Overview
PoolTool is a Cardano stake pool explorer that gives ADA holders and stake pool operators a data-rich interface for evaluating, comparing, and monitoring stake pools across the network. Created by community member Mike Fullman (papacarp), the platform originated during the Shelley testnet era as a personal tool for tracking block production and has since grown into one of the most widely referenced staking resources in the Cardano ecosystem.1 PoolTool is recognized as a Cardano entity by cardano.org and was featured in the Cardano Developer Portal spotlight series alongside CardanoScan.2
The platform surfaces detailed staking metrics for all registered Cardano stake pools, including epoch fees, variable fees, declared pledge, block production counts, and return-on-staking (ROS) percentages. Beyond pool comparison, PoolTool provides real-time block monitoring and a network health dashboard that tracks propagation delays, node version distribution, and relay data center geography. An iOS app extends core functionality to mobile, offering push notifications for block minting events and staking reward summaries each epoch.
Key Features
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Searchable pool directory with sortable metrics. The pools page lists all active Cardano stake pools with columns for epoch fee, variable fee, declared pledge, epoch blocks, lifetime blocks, and two-month ROS. Users can search by ticker and sort by any column to narrow down candidates for delegation.1
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Real-time block feed. The realtime view displays each new block as it is produced, showing the minting pool ticker, block hash, epoch slot, propagation time, protocol version, and number of reporting nodes. This gives SPOs and delegates immediate visibility into chain activity.1
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Network health dashboard. PoolTool aggregates voluntary block height submissions from SPOs via CNCLI integration to produce network synchronization metrics, propagation delay charts, protocol version distribution graphs, and relay data center maps.3
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Favorites list and address lookup. Users can bookmark preferred pools for quick comparison. The address lookup tool lets delegators enter a stake key hash to view operator rewards, staking rewards, and lifetime ROS for any wallet address.1
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iOS mobile app with push notifications. The free PoolTool app for iPhone and iPad sends alerts when a delegated pool mints a block, changes fees, adjusts pledge, or reaches saturation. Epoch reward summaries are delivered automatically.4
What to Expect
Visiting PoolTool opens directly to the pool explorer -- a paginated table of all registered Cardano stake pools sorted by lifetime block count. The interface uses a dark navy background with green accent elements. Each row links to a detailed pool page showing epoch-by-epoch performance history, delegator lists, and reward charts.
The top navigation bar provides quick access to the realtime block feed and the network health dashboard. The realtime page auto-refreshes with each new block, displaying propagation statistics and the producing pool's ticker. The network health section is information-dense, presenting multiple charts on a single scrollable page covering synchronization status, version adoption, and propagation timing across reporting nodes.
PoolTool does not require an account to browse pools or view network data. The platform runs as a Vue.js single-page application, so JavaScript must be enabled. Navigation is straightforward, though the interface prioritizes data density over visual minimalism. For delegators seeking a quick pool comparison tool with deep metrics, PoolTool delivers one of the most data-complete views available among Cardano stake pool explorers. SPOs benefit from the CNCLI integration and the network health telemetry that no other explorer replicates at the same depth.
