Collecting Stardust in Pokémon Go is a neverending task - need it for everything. Want to trade a Pokémon? That'll require some Stardust. Need to unlock a second charge move? You'll need to spend some Stardust to do that. You get the picture.
Stardust is the currency in Pokémon Go. To ensure you can be a powerful trainer as you flick and swish across the lands, you're going to need a lot of it.
Fortunately, earning Stardust can be a simple affair. But what if you need more than you usually earn? With this in mind, we've compiled a guide below to help you collect enough Stardust for whatever you need.
How can you get Stardust in Pokémon Go quickly?
If you just want to grind for Stardust, here's how.
- Buy a Pokémon Go Plus and catch as many Pokémon as you can, as often as you can. Especially Weather-boosted Pokémon. (And spin, spin, spin PokéStops and Gyms to keep up your supply of Poké Balls.)
- Buy Incubators and collect and hatch as many Pokémon Eggs as you can, all the time. (And walk, walk, walk to hatch them.)
- Feed as many Berries to as many friendly Pokémon as you can every half hour. (And spin, spin, spin PokéStops and Gyms to keep up your Berry supply.)
- Open a maximum of 20 Gifts a day to get as much Stardust as you can from them.
- Find and complete all the Field Research tasks that give you Stardust as a reward.
- Make sure to use at least your Free Raid Pass to get the Stardust reward every day.
- Use a Star Piece to get 1.5x more Star Dust whenever you're about to grind hard-core.
- When and if there's a Stardust event, make the most of it. Do all the above and make sure you always have a Star Piece active to multiply your earnings.
There are a variety of ways to get Stardust in Pokémon Go:
Stardust from catches
- 100 Stardust per base-level Pokémon caught in the wild.
- 300 Stardust per 2nd-evolution Pokémon caught in the wild.
- 500 Stardust per 3rd-evolution Pokémon caught in the wild.
- 600 Stardust for each Daily Catch Bonus.
- 3000 Stardust for the 7-day Weekly Catch Bonus.
Stardust from Weather-boosted catches
- 125 Stardust per Weather-boosted base-level Pokémon caught in the wild.
- 350 Stardust per Weather-boosted 2nd-evolution Pokémon caught in the wild.
- 625 Stardust per Weather-boosted 3rd-evolution Pokémon caught in the wild.
Stardust from hatches
- 400-800 Stardust per KM Egg hatched.
- 800-1600 Stardust per 5 KM Egg hatched.
- 1600-3200 Stardust per 10 KM Egg hatched.
Stardust from Gyms
- 20 Stardust per Berry fed to a friendly Pokémon on a Gym.
- 500 Stardust per Raid Boss beaten.
Stardust from Research
- 100-4000 Stardust for completing certain Field Research tasks
- 2000 Stardust for completing seven days of Field Research (Breakthrough)
- 2000-10,000 Stardust for completing Special Research tasks (e.g. Mew quest)
Stardust from Gifts
- 0-300 per Gift opened (in lots of 100)
Stardust from Events
Whether on Community Day or during a themed event or even as a reward for global achievements, Pokemon Go often boosts the amount of Stardust players can earn for limited times. Setting aside extra time to play during these limited events can earn you loads of Stardust.
What is Stardust in Pokemon Go and why do you want it?
Stardust is the currency in Pokémon GO that's crucial for getting the strongest Pokémon. When you're powering up your Pokémon, you will need species-specific Candy, but you also need a lot of Stardust.
You also need the currency to buy secondary Charge Moves for the Pokémon Go Battle League, Raids, Team GO Rocket battles, and Gyms. The cost grows quickly based on rarity, ranging from 10K for common Pokemon to 100K for Legendary.
You also need Stardust for making trades. Regular trades can cost 100 or less Stardust, depending on your Friendship level. However, trades for new Pokédex entries start at 20,000 Stardust, and Shiny or Legendary trades start at 1,000,000 Stardust! The better friends you are with the other trainer, the lower the cost, but even as Best Friends, it adds up fast.
With Team Go Rocket around the lands, you'll need Stardust for every Shadow Pokemon you want to purify. Some only cost 1,000 Stardust to purify, while others can cost 3,000 or even 5,000 Stardust, and that's just the normal Pokémon.
If you happen to rescue one of the Legendary Shadow Pokémon from Giovanni, it's going to cost you 20,000 Stardust to purify! While some players prioritize only the strongest Shadow Pokemon for purification, if you want to earn that medal, it's ultimately going to cost a lot of Stardust.
In other words, no Stardust, no powering up, no trading, no purifying.
Can you get Stardust in Pokémon Go for catching Pokémon?
Yup! The simplest way to get Stardust remains — surprise! — catching Pokémon in the wild. For every Pokémon you catch, you'll get:
- 100 Stardust per base-level Pokémon caught.
- 300 Stardust per 2nd-evolution Pokémon caught.
- 500 Stardust per 3rd-evolution Pokémon caught.
So, catch a Pidgey or Snorlax, and you get 100 Stardust. Catch a Raticate or Blissey, and get 300 Stardust. Catch a Beedrill or Dragonite, 500 Stardust.
This also includes any Raid Bosses you beat and then catch following Battle Raids.
It's especially productive with a Pokémon Go Plus, since you can click, click, click your way to thousands of Stardust, as long as you have the Poké Balls to fuel it with.
If the Pokémon are Weather-boosted, you get a bonus on the Stardust:
- 125 Stardust per Weather-boosted base-level Pokémon caught in the wild.
- 350 Stardust per Weather-boosted 2nd-evolution Pokémon caught in the wild.
- 625 Stardust per Weather-boosted 3rd-evolution Pokémon caught in the wild.
Do you get Stardust in Pokémon Go for your daily and 7 day Catch Streaks?
You do!
- 600 Stardust for each daily Catch Streak bonus.
- 3000 Stardust for the 7-day weekly Catch Streak bonus.
So don't miss a day.
Can you get Stardust in Pokémon Go from Eggs?
Yup. You still get large amounts of Stardust from hatching Pokémon Eggs. The amount of Stardust varies by the type of Egg but also randomly at the time you hatch it.
- 400-800 Stardust from a 2 KM Egg.
- 800-1600 Stardust from a 5 KM Egg.
- 1600-3200 Stardust from a 10 KM Egg.
The lower levels are more typical than the higher levels, sadly, but if you invest in Incubators and walk a lot, you'll grow your Stardust steadily.
Can you get Stardust in Pokémon Go from Gyms?
You can't get Stardust from battling at Gyms, but you can get it for feeding Pokémon on Gyms if they're from the same team.
- 20 Stardust per Berry fed to a friendly Pokémon on a Gym.
- 2000 Stardust per 10 Berrys fed to 10 friendly Pokémon on Gyms per 30 minutes.
You get Stardust for every Berry you feed to your own Pokémon, or any Pokémon on a Gym controlled by your team, up to a maximum of 10 Berries to 10 Pokémon every half hour. So, feed a Berry to 10 Pokémon, or feed 10 Berries to a single Pokémon, and you get 200 Stardust — but it costs you 10 Razz, Pinap, or Nanab Berries. Feed 10 Berries to 10 Pokémon, and you get 2000 Stardust – but it costs you 100 Berries.
So, to equal the maximum reward from the old Defenders Bonus, you would have to feed 250 Berries – at the cost of 250 Berries — every 21 hours.
To make matters more complicated, you also have to find Pokémon that need to be fed, and Pokémon that need to be fed up to 10 Berries. Since everyone interested in Stardust is competing to feed the same friendly Pokémon on the same Gyms, opportunities can be hard to come by. And that means Stardust can be hard to come by.
You can also get Stardust from beating Raid Bosses:
- 500 Stardust per Raid Boss beaten.
That's in addition to the usual amount for catching them afterward.
Can you get Stardust in Pokémon Go from Research?
Field Research tasks require you to do things like catch certain Pokémon, hatch some number of eggs, make throws either in total or in a row, etc. Rewards include Pokémon encounters, items, and, yes, Stardust.
The amounts can vary greatly, from 100 Stardust for winning a Gym Battle to 4000 Stardust for catching a Ditto.
- 100-4000 Stardust for completing certain Field Research tasks
Once you complete seven Research tasks, you get a breakthrough that also includes Stardust.
- 2000 Stardust for completing seven days of Field Research (Breakthrough)
Special Research is far less frequent but also far more rewarding.
- 2000-10,000 Stardust for completing stages of Special Research (e.g. Mew quest)
Can you get Stardust in Pokémon Go from Gifts?
Yes! Stardust has been added to the potential rewards for opening gifts. You may not get any, or you may get all Stardust.
- 0-300 per Gift opened (in lots of 100)
Any other ways to get more Stardust in Pokémon Go?
Pokémon Go regularly holds events that provide bonuses or multipliers to candy, XP, and Stardust.
Previously, events were simpler and would just provide 2x Stardust for a week or ten days. Now, Community Days sometimes offer 3x Stardust but just on catches, for example.
