoin, Ethereum, Dash, etc.)
Minimum Investment: $29

When it comes to trusted cloud mining services, Genesis Mining is one of the oldest players in the market launched by two friends interested in cryptocurrency. With the headquarters located in Iceland, its data centers are also placed there thanks to the cheap electricity. The company owns the largest Ethereum mining farm, but it is possible to mine 12 more altcoins there including Bitcoin and Litecoin.

Since the service is quite user-friendly it will take a minimum of time to start mining. It is possible to choose one of the contracts offered or create your own package with the suitable length of the contract and hashing power.

Bitcoin contracts are open-ended and have a maintenance fee of 0.00028 USD per 1GH/s. Other contracts usually last for 2 years and have no maintenance fee. Payouts are usually made on a daily basis in cryptocurrencies available for mining. The minimum payout is 0.0006 BTC.

The cloud mining service is highly trusted by miners and features excellent security. It offers multiple videos from its data centers and has no hidden fees featured by other platforms.

6. Hashflare

Location: Estonia
Launched in: 2015
Contracts: lifetime for Bitcoin, one-year for Dash and Ethereum
Price (min-max): $24 $2,200
Payment Methods: Visa, MasterCard, WebMoney, Bitcoin
Coins: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, Litecoin, Zcash,
Minimum Investment: $24

One of the leading cloud mining platforms, Hashflare, is a subsidiary of another producer of the Bitcoin mining equipment Hashcoins. The data centers of the company are located and maintained in Estonia being 24/7 under surveillance.

The platform offers mining of 5 altcoins which are also payout currencies. Users mine altcoins using such algorithms as SHA-256 and Scrypt, Ethash, X11, Equihash. The contract offered for Bitcoin and LiteCoin are open-ended with the daily maintenance fee of 0.00035 USD per 1 GH/s. The contract runs until your account can cover the maintenance fee, however, it can be resumed within 21 days to continue mining. Other contracts do not require paying maintenance fee separately and have 1-year contracts. The hashing power on Hashflare can reach 100 Mh/s, while the minimum breakeven is estimated at 249 days.

The platform offers daily payouts in the altcoins mined. The payout minimum is 0.0007 BTC.

7. Bitcoin Pool

Location: Global network
Launched in: 2014
Contracts: 6 months, 1, 2 years
Price (min-max): $5.99 $84,784.30
Payment Methods: Credit and debit cards, Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Core, bank transfers
Coins: BCH, BTC
Minimum Investment: $5.99

Being a creation of the established company, Bitcoin Pool has an extensive network of data centers located all around the world. The company boasts the highest Pay Per Share pool with a reward of 98%. The platform suggests mining two popular coins Bitcoin Cash (BCH) or Bitcoin Core (BTC) and even do that from your mobile phone thanks to the professional app designed.

The platform offers three basic contracts for 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. The daily fee which covers electricity and maintenance is $0.14 and $0.20. The initial cost of the contract depends on the altcoin chosen and hashing power ordered. It is considered to be the most reputable platform for mining Bitcoin Cash.

8. Eobot

Location: California
Launched in: 2013
Contracts: 24 hours and 10 years, 2 contracts
Price (min-max): $1 $70,000
Payment Methods: Visa, Mastercard, Bitcoin
Coins: 20 (Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Dash, Litecoin)
Minimum Investment: 0.0005 BTC/0.001 LTC

Eobot is a trusted cloud mining platform established in 2013 in the USA. It offers 20 different altcoins for mining including the most popular cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. Every altcoin from the list has its minimum amount for a deposit, so it is very important to check it before sending money.

The platform offers two types of equipment: SHA-256 5.0 and SHA-256 6.0. The mining breakeven period for the first machine is 19.58 months and for the second machine 24.51 months. The contracts are offered for 24 hours and 10 years and their cost depends on the hashing power and cryptocurrency mined. You can receive payouts every day with a minimum of 0.01 BTC for Bitcoin. The mining process can be followed from the mobile application too.

Is Cloud Mining Profitable?

Is cloud mining worth it? It goes without saying that cloud mining brings about profit. Who will invest money and buy online contracts if it does not provide any benefit in addition to the money return. It is natural that miners will earn money only in some time since their first goal is to receive their investment in hash power back. Every service has its own standard period of getting payback. Usually, it takes from 12 to 16 months to return the investment and start getting profit over it.

In general, the return time can be shorter in two cases. Firstly, if you invest bigger sums of money on a monthly basis, you will be able to get a payback faster. Secondly, if the price for Bitcoin goes up, the revenue will increase too.

How to Avoid Cloud Mining Scam

Scams in the blockchain industry have become more often. It is not a rarity to see how scammers use an ICO to open their own mining company, attract investors, and take all their money leaving them without earnings. Unfortunately, history has seen and still does dozens of such frauds, so it is very important to consider several points about the cloud mining platform before you transfer any money to its accounts. When you have doubts about how legit one or another cloud mining service is, consider the following information:

1. Photos of data centers
   A company which offers cloud mining contracts cannot operate without powerful and spacious data centers. It means that their photos must be available on the official website. Moreover, trusted companies always indicate the location and addresses of such data centers.
   
2. Mining addresses
   Every mining company has a Blockchain address or at least a signed mined block to be verified in the system.
   
3. Unlimited hash power for minimum money
   None of the companies will work at a loss, so it is impossible to provide high processing power for very little money. If a company says about unlimited hashing power for the cheapest price, it is the first sign of the scam.
   
4. Money withdrawal is impossible
   It often happens that cloud mining services have their withdrawal limited (both minimum and maximum). If you have reached this minimum but still cannot withdraw your earnings, it is one of the signs of a scam.
   
5. Domain contact details are hidden
   Companies which try to prove their trustworthiness always provide as much contact information as possible. Private domain registration and a minimum of contact information which is also unanswered are true evidence of fraud.
   
6. Reviews and feedback
   It is always advisable to ask for advice in the crypto communities or read some reviews of the cloud mining services before you make your final decision. They can open you some secrets which cannot be spotted at first sight.
   
7. Activity on social media websites
   Usually, scammers do not pay much attention to the company pages in social networks. However, there are scam companies which try to attract more investors in this way and post fabricated content. You can check this content pasting it in the search engine and finding the original sources.
   
8. Free trial
   There is hardly any hash power provider which will waste its hash pose for free. Any promises of free trials are features of the services which should not be trusted.
   

Conclusion

Cloud mining is a great alternative to hardware mining. It has a number of benefits but the choice of the cloud mining platform is a very responsible task. We have suggested the top 8 best and most trusted services where even beginners can mine their altcoins without much effort. Now it is your time to make your choice and start earning on crypto mining too.