Proof of Work
One of Monero's philosophies is to maintain egalitarian mining, so that everyone can have the possibility to mine. To achieve this, Monero uses a particular algorithm ideated and developed by members of the Monero community: RandomX. This PoW algorithm is ASIC resistant, which means it's impossible to build specialized hardware to mine Monero. Miners must use consumer-grade hardware and compete fairly.
Monero can be mined by both CPUs and GPUs, but the former is much more efficient.
Solo or pool mining
Miners can decide if they prefer to solo mine or to mine in a pool. Each method has its benefits and drawbacks, but the Monero Project encourages individuals to solo mine using the Monero software (GUI and CLI), as this type of independent mining is the most effective way to increase the robustness of the Monero network. Mining using P2Pool is also encouraged.
Pro and cons of solo and pool mining:
Solo
Makes the network more secure than if mining in a pool
You can mine using your Monero wallet. No need for additional software
Depending on your hashrate, it might take months before you find a block. This is often referred to as a 'lottery'
Pool
Frequent payouts. You will receive XMR according to how much you are participating in the pool of your choice.
You have to pay a fee to the pool operator
You can only use third party software to pool mine, which might take a small percentage of your shares
Too many people mining on a single pool might lead on the pool having >50% of the total hashrate, which is dangerous
If you need help choosing a pool or you just want more information about them, use:
miningpoolstats.stream