PhoenixMiner and TeamRedMiner are two top-tier miners for the Ethash algorithm on AMD GPUs. We compare their performance, dev fees, features, and coin support (Ethereum Classic, ETHW, and others) to determine which miner generates the highest hashrate and profit on AMD GPUs.

🔥 PhoenixMiner – an old favorite for Ethash mining

PhoenixMiner has been a popular choice among miners for several years now. Many have been using it practically since the demise of the legendary Claymore. It’s closed-source software (the source code isn’t published), but PhoenixMiner has earned trust for its stability and speed. They say the “Phoenix” got its name for a reason—like a phoenix, it rose again after Claymore’s demise and continued mining Ethereum. And indeed, the program is fast: the developers claim that in terms of pure Ethash speed, it slightly exceeds Claymore’s previous benchmark by approximately 0.5-1% of the hashrate. A small change, it might seem. However, for a dedicated miner, this is a reason to take a closer look, as every extra megahash is worth its weight in gold.

Features of PhoenixMiner. This multi-platform miner works with both AMD and Nvidia cards, even in mixed mining rigs. It can be installed on Windows or Linux – whichever is more convenient. PhoenixMiner automatically optimizes GPU parameters at startup, making life easier for beginners. The interface is console-based, without a graphical shell – you’ll have to edit batch files, but experienced users will be accustomed to this. Its advantages include convenient statistics right in the window: current share difficulty, effective hashrate on the pool, and, if desired, even estimated income in dollars. Crazy-mining.org notes that PhoenixMiner is considered one of the most effective and user-friendly Ethash miners, widely recognized among miners. This is no surprise: the software is regularly updated to accommodate new drivers and network difficulties, and it runs reliably on different generations of GPUs.

Dev Fee and Profits. PhoenixMiner’s trump card is its super-low developer fee. Devfee is only ~0.65% of Ethash mining output. Essentially, every 90 minutes, the miner only gives the program’s developers about 35 seconds of work—one of the lowest fees in the industry. This is a nice bonus for miners: more of your hashes go to your pocket. Incidentally, antivirus software can sometimes complain about PhoenixMiner (or any miner, for that matter)—this is common. Just remember to download the program only from the official website or reliable resources (for example, crazy-mining.org or cool-mining.org have verified links). Then you can rest assured: it’s a false alarm; Phoenix is ​​simply being identified as hacker software due to its nature as a miner.

Performance on AMD. Historically, PhoenixMiner has performed well on AMD Polaris (RX 470/480/570/580) and Vega cards. It squeezes ~30–32 MH/s out of an RX580 8GB (with optimized overclocking and timings) and around 50 MH/s out of a Vega 64—performance that has become the standard for Ethash. Users have noted high stability: PhoenixMiner doesn’t generate fake hashrate figures, but rather provides realistic values, which is important for a pool. Moreover, accurate results directly impact profits: PhoenixMiner avoids returning expired or invalid shares to maintain your profits. However, some enthusiasts have noted that the hashrate may fluctuate slightly over time. For example, someone on Reddit shared that their PhoenixMiner speed dropped over time (from 95 to 75 MH/s on a multi-GPU rig), and only a restart solved the problem. But this is likely an isolated incident or a problem with a specific PC build. Overall, PhoenixMiner is known for working tirelessly without any significant hiccups: it has Watchdog , a built-in watchdog that restarts the miner or even the system if the GPUs freeze or overheat. So, leaving your rig running PhoenixMiner overnight isn’t a problem—it’ll keep an eye on things.

Additional features. PhoenixMiner supports protocols for all popular Ethash pools and can work with NiceHash. It also features dual mining —the simultaneous mining of two cryptocurrencies: the primary Ethash (ETH/ETC) and the secondary Blake2s algorithm. This means you can simultaneously mine, say, Ethereum and a smaller coin like Decred or Verge (via Blake2s), generating additional income without significantly reducing your primary hashrate. It’s a good way to get the most out of your GPUs, although dual mining will consume slightly more power. PhoenixMiner is also flexible: if you previously configured Claymore Dual Miner, switching to Phoenix is ​​a snap—the command syntax and parameters are very similar. The developers clearly wanted to maintain continuity to lure Claymore’s audience after its demise. And it must be said, they succeeded: PhoenixMiner has become the new standard for Ethereum mining for many until 2022.

🟥 TeamRedMiner – optimized for the “red team”

While PhoenixMiner is a generalist, TeamRedMiner (TRM) is a niche specialist. It’s designed exclusively for AMD graphics cards (it’s no wonder the “Red” part of the name is prominent). Nvidia users are left out—the program simply doesn’t recognize them. However, TeamRedMiner really gets the most out of AMD GPUs. As the saying goes, “tailored for AMD” —and that says it all. Incidentally, TRM was developed by enthusiasts under the pseudonyms todxx and kerney666—they actively communicate on forums and publish versions on GitHub. TRM’s code is, however, partially closed (binaries are available for free, but the fully open source code isn’t available, although a GitHub repository exists for releases). However, miners know and respect them for their constant updates and community support.

Performance and Algorithms. TeamRedMiner’s first claim to fame was its outstanding Ethash speed when working with AMD cards. In 2Miners pool tests, TRM consistently ranked first among Ethash miners for AMD, outperforming its competitors in the number of shares sent. In one such experiment, TRM outperformed its closest competitor by almost 5% in effective hashrate—a significant margin that translates into more profit for the miner. The secret lies in optimization: TeamRedMiner very honestly counts shares and does not inflate its “rated” hashrate. This means that what’s displayed in the console is virtually identical to what’s sent to the pool. For a miner, this is the best praise—no self-deception. Besides Ethash, TRM supports many other algorithms, which it also specializes in: KAWPOW (Ravencoin), ProgPoW (for example, for SERO), Nimiq , Lyra2REv3 , Verthash , and others. This miner is universal in the AMD world: you can switch between different coins without changing the program. This is a slight advantage over PhoenixMiner, which, besides Ethash, only offers a couple of algorithms (Ubqhash, ProgPOW). But TRM is like a Swiss Army knife for red cards.

Dev Fee and nuances. TeamRedMiner’s developer commission varies by algorithm and even by GPU generation. For Ethash, the stated fee is 0.75% for Polaris cards (RX470/480/570/580 family with 4–8 GB) and 1% for all other AMD cards running Ethash . This means that on Ethash, you only give TRM developers one share out of ~100, which is still quite generous. KawPow also has a 1% fee, but for more exotic algorithms like CryptoNight, it’s higher—up to 2–3%. For Ethash, we’re specifically interested in the 0.75–1% range. The difference with PhoenixMiner is negligible—TRM charges about 0.1–0.35% more, which is barely noticeable in practice. In exchange, you potentially get better optimization for your card. Interestingly, TeamRedMiner was the first to implement special modes for 4GB AMD cards, allowing them to mine Ethash longer despite the growing DAG file. TRM 0.7 and higher introduced support for Epoch > 350 on 4GB cards, allowing older Polaris cards to survive longer than expected on Ethereum and Ethereum Classic. PhoenixMiner also implemented a DAG limit bypass, but TRM acted very quickly on this issue. As a result, many miners thanked TeamRedMiner for the “second life” of their RX 570 4GB. Now, however, 4GB cards have finally given up – the DAG has grown too much. But back then, in 2020, this was significant.

Convenience and stability. TeamRedMiner is a no-frills program. No graphical interface—only a console and configuration via batch files. As the saying goes, “nothing personal—just the hashrate .” But TRM itself is very lightweight: it uses minimal resources, produces a clean log, and doesn’t distract. Many note that TRM takes a little longer to start on Ethash (DAG creation can take an extra second), but then it runs like a tank. The miner logs are quite detailed, with statistics typically updated every 30 seconds—you can monitor the speed of each GPU, the shares sent, and more. If a card fails or stops hashing, TRM will detect it and restart the mining stream. In this regard, it’s just as reliable as PhoenixMiner. Some miners even find that TRM crashes less frequently during long, continuous mining sessions. This may be because it’s optimized exclusively for AMD and doesn’t contain any unnecessary code. In any case, it easily handles several days of mining without a reboot.

TeamRedMiner has been found to perform well with modern RDNA and RDNA2 graphics cards (RX 5600/5700 XT, RX 6600/6700 XT, and up to 6800/6900 series). Results are particularly good on Radeon VII and Vega GPUs, where TRM maximizes performance, often slightly outperforming PhoenixMiner in megahashes. For example, on Vega 56, the difference could be +1–2 MH/s in favor of TRM with the same settings, due to optimization for HBM memory. On Polaris GPUs (RX 580 and similar), both miners deliver similar results of ~30 MH/s, although TRM sometimes wins due to more accurate retrace share handling. Overall, if you have a purely AMD rig, many experienced miners recommend TeamRedMiner as “one of the most productive miners for AMD graphics cards . ” It’s no wonder it ranks first among AMD miners on cool-mining.org , ahead of PhoenixMiner and others. This recognition is based on real-world tests and reviews.

⚖️ Hashrate and Fee Race: Who’s Ahead?

Both our heroes—PhoenixMiner and TeamRedMiner—have proven their worth. But who should take the crown on AMD ? Let’s summarize the key parameters in a small table for clarity:

As you can see, the programs are very similar in capabilities . PhoenixMiner excels with its versatility and slightly lower fees, while TeamRedMiner excels with its extreme focus on AMD and its reputation as the leader in hashrate on these cards. It’s not that one is completely superior to the other—rather, each has its own unique advantages.

When should you choose PhoenixMiner? If you have a mixed AMD and Nvidia rig, PhoenixMiner lets you use all your cards in a single miner, which is convenient. It might also appeal to those who value every penny of their commission: 0.65% versus 1% for its competitor—the difference may be small, but it’s there. PhoenixMiner also offers dual mining: if you want to simultaneously mine a second coin, Phoenix Miner offers this option (TRM doesn’t). In general, veterans may have a personal preference for PhoenixMiner: it’s proven, they say, “it mines reliably—why change?” This is a perfectly reasonable approach.

When to choose TeamRedMiner? If you only have an AMD GPU and want to squeeze the maximum hashrate on Ethash, TRM often shows better results on red cards . In some cases, it’s 1-2% more efficient, and performs especially well on modern Radeon RX 6000 series and the iconic Vega cards. TeamRedMiner is also an excellent solution if you mine other algorithms besides Ethash on AMD (for example, Ravencoin). Instead of installing multiple miners, TRM can cover your needs with just one – it’s universally compatible with AMD. Some note that TRM handles long mining sessions more carefully: for example, it recovers better from internet outages or driver glitches. Overall, TeamRedMiner is the choice of enthusiasts who want absolute optimization for AMD hardware, even at the cost of losing support for green cards.

Interestingly, crypto-mining.blog also recommends both options in its guides on mining Ethereum-like forks. A recent article about mining Ethereum Classic on PhoenixMiner emphasizes that it’s one of the fastest Ethash/Etchash miners with a minimum fee of 0.65%. And a review of EthereumPoW (an Ethereum fork) lists several programs, among which PhoenixMiner (for AMD/Nvidia) and TeamRedMiner (for AMD) top the list as the primary tools for mining the new coin. In practice, the community uses both, depending on the situation.

Comparison verdict. Based purely on the numbers , TeamRedMiner slightly outperforms PhoenixMiner in total profitability in most scenarios when mining Ethash on AMD chips , thanks to its slightly higher effective hashrate on the pool. The difference isn’t astronomical: say, your rig could produce ~200 MH/s on Phoenix, but on TRM it would yield ~204 MH/s. But for some, even those 4 MH/s are a joy (especially when the coin’s price rises). So, many would call TeamRedMiner the best Ethash miner for AMD today—and they would be right, in a way. This miner was created “AMD-only” and has achieved success in its field. However, PhoenixMiner shouldn’t be written off—it remains one of the strongest players, with many advantages. Moreover, Ethereum’s transition to PoS has pushed miners to seek new niches, and PhoenixMiner continues to be in demand for Ethereum Classic and other coins where the difference with TRM is often minimal.

A real tip for the reader: try both miners on your specific setup. Cryptomining is a creative endeavor: results can depend on drivers, overclocking, the specific GPU model, and even the mood of your rig. Who knows, maybe PhoenixMiner will perform remarkably well for you? Or, conversely, TeamRedMiner will produce stable hash rates without dips, while Phoenix will require a restart. After all, mining is a constant experiment. The good news is that both tools are free and accessible—download them from official resources ( e.g. , cool-mining.org , crazy-mining.org , or GitHub) and test them out.

💰 Not just Ether: Ethash coins for your AMD

The Ethash algorithm became famous thanks to Ethereum, but other projects are also based on it. This became especially relevant after Ethereum switched to PoS in September 2022 , forcing GPU miners to switch to alternatives. The most obvious is Ethereum Classic (ETC) . Ethereum Classic retained mining and uses a slightly modified Ethash algorithm (effectively a simplified Ethash with a DAG restart). Both our programs, PhoenixMiner and TeamRedMiner, fully support ETC. Moreover, PhoenixMiner version 5.3+ has a special flag -coin etcfor switching to Etchash, and TRM has long been able to work with ETC without problems. After the Ethereum “Merger,” many miners rushed to Ethereum Classic, increasing its difficulty and decreasing profitability, but ETC remains the main coin for Ethash mining on AMD.

Besides ETC, new forks have emerged: for example, EthereumPoW (ETHW) , a forked network that continues the original Ethash. ETHW was initially met with skepticism, but some miners continue to mine it. ETHW is supported by the same programs (PhoenixMiner, TRM, lolMiner, etc.), as the algorithm hasn’t changed. There’s also EthereumFair (ETF) , a lesser-known PoW fork of Ethereum, also mined by Ethash miners, although its value is debatable.

In addition to Ethereum forks, Ethash is also used by older altcoins: Ubiq (UBQ) , a proprietary variant of Ubqhash, Expanse (EXP) , Ellaism (ELLA) , Metaverse ETP , Musicoin (MUSIC) , and several others. Most of these are small and unprofitable today. However, PhoenixMiner explicitly lists support for, for example, UBQ and EXP, and its command preset even includes examples of connecting to their pools. TeamRedMiner is also universally applicable to Ethash alternatives—on the same WoolyPooly, miners have noted that TRM successfully mines MOAC and other Ethash-based forks.

Below is a table with some current (and historical) Ethash/Etchash coins that can be mined on AMD GPUs using PhoenixMiner or TeamRedMiner:

As you can see, after Ethereum’s demise, the choice has narrowed primarily to Ethereum Classic and a couple of new forks. Ethereum Classic (ETC) is the most stable option for Ethash miners: the network has been around for a long time, has value, and a strong community. ETC’s block reward is currently 2.56 ETC, and the difficulty is significantly lower than ETH’s, making it quite profitable to mine, especially on energy-efficient AMD RX 6000 -series GPUs, which are renowned for their low power consumption on Ethash.

It’s important to remember: to receive rewards, you also need a wallet for your coins. For example, when mining ETC, you’ll need an Ethereum Classic address. Take care of this in advance – you can use a hardware wallet (Ledger, Trezor) or reliable software. Crypto-wallets.org publishes reviews of various crypto wallets, where you can find a convenient option for storing ETH, ETC, and other coins. Never mine “to no avail”: a payout address is essential for successful mining.

🤔 Final thoughts

So, PhoenixMiner vs. TeamRedMiner is a worthy rivalry. Both miners are polished and tuned to push your AMD GPU to its limits, delivering a stable hashrate. In pure efficiency terms, TeamRedMiner tips the scales slightly in its favor on all-AMD rigs. For this reason, it’s beloved by advanced miners and ranks at the top of the rankings. But PhoenixMiner is practically neck and neck. Its strengths include versatility (Nvidia support), ultra-low dev fees, and a long track record of reliable operation. It’s no wonder many still use PhoenixMiner for Ethereum Classic and are happy with it—”why fix what ain’t broke?” they say.

You could say this: TeamRedMiner is a specialized AMD racing car, optimized for a single track type, while PhoenixMiner is a mainstream sports car that also races like a champ and also allows you to take other drivers (of different GPUs) on board. Which one you choose depends on your needs and preferences. Some miners even run both : for example, on rigs with different GPUs or for different algorithms.

The world of cryptomining is constantly changing: new software versions, algorithms, and coins are constantly being released. It’s entirely possible that in a year or two, PhoenixMiner 7.0 or TeamRedMiner 1.0 will be released with revolutionary features, and the landscape will change again. So, keep an eye on trusted sites like crypto-mining.blog , cool-mining.org , or forums where the latest miner releases are published. Updated software can sometimes bring a 5-10% hashrate boost or support for new cards—and that translates directly into profit.

In conclusion, I’d like to emphasize: both PhoenixMiner and TeamRedMiner are excellent tools . In the right hands, either one will help you get the most out of your AMD GPUs. Try them out and experience the difference for yourself. After all, the best miner isn’t determined by advertising, but by your own experience . Happy mining and high scores! 🚀

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