Methodology
What we check, where the numbers come from, and what we don't do.
What we compare
Devices and hosts that can run Bitcoin Core. Mining, other coins and custody are out of scope. We list a managed box (Start9, Umbrel) because beginners ask about them.
How we pick
- Storage. An SSD for the chain data. A microSD card is not acceptable.
- RAM. 8GB is enough for a node; 16GB leaves room for an Electrum server.
- Power and noise. It runs 24/7, so idle watts and fan noise matter.
- Total cost. The board plus the SSD, power supply and case it needs.
- VPS. Disk and traffic first. See the VPS math.
Where the numbers come from
- Vendor product and pricing pages, and retailer listings, for specs and prices.
- Published measurements from reviewers for idle power.
- bitcoin.org for bandwidth, and public chain-size trackers for the chain and pruned sizes.
- Community reports for sync time. These are rough ranges; we have no benchmarks of our own.
We do not run a test lab. Prices are ranges, say whether they are list or street prices, and carry the month we checked them; they move, so confirm with the seller. Pages are updated by hand when we notice a change, not on a schedule.
Affiliate links
Some links may become affiliate links; when they are, they are marked next to the link. Verdicts follow the criteria above. Where the best option has no affiliate program, we link to the vendor directly. See the disclaimer.