How delegation works
- Wallet Most current self-custody Cardano wallets support delegation. Connect one above or delegate directly inside your wallet app.
- Pool Small pools mint blocks less often, so their rewards vary more from epoch to epoch. Compare performance, fees, pledge and saturation before choosing.
- Sign One transaction with a small fee. If your stake key is new, it also includes a refundable stake key deposit.
- Rewards Your delegation becomes active in the epoch after next. If the pool mints blocks, first rewards arrive about 15 to 20 days later and are paid every epoch after that. Rewards compound automatically.
Your ada stays in your wallet and remains spendable at any time. There is no lock-up, and you can switch pools whenever you like.
How staking secures the network · Stake snapshot · Rewards · Pool saturation · Minimum pool cost
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Most wallets can delegate on their own. Find a wallet · More tools
Try our staking calculator to see how much ada you could be rewarded for delegating to a stake pool.
FAQ
Stake pools are run by stake pool operators. These are network participants with the skills to reliably ensure consistent uptime of a node, which is essential in ensuring the success of the Ouroboros protocol and the Cardano network as a whole.
Delegated stake can be re-delegated to another pool at any time. Re-delegated stake will remain in the current pool until the epoch after next (from the point of re-delegation), after which your delegation preferences will be updated on the chain and your stake moved to the new stake pool. Rewards are distributed from the end of each epoch, so you'll continue to receive rewards from your original stake pool for two epochs before your new delegation preferences are applied.
About 15 to 20 days after you delegate, provided the pool mints blocks. If you delegate in epoch N, your stake is counted in the snapshot at the start of epoch N+1, becomes active in epoch N+2, the rewards for that epoch are calculated during N+3 and paid at the start of N+4. From then on rewards arrive every epoch and are automatically part of your delegated stake.
Since the Plomin hard fork, staking rewards can only be withdrawn once your stake key also has an active vote delegation. You can delegate to a DRep, or choose abstain or no confidence, on the vote delegation page. Rewards keep accumulating either way.
Some wallets offer different solutions for delegating to different stake pools at the same time. Discover wallets.
The performance metric is an indicator of how well a stake pool is performing. Considering that the slot leader election process is private, it is only possible to estimate how often the stake pool should be elected based on the number of actually produced blocks. A pool can be nominated more often than expected based on its stake. For example, if a pool only produces half the number of blocks that it was nominated for, its performance rating is 50%. This could happen because the pool has a poor network connection, or has been turned off by its operator.
Performance ratings make more sense over a longer period of time. If a pool has not yet been selected to produce a block in the current epoch, its performance rating will be 0%, even if it is likely to produce blocks later in the epoch. Performance ratings of over 100% are possible if a pool creates more blocks than it was nominated to produce.
Saturation is a term used to indicate that a particular stake pool has more stake delegated to it than is ideal for the network, and once a pool reaches the point of saturation it will offer diminishing rewards. The saturation mechanism was designed to prevent centralization by encouraging delegators to delegate to different stake pools, and operators to set up alternative pools so that they can continue earning maximum rewards. Saturation, therefore, exists to preserve the interests of both ada holders delegating their stake and stake pool operators.
The goal is to avoid any single pool becoming too large – thereby disincentivizing delegation to other pools – and receiving a disproportionate amount of the rewards. The health of the network is partly determined by having a high number of active stake pools with a balanced amount of stake delegated to them. The more numerous and geographically diverse the network's pools, the better. Each stake pool's saturation percentage is shown within the Daedalus stake pool selection menu.
Choosing a stake pool involves several factors to consider to ensure you make a well-informed decision. So-called pool tools can help you choose a stake pool. Points to consider:
Performance: Look at the pool's historical performance, which reflects its success rate in producing blocks. A consistently high performance is a good indicator of the pool's reliability and effective operation.
Uptime: Ensure the pool has high uptime. This means the pool's servers are running without interruption, increasing the chances of being selected to produce a block.
Margin Fees: Stake pools charge a percentage fee on the rewards earned. Lower fees can mean more rewards, but consider the balance between low fees and high pool performance.
Fixed Fees: There is often a minimum fixed fee (set by the protocol) that pools will charge. Check what fixed fee the pool charges.
Saturation Point: A pool becomes saturated when it has more stake than an optimal amount set by the protocol. Staking with a saturated pool can decrease your rewards, so it's advisable to choose a pool below this threshold.
Pledge: Operators commit some of their own ada to their pool. A pool that does not meet its declared pledge earns no rewards for that epoch.
Community Engagement: Look for pools that actively engage with the Cardano community. This can be through educational content, community support, or contributions to the Cardano ecosystem.
Mission-Driven Pools: Some pools donate a portion of their fees to charitable causes or are dedicated to specific missions like environmental sustainability or education. If this aligns with your values, it might influence your choice.
You can use the rewards calculator to get an idea of how much you will earn in rewards. It's important to note that the calculator produces only reward estimates and shouldn't be considered definitive or a guarantee of reward amounts. In the future, we will likely test different parameters that may affect reward margins. Amounts calculated are therefore subject to change, but represent a realistic and sensible level of return.
There are various wallets to choose from. Please make sure that you only download wallets from trustworthy sites. Discover wallets.
Yes. Rewards earned accrue with your original stake. When rewards are received, the balance of your reward account increases – and, consequently, the delegated stake is increased.
Test what you learned
Test what you know about delegating ada, epochs, stake pools, and rewards.