The short answer
At the rate of October 28, 2026, most RTX 40 and RTX 50 cards earn back their launch price in about 6–9 months of round-the-clock mining, including electricity at $0.10 per kWh. The fastest are the RTX 5070, RTX 4070 SUPER and RTX 5070 Ti. But this is a calculation, not a guarantee: if the coin price halves, the payback period roughly doubles.
How to calculate payback
Payback is the price of the card divided by its net profit per month:
payback period = price ÷ (monthly income − monthly electricity cost)
Example: the RTX 4060 has an NVIDIA launch price of $299, earns $45.63 a month and draws 115 W — about 83 kWh a month, or $8.28 at $0.10 per kWh. The net profit is $37.35, so the card pays for itself in about 8.0 months.
If you count income only, without electricity, it comes to 197 days — a fair figure for people whose computer is on all day anyway and who only pay for the extra consumption.
Payback table for RTX 40 and RTX 50
Prices are NVIDIA’s launch prices (MSRP) in US dollars. Income, profit and payback by income are recalculated at the current rate when you open the page; the “With electricity” column is calculated at the rate of October 28, 2026.
| Graphics card | Price (MSRP) | Income / mo | Profit at $0.10 | Pays off by income, days | With electricity, months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 5090 | $1,999 | $295.83 | $254.58 | 203 | 7.9 |
| RTX 5080 | $999 | $167.79 | $141.87 | 179 | 7.0 |
| RTX 5070 Ti | $749 | $130.99 | $109.39 | 172 | 6.8 |
| RTX 5070 | $549 | $100.08 | $82.08 | 165 | 6.7 |
| RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB | $429 | $64.76 | $51.80 | 199 | 8.3 |
| RTX 5060 | $299 | $52.99 | $42.55 | 170 | 7.0 |
| RTX 5050 | $249 | $38.27 | $28.91 | 196 | 8.6 |
| RTX 4090 | $1,599 | $232.55 | $200.79 | 207 | 8.0 |
| RTX 4080 SUPER | $999 | $151.60 | $132.73 | 198 | 7.5 |
| RTX 4070 Ti SUPER | $799 | $121.42 | $104.50 | 198 | 7.6 |
| RTX 4070 SUPER | $599 | $103.03 | $88.63 | 175 | 6.8 |
| RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB | $399 | $57.40 | $47.32 | 209 | 8.4 |
| RTX 4060 | $299 | $45.63 | $37.35 | 197 | 8.0 |
Real store prices are often higher than launch prices, especially for the RTX 5090 and RTX 4090 — plug your own price into the formula above. Check your model’s income in the mining calculator.
If you already own the card
Then the payback question looks different. You bought the card for gaming, work or AI, and it sits in your computer either way. Mining during the hours you don’t use it is a discount on a purchase you have already made: every month it returns part of the price.
For example, the RTX 4070 SUPER makes $88.63 net a month at $0.10 per kWh. Even if you mine only at night and while you are at work — two thirds of the day — over a year it adds up to roughly the price of a new graphics card.
Used graphics cards: do they pay off faster?
The cheaper the card, the faster it pays off. Used cards from previous generations cost noticeably less than new ones and still mine:
- RTX 3060 12 GB: bought for $180, it pays off by income in about 147 days at $36.80 a month;
- RTX 3080 10 GB: at $300, in about 115 days at $78.74 a month — but it draws 304 W, so it is sensitive to your electricity rate.
These prices are only examples — use the ones you see in listings. The downsides of used cards: there is usually no warranty, and the fans and thermal pads may be worn. Before buying, test the card under load and check the temperatures — we explain what to look for in “Does mining damage your GPU?”.
What makes the payback period longer
- A falling coin price. Income is credited in cryptocurrency: if the price drops, the payback period grows by the same factor.
- Rising network difficulty. The more miners there are, the smaller the reward for each TH/s — more in “What is hashrate”.
- Expensive electricity. At $0.20 per kWh instead of $0.10, the payback period of power-hungry cards grows noticeably.
- Store markup. A price above MSRP means the same income but a longer payback.
- Part-time mining. If the card mines 8 hours a day instead of 24, the payback period triples.
- Overheating. In a hot room or a cramped case the card throttles and earns less.
How to pay off a graphics card faster
- Mine whenever you are not gaming: at night, during working hours, on holiday.
- Lower the Power Limit: power draw falls faster than hashrate, so profit goes up — see “GPU overclocking”.
- Use an off-peak tariff if your meter supports it.
- In winter, use the computer’s heat instead of a heater — “Your PC as a space heater”.
- Turn on CPU mining too — it adds up to $25+ a month: “CPU mining”.
- Keep an eye on cooling and clean the dust out of your computer.
Should you buy a graphics card for mining
The honest answer: buy a card you need yourself and treat mining as a way to get part of the money back. Buying a graphics card on credit or with your last money and counting on the payback is a bad idea: the coin price can fall, and then you will be repaying the loan out of your own pocket.
If you are choosing a card with mining in mind, look not only at income but at efficiency — income per watt. The ranking by these metrics is in “Best GPUs for mining”.
Bottom line
At the current rate and launch prices, RTX 40 and RTX 50 cards pay for themselves in about 6–9 months of round-the-clock mining including electricity, and used cards from previous generations even faster. This is not a promise: the period depends on the coin price, network difficulty and your electricity rate. If you already own the card, mining is a simple way to earn back part of its cost while it would otherwise sit idle.
How much will your PC earn?
Pick your GPU and CPU in the calculator — it estimates income and profit at your electricity rate.