If you've put together a machine that you've decided you're going to use for mining Bitcoin, then it's time to move on to the next step and find some software that will allow you to do this. There are plenty of Bitcoin software options available for this purpose, but when you're just getting started you might want to try a free option. By going with free software, you'll be able to figure out how the whole process works at no cost.

The different software available to you will depend on the type of hardware and OS you're running. In this article, you'll find a list of some of the best free Bitcoin mining software, for different types of systems.

1. CGMiner

[macOS/Windows/Linux]

One of the most popular and best-rated software for mining Bitcoin is CGMiner. It's available on Windows, macOS and Linux, making it an extremely versatile option. The software is an open-source project written in C. This is an ASIC/FPGA miner that includes support and binaries for RPi and OpenWrt routers.

CG Miner is filled with great features like overclocking, monitoring, fan speed control, and remote interface capabilities. It can detect new blocks with a mini-database. It also supports binary loading of kernels, multi GPU support, and CPU mining support.

2. EasyMiner

[Windows]

Looking for something a little more user-friendly? EasyMiner is designed to be a free and open-source option that has a GUI-based system. Easyminer is highly optimized for x86, x86-64 machines and supports the getwork mining protocol as well as the Stratum mining protocol. Mining can be used for both solo and pooled mining.

EasyMiner Automatically uses SSE2, AVX, and AVX2 instructions where available. Easyminer is a lightweight mining software, low on CPU and GPU resources depending only on libcurl and jansson.

3. BTCMiner

[Cloud]

If you're in need of cloud-based mining software, you should consider BTCMiner. This system is based on FPGA mining hardware. Once you start mining, you can begin to withdraw your Bitcoin to your wallet, starting at only 0.005 Bitcoin. BTCMiner automatically finds the frequency with the highest hash rate, to achieve the most profitable mining.

4. BFGMiner

[macOS/Windows/Linux]

BFGMiner is a modular ASIC/FPGA miner written in C, featuring dynamic clocking, monitoring, and remote interface capabilities. This software is compatible with FPGA and ASIC mining hardware. When you use BFGMiner, you'll be hash on the most popular mining algorithms like Scrypt and SHA256d. You can even use BFGMiner to mine multiple cryptocurrencies at the same time.

5. Awesome Miner

[Windows/Linux]

Awesome Miner is a complete solution to manage and monitor mining operations. It's scalable up to 200,000 ASIC miners and 25,000 GPU/CPU miners. Manage and monitor GPU miners running on either Windows or Linux. Awesome Miner Remote Agent supports both platforms. This software includes support for over 50 of the most popular mining software. Several hundred cryptocurrencies are included with statistics and revenue information. Full flexibility to add and deploy any custom mining software, algorithm, cryptocurrency, and mining pool.

Display and monitor GPU properties including clock speed, fan speed, power consumption, and temperature. Define actions to take in case a GPU is failing or running too warm.

6. MultiMiner

[macOS/Windows/Linux]

MultiMiner is a desktop application for crypto-coin mining and monitoring on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. MultiMiner simplifies switching individual devices (GPUs, ASICs, FPGAs) between crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin and Litecoin. MultiMiner uses the underlying mining engine (BFGMiner) to detect available mining hardware and then presents an intuitive screen for choosing the coins you'd like to mine.

MultiMiner was designed from day-one to cater to both new miners and power users. From the Getting Started wizard to MultiMiner Remoting, you can be certain you've found the Bitcoin mining software to fit your needs.