Best Ways to Quickly Earn Stardust in Pokemon GO

In Pokemon GO, Stardust will help you level up your battle team and unlock special effects. Here's how to earn it quickly
The Pokemon GO game logo, surrounded by icons of Stardust from the game
Image via Niantic

To power up your team in Pokemon GO, you’re going to need Stardust. There are as many ways to earn Stardust in the game as there are to spend it, making it an essential part of Pokemon GO. If you need to gather more Stardust quickly, we’ve got some tips.

Recommended Videos

What Is Stardust in Pokemon GO?

An image of Stardust from the game Pokemon GO
Screenshot by The Escapist

In Pokemon GO, Stardust can be used in a variety of ways to make your Pokemon team more powerful. Here are the different uses for Stardust in the game:

  • Powering up Pokemon to increase their CP
  • Teaching Pokemon new Charged Attacks
  • Purifying Shadow Pokemon caught from Team GO Rocket
  • Trading with other trainers
  • Activating Adventure Effects

The Stardust cost for powering up Pokemon increases as their level does, meaning you’ll want to have plenty on hand if you’re planning to supercharge your battle team.

Related: Pokemon GO Complete Eevee Evolution Guide: How to Get All Eeveelutions

How to Get More Stardust in Pokemon GO

Image of the Rewards screen in Pokemon GO, listing 1000 XP, 1000 Stardust, and a Pokemon Appearance
Screenshot by The Escapist

Players earn Stardust through a variety of in-game actions in Pokemon GO. Unlike other useful items, you can’t directly buy Stardust from the in-game or web store. If you find yourself in need of more Stardust, here are my favorite ways to get it, in order of the difficulty-to-payoff ratio.

Use Star Pieces

If you’re trying to farm Stardust, use a Star Piece during your game time if you can. Star Pieces give a 50% boost to the Stardust you earn for half an hour. Star Pieces are sometimes given as quest rewards, so you may have some lying around in your bag. If not, they can be purchased in the in-app store for 100 PokeCoins or in a bundle of eight for 640 coins.

Hatch Eggs, Preferably with Adventure Sync

First, make sure you’ve got some eggs in incubators during your outing. Hatching eggs earns a good bit of Stardust, and better yet, it happens in the background while you’re out grinding other methods.

If you’re comfortable turning on Adventure Sync, you’ll hatch eggs from your daily activities as well as while you’re actively playing the game. Adventure Sync also gives you a weekly bonus for your total mileage, which includes more Stardust.

Catch ‘Em All

Catching Pokemon earns a good amount of Stardust for your effort, so get out there and throw Poke Balls at those critters, even if they’re not your favorite. You can always trade them in for candy.

Open Gifts from Friends

Open up gifts from friends while you’ve got a Star Piece active. Gifts always come with a sprinkle of Stardust and there are few easier things to do in the game than open up a gift from a friend. That 50% boost from the Star Piece can go a long way if you’ve left yourself a queue of presents to unpack.

Feed Pokemon in Gyms

If you’re near a gym that’s owned by your team, you can feed berries to the Pokemon there to strengthen them. Each berry is only worth about 30 Stardust, but you can keep feeding them until they reach full health (or you run out of berries). This is a low-effort way to get Stardust, though rural players may not always thank you for keeping that Flareon in the same gym for three months.

Battle in Raids or the GO Battle League

Battles and Raids are a great way to earn Stardust as well, though these can be a bit more time-consuming. Taking on Raid bosses or entering the GO Battle League will get you a good bit of Stardust as a reward, but depending on your battle skills, this may be a trickier method to perfect.

Complete Special Research

If you’re trying to earn Stardust quickly, it’s worth keeping an eye on your Special Research tab in Pokemon GO. Special Research tasks often reward big amounts of Stardust for in-game tasks and can be a great way to maximize Stardust earnings. Many tasks feature actions like catching Pokemon or winning battles, so you earn double Stardust for doing the action and then redeeming the research rewards.

And those are the best ways to quickly earn Stardust in Pokemon GO.

Pokémon GO is available on iOS and Android.


The Escapist is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article Stardew Valley Sebastian Schedule and Gift Guide
stardew valley sebastian
Read Article Is Marvel Rivals Coming to PS5 & Xbox Series X/S?
Marvel Rivals, with Iron Man in his robotic suit, getting ready to fire.
Read Article All Collections & Rewards For Monopoly GO The Making Music Sticker Album
Making Music Banner Monopoly GO
Related Content
Read Article Stardew Valley Sebastian Schedule and Gift Guide
stardew valley sebastian
Read Article Is Marvel Rivals Coming to PS5 & Xbox Series X/S?
Marvel Rivals, with Iron Man in his robotic suit, getting ready to fire.
Read Article All Collections & Rewards For Monopoly GO The Making Music Sticker Album
Making Music Banner Monopoly GO
Author
Amanda Kay Oaks
Amanda Kay Oaks is a freelance writer for The Escapist. She's a lifelong gamer with an affinity for Pokemon, RPGs, and cozy games, especially The Sims. Amanda has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction, with prior work on pop culture and entertainment at Book Riot, Fanfare, and Gamepur.