Zcash vs Monero: Privacy, Mining and Supply Compared
Zcash vs Monero comes down to one design choice. Monero (XMR) hides the sender, receiver and amount of every transaction by default. Zcash (ZEC) can hide all three with zero-knowledge proofs, but only when users choose shielded addresses; its transparent addresses are public like Bitcoin. The two also differ on mining, block time and supply: Monero is mined on CPUs and has an ongoing tail emission, while Zcash has a fixed cap of 21 million coins.
Key takeaways
- Monero: privacy is mandatory for everyone, built from ring signatures, stealth addresses and hidden amounts.
- Zcash: privacy is optional, built from zk-SNARKs. Shielded transactions are private; transparent ones are not.
- Pick Monero if you want privacy without having to configure it. Pick Zcash if you want the choice between public and private funds.
Zcash vs Monero at a glance
| Monero (XMR) | Zcash (ZEC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy | On for every transaction | Optional: shielded or transparent |
| Hides sender with | Ring signatures (16 members since August 2022) | zk-SNARKs in shielded transactions |
| Hides receiver with | Stealth (one-time) addresses | zk-SNARKs in shielded transactions |
| Hides amount with | RingCT, mandatory since September 2017 | zk-SNARKs in shielded transactions |
| Trusted setup | Not applicable: Monero does not use zk-SNARKs | Older Sprout and Sapling pools used one; the Orchard pool (NU5) does not |
| Proof of work | RandomX, optimized for CPUs | Equihash, a memory-hard algorithm |
| Target block time | About 2 minutes | 75 seconds (since the Blossom upgrade, December 2019) |
| Supply | Tail emission of 0.6 XMR per block since May 2022, no hard cap | Fixed at 21 million ZEC |
| Selective disclosure | Private view key shows incoming payments | Viewing keys, including unified viewing keys (ZIP 316) |
Every row above comes from the projects’ own documentation, checked on October 9, 2026.
How does Monero privacy work?
Monero stacks three techniques on every transaction. Ring signatures sign each input together with decoy outputs taken from the blockchain, and the Monero Project says an outside observer cannot tell which signer is real. Stealth addresses make the sender create a one-time address for each payment, so the receiver’s public address never appears on the chain. RingCT hides the amount.
Because these are not optional, every Monero transaction looks alike. There is no public subset of transactions to compare against. Our guide to privacy coins explains each technique in more detail.
How does Zcash privacy work?
Zcash describes itself as the first practical application of zk-SNARKs, a kind of zero-knowledge proof. In a shielded transaction, the network verifies the proof without seeing the sender, receiver or amount. In a transparent transaction, those details are public, just as they are on Bitcoin. The Zcash project lets each user choose.
Zcash’s original shielded pools, Sprout and Sapling, rely on the Groth16 proving system, which needed a trusted setup. The Orchard pool, introduced with Network Upgrade 5, uses Halo 2, which does not require one, so funds held in Orchard do not depend on a setup ceremony.
Is Monero or Zcash more private?
For a shielded-to-shielded Zcash payment, the sender, receiver and amount are all hidden, which matches Monero on those three points. The difference is in practice. On Monero you cannot send a public transaction even by mistake. On Zcash, privacy depends on the sender and receiver both using shielded addresses, and any funds that move through transparent addresses are visible.
So the answer depends on the user. Monero gives everyone the same protection with no setup. Zcash can give equally strong protection to people who use shielded addresses consistently.
Mining: Monero vs Zcash
Monero uses RandomX, which the Monero Project describes as optimized for CPUs and ASIC resistant, so a home computer can take part. Our step by step guide covers how to mine Monero with XMRig and P2Pool. Zcash uses Equihash, which the Zcash protocol specification describes as a memory-hard proof-of-work algorithm. Zcash also produces blocks faster, every 75 seconds against Monero’s roughly 2 minutes.
Supply: tail emission vs fixed cap
Zcash has a fixed total supply of 21 million ZEC, the same cap as Bitcoin. Monero took a different path. Its block reward stopped falling at the end of May 2022 and now stays at 0.6 XMR per block, a tail emission that continues indefinitely.
Exchange access and wallets
Both coins face pressure from exchanges. The Block reported that Binance delisted Monero on February 20, 2024. Check that you can withdraw to your own wallet before you buy either coin. For Monero, the official GUI and CLI wallets plus several community and hardware wallets are covered in our Monero wallet guide. For other options, see our list of the best privacy coins.
FAQ
Is Zcash more private than Monero?
Only when it is used with shielded addresses on both sides. A shielded Zcash payment hides the sender, receiver and amount, as Monero does. Monero applies that privacy to every transaction automatically, while Zcash leaves transparent transactions public.
Does Monero have a maximum supply?
No. Monero’s block reward reached its tail emission at the end of May 2022 and stays at 0.6 XMR per block indefinitely. Zcash, by contrast, has a fixed cap of 21 million ZEC.
Does Zcash still need a trusted setup?
Not for its newest shielded pool. Orchard, introduced with Network Upgrade 5, uses the Halo 2 proving system, which does not need a trusted setup. The older Sprout and Sapling pools used one.
Can I mine Zcash with a CPU like Monero?
Monero’s RandomX is designed for CPUs. Zcash uses Equihash, a different memory-hard algorithm, so a CPU guide for Monero does not carry over. Check current Zcash mining software before buying hardware.
Which is faster, Zcash or Monero?
Zcash targets a block every 75 seconds. Monero adds a block about every 2 minutes.
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