---
sidebar_position: 1
title: How providers earn on Subnet 51
description: Two reward streams, paid daily, in alpha — the 30-second answer to "how much will I earn?"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.lium.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How providers earn on Subnet 51

Providers on Subnet 51 earn in two parallel streams: rental fees (paid by renters for using your GPUs) and subnet emission (distributed by Bittensor validators). Both streams are paid daily in alpha tokens to your coldkey, with a  delay. For live numbers, see <a href={links.calculator}>the rewards calculator</a>.

## The 30-second answer

- **Rental fees**: You earn a share of every USD that renters pay to use your GPUs. A renter pays hourly; you receive your share daily.
- **Subnet emission**: Bittensor emits {protocol.provider_emission_share_pct}% of every epoch's TAO to Subnet 51 providers. Validators distribute this to providers based on their scoring algorithm and rental activity.
- **Daily rhythm**: The backend processes payouts once per day, converting both streams to alpha tokens and transferring to your coldkey address on-chain.

## Worked example

Suppose you operate 8×H100 GPUs priced at $1.26/GPU/hour with typical rental utilization:

- **Rental income** (typical daily usage): ~$193 daily in USD → you receive your share (via <a href={links.calculator}>the calculator</a> for current fee split)
- **Emission income** (estimated): ~45–90 α per day (varies with validator score and total subnet activity)
- **Total daily**: Roughly $140–$250 equivalent in alpha tokens, paid to your coldkey with a  delay

**Note:** This is illustrative. For current numbers, use the <a href={links.calculator}>Rewards Calculator</a>, which queries live Subnet 51 scores and rental rates.

## Two-stream diagram

```mermaid
graph LR
    Renter["Renter"]
    Backend["Lium<br/>Backend"]
    ProviderColdkey["Your<br/>Coldkey<br/>(Alpha)"]
    
    Emission["Bittensor<br/>Emission<br/>(TAO/epoch)"]
    Validator["Subnet 51<br/>Validators<br/>(Yuma)"]
    Weights["Your Validator<br/>Weight<br/>(Score)"]
    
    Renter -->|"Pays USD<br/>per hour"| Backend
    Backend -->|"Fee split"| ProviderColdkey
    
    Emission -->|"Provider share<br/>per epoch"| Validator
    Validator -->|"Weights"| Weights
    Weights -->|"Alpha"| ProviderColdkey
    
    style ProviderColdkey fill:#90EE90
    style Emission fill:#87CEEB
    style Validator fill:#87CEEB
```

## Next steps

- **[Rental Fees](./rental-fees.mdx)** — How your share is calculated, where the money comes from, and when it's withheld
- **[Subnet Emission](./emission.mdx)** — How Bittensor's per-tempo emission flows to providers, and how the burn-vs-rental split works
- **[Rewards Calculator](./calculator.mdx)** — Interactive tool with every input explained
- **[Getting Paid](./payouts.mdx)** — When you receive alpha, how to unstake, and current feature-flag state
- **[FAQ](./faq.mdx)** — The seven most-asked questions answered with source links