How DePINly estimates Filecoin Storage Provider profitability. Last verified 2026-05-22.
TL;DR
Honest reality: Filecoin is not retail-friendly in 2026. Minimum viable scale is ~100 TiB on datacenter-grade hardware. Hobby tier (1-10 TiB) is almost never profitable once pledge collateral, electricity and block-reward dilution are counted. The calculator exists to give that honest answer — even when the answer is "this won't work for you."
Earning mechanics
- Block rewards scale with Quality-Adjusted Power (QAP), not raw bytes.
- FIL+ DataCap applies a ~10× QAP multiplier (only with notary-verified deals).
- Pledge collateral (~5.4 FIL/TiB) is locked capital — not a cost, but it immobilizes FIL.
- Net = block rewards − electricity − amortized hardware; collateral shown separately.
Formula (sketch)
filPerMonth ≈ TiB × BASE_FIL_PER_TIB_MONTH(0.1) × (FIL+ ? 10 : 1) × yourShareOfQAP
net = filPerMonth × FIL_price − (TiB × 5W × hrs × $/kWh) − hwAmort
pledge = TiB × 5.4 FIL (locked)
Assumptions & confidence
| Assumption | Basis | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| ~0.1 FIL/TiB/mo committed capacity | filfox/spacegap, audit 2026-05-21 | 🟡 ESTIMATE |
| FIL+ 10× QAP | Filecoin spec | 🟢 |
| Pledge ~5.4 FIL/TiB | network state (filfox) | 🟡 |
| ~5 W/TiB | modern HDD SP estimate | 🟡 |
NOT modeled
Deal-making revenue beyond block rewards, sector sealing capex, network QAP growth, FIL price volatility. Highly state-dependent — recalibrate quarterly.
Confidence rating
🟡 — Model and mechanics are sound and deliberately honest about unprofitability; absolute FIL/TiB and pledge are network-state estimates. Hobby tier flagged as net-negative.
Sources (verified 2026-05-22)
Filecoin network stats (filfox, spacegap) · r/filecoin & Discord SP reports · Lotus/Venus docs · CoinGecko (filecoin).
Code
src/lib/calculators/filecoin-rewards.ts · src/components/calculators/filecoin/FilecoinCalculator.tsx · src/app/calculate/filecoin/page.tsx
These figures are point estimates inside a wide band and depend on local demand, hardware, uptime and token price. They may be wrong in either direction. Nothing here is financial advice — always do your own research.
Methodology updated 2026-05-22 · View source on GitHub →