Bitmain builds two families of mining container, and they are not rivals so much as answers to different scales. The Antbox is air-cooled, mobile, and plug-and-play, sized at 658 kW in a 20-foot box. The Antspace is hydro-cooled and built for facility scale, running 1 to 1.5 MW with a cooling tower and a far better efficiency rating. Pick the Antbox for flexibility, the Antspace for density.
They sit on opposite ends of the same lineup, which Bitmain designed deliberately. As the spec sheet on the hydro unit puts it:“The Antspace HK3 is the hydro counterpart to the air-cooled Antbox N5.”
- MillionMiner
If you are new to containers, start with the pillar guide on what a Bitcoin mining container is. This piece assumes you know the basics and just want to choose between Bitmain’s two lines.
They sit on opposite ends of the same lineup, which Bitmain designed deliberately. As the spec sheet on the hydro unit puts it:“The Antspace HK3 is the hydro counterpart to the air-cooled Antbox N5.”
- MillionMiner
If you are new to containers, start with the pillar guide on what a Bitcoin mining container is. This piece assumes you know the basics and just want to choose between Bitmain’s two lines.
The short answer, side by side
The split comes down to cooling, and everything else follows from it. Air cooling keeps the Antbox simple and portable but limits density. Hydro cooling lets the Antspace pack more miners at higher power with far less cooling overhead, at the cost of needing water, a cooling tower, and a fixed foundation.
The headline numbers tell the story: the hydro Antspace HK3 fits roughly 1.6 times the miners at 1.5 times the power of the air-cooled Antbox N5, and runs at a PUE near 1.03 against 1.10 to 1.25 for air. That efficiency gap is the whole argument for hydro at scale.
Antbox: air-cooled and mobile
The Antbox is the simpler machine, and that is the point. It cools with forced-air fans, needs no water or cooling tower, and arrives ready to energize. You can put it on a truck and move it, which makes it the natural fit for smaller or temporary sites.
The current Antbox N5 holds 180 to 205 air-cooled miners at 658 kW in a 20-foot footprint, with forced-air ventilation and, on the V2, a security camera, facial recognition, and improved insulation. Three of them run off a single 2,500 kVA transformer.
- Best for: smaller operations, sites without easy water access, and anyone who values mobility or a fast, simple deployment.
- Cooling: air, forced-air fans. No cooling tower, no water loop.
- Capacity: 658 kW, 180 to 205 miners, 20-foot mobile container.
- The catch: lower density and a higher PUE than hydro, so it costs more to cool per unit of hashrate at large scale.
Antspace: hydro and built to scale
The Antspace is the industrial answer. It cools miners with a closed liquid loop and an external cooling tower, which removes heat far more efficiently than fans and lets the container run many more machines in the same space. The trade is infrastructure: water, a cooling tower, and a foundation that can carry the load.
The line scales up in steps. The Antspace HK3 runs 210 hydro miners at about 1 MW from a 20-foot container plus cooling tower. The 40-foot HW5 and HW7 push to 1.2 MW, and the HD5 reaches 308 miners at 1.5 MW. All of them pair with Bitmain’s hydro Antminers and the Antrack V1 rack.
- Best for: large fixed operations chasing maximum density and the lowest cooling overhead, with water and a prepared site.
- Cooling: hydro, a liquid loop and external cooling tower. PUE around 1.03.
- Capacity: 1.0 to 1.5 MW, 210 to 308 miners, 20 or 40-foot units.
- The catch: it needs water, a cooling tower, and a foundation, and hydro miners cost more than their air-cooled equivalents.
Ready to Start Mining?
Free worldwide DDP shipping. Professional hosting from $0.055/kWh.
How to choose between them
Four questions settle it.
- How big is the site? Sub-megawatt or flexible, lean Antbox. A megawatt or more on a fixed pad, lean Antspace.
- Do you have water? Hydro needs a reliable water source and a cooling tower. No water, no Antspace.
- Will it move? If you need to relocate with cheap or seasonal power, the Antbox is mobile. The Antspace is meant to stay put.
- What is your efficiency target? At scale, the Antspace’s PUE near 1.03 saves real money on cooling. For a small site, that gap matters less than the simpler air setup.
Whichever you choose, the deciding number is still the power rate. Both only pencil out on cheap electricity, so price your hosted or site power first, and see the full budget in the container cost guide. The deeper case for liquid cooling is in our air vs hydro vs immersion comparison.
MillionMiner’s own alternatives
Bitmain is not the only option. MillionMiner builds its own containers along the same air-and-hydro split, often with shorter lead times.
- Air-cooled: the MM Hash Hub 189 and PowerBox 216, direct alternatives to the Antbox.
- Hydro: the MM Hydro Vault 210, the in-house answer to the Antspace HK3.
You can compare all of them, Bitmain and MillionMiner, in the mining containers catalog, alongside the racks and cabinets and hydro radiators that complete a build.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Antbox and Antspace?
Cooling and scale. The Antbox is an air-cooled, mobile container at 658 kW with 180 to 205 miners. The Antspace is hydro-cooled and facility-scale, running 1 to 1.5 MW with 210 to 308 miners, a cooling tower, and a much better efficiency rating. The Antspace fits more miners more efficiently; the Antbox is simpler and portable.
What is a Bitmain Antbox?
It is Bitmain’s air-cooled, mobile mining container. The current N5 model packs 180 to 205 ASIC miners into a 20-foot footprint at 658 kW, cooled by forced-air fans. It is plug-and-play and can be relocated, which suits smaller or temporary sites and locations without water for hydro cooling.
What is a Bitmain Antspace?
It is Bitmain’s hydro-cooled container line for facility-scale mining. Models run from about 1 MW (the HK3, 210 miners) up to 1.5 MW (the HD5, 308 miners), using a liquid cooling loop and an external cooling tower. It packs miners more densely and far more efficiently than air, but needs water and a fixed foundation.
Which is better, Antbox or Antspace?
Neither is better outright. The Antspace wins on density and efficiency for large fixed sites with water. The Antbox wins on simplicity, mobility, and lower infrastructure for smaller or temporary deployments. Match the container to your site size, water access, and whether you need to move it.
Air-cooled or hydro-cooled for a container?
Air is simpler, cheaper to deploy, and needs no water, suiting smaller sites. Hydro packs more miners at higher efficiency (PUE near 1.03 versus 1.10 to 1.25 for air) and runs quieter, but needs a water source, a cooling tower, and a foundation. The right answer depends on your scale and site.
How many miners fit in an Antbox versus an Antspace?
An Antbox N5 holds 180 to 205 air-cooled miners. An Antspace holds more because hydro miners pack denser: 210 in the HK3 and HW5, up to 308 in the HD5. For the same footprint, the hydro Antspace fits roughly 1.6 times the miners of the air-cooled Antbox.
Do Antbox and Antspace use the same transformer?
Both connect to a 2,500 kVA transformer, but at different ratios because of their power draw. That transformer supports three Antbox N5 containers running together, or two Antspace HK3 containers, reflecting the Antspace’s higher power per unit.
How much do Antbox and Antspace containers cost?
Pricing scales with capacity and cooling type and changes with the market, so request a current quote. The container is only part of the budget; you also need the miners, a transformer, site work, and shipping, and then ongoing power. We break the full cost down in the container cost guide.
Cooling and scale. The Antbox is an air-cooled, mobile container at 658 kW with 180 to 205 miners. The Antspace is hydro-cooled and facility-scale, running 1 to 1.5 MW with 210 to 308 miners, a cooling tower, and a much better efficiency rating. The Antspace fits more miners more efficiently; the Antbox is simpler and portable.
What is a Bitmain Antbox?
It is Bitmain’s air-cooled, mobile mining container. The current N5 model packs 180 to 205 ASIC miners into a 20-foot footprint at 658 kW, cooled by forced-air fans. It is plug-and-play and can be relocated, which suits smaller or temporary sites and locations without water for hydro cooling.
What is a Bitmain Antspace?
It is Bitmain’s hydro-cooled container line for facility-scale mining. Models run from about 1 MW (the HK3, 210 miners) up to 1.5 MW (the HD5, 308 miners), using a liquid cooling loop and an external cooling tower. It packs miners more densely and far more efficiently than air, but needs water and a fixed foundation.
Which is better, Antbox or Antspace?
Neither is better outright. The Antspace wins on density and efficiency for large fixed sites with water. The Antbox wins on simplicity, mobility, and lower infrastructure for smaller or temporary deployments. Match the container to your site size, water access, and whether you need to move it.
Air-cooled or hydro-cooled for a container?
Air is simpler, cheaper to deploy, and needs no water, suiting smaller sites. Hydro packs more miners at higher efficiency (PUE near 1.03 versus 1.10 to 1.25 for air) and runs quieter, but needs a water source, a cooling tower, and a foundation. The right answer depends on your scale and site.
How many miners fit in an Antbox versus an Antspace?
An Antbox N5 holds 180 to 205 air-cooled miners. An Antspace holds more because hydro miners pack denser: 210 in the HK3 and HW5, up to 308 in the HD5. For the same footprint, the hydro Antspace fits roughly 1.6 times the miners of the air-cooled Antbox.
Do Antbox and Antspace use the same transformer?
Both connect to a 2,500 kVA transformer, but at different ratios because of their power draw. That transformer supports three Antbox N5 containers running together, or two Antspace HK3 containers, reflecting the Antspace’s higher power per unit.
How much do Antbox and Antspace containers cost?
Pricing scales with capacity and cooling type and changes with the market, so request a current quote. The container is only part of the budget; you also need the miners, a transformer, site work, and shipping, and then ongoing power. We break the full cost down in the container cost guide.
The bottom line
Antbox and Antspace are the same idea built for two different scales. The Antbox is the air-cooled, mobile, plug-and-play unit for smaller or flexible sites. The Antspace is the hydro, high-density, facility-scale unit for large fixed operations that have water and want the best cooling efficiency.
Choose by your site, not by the brochure: how much power, whether you have water, and whether the container needs to move. Then, as always, confirm the whole thing pencils out at your electricity rate before you commit.
Choose by your site, not by the brochure: how much power, whether you have water, and whether the container needs to move. Then, as always, confirm the whole thing pencils out at your electricity rate before you commit.
