Evergreen
Stardust in Pokémon GO: How to Earn It and Spend It Wisely
Where Pokémon GO Stardust comes from, what it is spent on, and a simple priority order for power-ups, trades and second moves so it never runs dry.
Stardust is the one resource every trainer touches. It comes from nearly everything you do and disappears faster than you'd expect once you start powering Pokémon up. Candy belongs to one species family, but Stardust is a single pool, so every power-up is really a decision about which Pokémon deserves it more than the rest.
Where Stardust comes from
| Activity | What you get | How to get more out of it |
|---|---|---|
| Catching wild Pokémon | A steady amount on every catch | Weather-boosted Pokémon pay a little extra, so favour boosted spawns |
| Hatching Eggs | A lump sum per hatch | Longer-distance Eggs generally pay more than short ones |
| Raids | Part of the post-raid reward mix | Worth counting when judging whether a raid is worth a pass |
| Field Research and Research Breakthroughs | Many tasks, and usually the Breakthrough reward, include Stardust | Keep Stardust-reward tasks when you're saving up |
| Team GO Rocket battles | Stardust for each win | Tougher opponents tend to pay more |
| Feeding berries at Gyms | A small amount per berry given to a friendly defender | Easy to fold into a walk past your team's Gyms |
| GO Battle League | Win rewards have regularly included Stardust | Rewards change between seasons, so check the battle menu |
| Daily bonuses | At the time of writing, a bonus on your first catch of the day, with a bigger one at the end of a streak | See our daily rewards and streaks guide |
A Star Piece temporarily increases the Stardust you earn, and some events boost Stardust from catches or hatches for their duration. Both are best used when you're about to do a lot of catching or hatching in a short window, since the boost doesn't last long.
Where Stardust goes
- Powering up. Each power-up raises a Pokémon by half a level and costs Stardust plus Candy. The cost climbs in steps as the level rises, so the last few levels are by far the most expensive, and once a Pokémon reaches level 40, further power-ups take Candy XL instead of regular Candy. New to CP and levels? The basics are linked from the Trainer Hub homepage.
- Second Charged Moves. Unlocking a second Charged Move costs Stardust and Candy, with the price varying by species.
- Trading. Every trade costs Stardust, though an ordinary trade is cheap. Special Trades (a Legendary, a shiny, or a species new to the receiver's Pokédex) cost much more, and for those the friendship level makes a huge difference; our trading guide explains how.
- Purifying Shadow Pokémon. Purification costs Stardust and Candy.
Some modifiers change these prices. Lucky Pokémon power up for half the usual Stardust. Shadow Pokémon cost more to power up, while Purified Pokémon cost less. Evolving costs Candy (and sometimes an item) but no Stardust.
A spending order that works
- Pokémon you'll use again and again. A strong attacker for a common raid weakness, or a core member of your battle team, repays its cost every week.
- Lucky Pokémon of species you'll use in raids or Master League. Half-price power-ups and a guaranteed high IV floor make them efficient there, though that high floor usually makes them a poor fit for Great or Ultra League, where lower Attack is preferred.
- Second Charged Moves on battle Pokémon. In the GO Battle League a second move often adds more than several power-ups, since it gives opponents something extra to worry about.
- Great League before Master League. The Great League's CP cap means a finished build usually costs a fraction of a maxed Master League Pokémon. Our guide to Great, Ultra and Master League covers the caps.
- Everything else waits. A nice-looking catch can wait until you have a reason to invest.
Start higher, pay less
A power-up's price is set by the Pokémon's current level, not its species. The power-up button shows the cost of the next step, and that cost rises with level, so a copy that's already further up the ladder has skipped the cheaper steps for free.
When two copies have IVs you're equally happy with, compare their power-up buttons and build the one showing the higher Stardust cost: it's the higher-level Pokémon. Compare like with like, though: Lucky, Shadow and Purified copies are priced differently. Weather helps too: a weather-boosted catch comes in a few levels higher than an unboosted one, so when a species you plan to build is boosted, catch a few extra.
Before you tap power up: a five-point check
- Have you checked its IVs? A quick appraisal tells you whether this copy is worth the investment; see our guide to appraisal.
- Is it a good battler, or just high CP? High CP on a species with weak moves or typing is Stardust wasted.
- Will a better version come along? If a species is about to be featured in an event, you may soon catch a copy with better IVs or a special move.
- Are you near a league cap? Powering up can't be undone, so pushing a Pokémon past a league's CP limit by accident locks it out of that league for good.
- Do you already have one? Maxing two copies of the same species is rarely worth it unless you need several for raids.
Stardust questions
Which runs out first, Stardust or Candy?
It depends on what you're building. Stardust usually runs short when you're powering up lots of different Pokémon. Candy, and later Candy XL, is usually the limit for rare species and for anything you push past level 40. Either way, spend on fewer, better targets.
Should I save Stardust for something big?
Keeping a buffer is sensible, because a strong new raid attacker can arrive with little notice and a Lucky trade can happen at any time. If you're planning a Special Trade, set its Stardust aside first, and if you can, wait until you're Ultra or Best Friends, when those trades cost far less. There's no reward for hoarding forever, though; Stardust only pays off once it's in a Pokémon you actually use.