Pay Per Share (PPS) is a mining pool payout scheme that prices each accepted share by the expected value of its work. Basic PPS generally covers the block subsidy; the variant and operator determine transaction-fee inclusion and withdrawal rules.
The pool accepts demonstrated work and credits its agreed value even when it has not just found a block. PPS reallocates income and risk between miner and operator; it increases neither ASIC performance nor the success probability of the same hash. A credited claim is not a new bitcoin created by every share. [Rosenfeld — Pay-per-share and pool reserves]
A share meets the easier pool target; only some also meet the network target. With variable difficulty, work must be weighted by share difficulty. Two shares with different targets may therefore have different prices. Distinguish accepted shares from submitted, rejected, duplicate or late ones; the published pool rules determine treatment. [Rosenfeld — Pay-per-share and pool reserves] [Braiins — Share difficulty]
In a simple model using the same difficulty convention, a share’s expected basic value is approximately B × d / D: B is the block subsidy, d the share difficulty and D the network difficulty. The pool then applies its fee. For illustration, B=3.125 BTC and d/D=0.000001 give 312.5 sat before fees; this is neither a current offer nor a network-wide constant. [Rosenfeld — Pay-per-share and pool reserves]
During a long period without a discovery, the operator may owe more than it has just mined. It needs capital and reserve management; a lower fee alone does not prove a better service. Rosenfeld’s model relates fees, reserves and bankruptcy risk. A PPS promise is not a protocol guarantee of payment if the operator fails. [Rosenfeld — Pay-per-share and pool reserves]
Basic PPS prices the subsidy. Full Pay Per Share (FPPS) adds a modeled share of transaction fees; Pay Per Share Plus (PPS+) typically combines PPS subsidy payments with PPLNS distribution of actual fees. The fee component of PPS+ can therefore still depend on pool luck. A plus sign alone does not establish a particular service’s method. [F2Pool — PPS, PPLNS, FPPS and PPS+]
Higher network difficulty reduces payment for the same work; a halving changes the subsidy. FPPS also changes with the fee estimate’s chosen period and filter. Luxor, for example, describes its own filtered calculation rather than a universal FPPS rule. A consistent method means neither constant daily BTC, a fixed exchange rate nor guaranteed profit after electricity. [Luxor — Revenue and payments]
A pool balance awaits withdrawal rules: threshold, schedule, payout fee and the correct destination wallet. On-chain and Lightning payments have different delivery checks. Restoring your own wallet from a seed does not restore access to the pool account. Compare a paid status with the received payment, not merely the earnings dashboard. [Braiins — Rewards and payout rules]
Over the same period, compare accepted weighted work, the rate basis, transaction fees, deductions, rejected shares and the amount actually received. Separate work revenue from costs and exchange-rate changes. PPS limits one source of variation, but pool availability, solvency, withdrawal terms and operating costs remain separate considerations. [Rosenfeld — Pay-per-share and pool reserves] [Luxor — Revenue and payments] [Braiins — Rewards and payout rules]
For the clearest picture, read this entry together with Mining Pool, Mining Share, Full Pay Per Share, Pay Per Last N Shares, Pool Fee, Payout threshold. The reverse links also lead from Mining Pool, Solo Mining, Pay Per Last N Shares, Pool Fee.