11 Ways to Earn Stardust in Pokémon GO

Get more Stardust so you can power up your Pokémon faster

Co-authored by Janice Tieperman Reviewed by Ishrak

Last Updated: October 2, 2023 References

Stardust is the main type of in-game currency used in Pokémon GO, and is necessary for evolving Pokémon, unlocking new Pokémon abilities, and performing trades. What if your personal Stardust supply is running low, though? You’ve come to the right article. We’ll walk you all the different ways you can earn this valuable resource quickly and efficiently, so you can power up your Pokémon to your heart’s content.

Things You Should Know

Catch all the wild Pokémon that spawn around you and continuously hatch eggs for a consistent source of Stardust.
Finish in-game field and research tasks to earn Stardust rewards.
Exchange Gifts with your Pokémon GO friends to give each other free Stardust.

1

Catch lots of Pokémon.

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A wild Pokémon nets you a certain amount of Stardust when caught. Whenever you have your game open, aim to successfully catch as many Pokémon as you can. Each day, the first Pokémon you catch earns you an 1,800 Stardust bonus (9,000 if you’ve consistently caught Pokémon for a week straight). A basic Pokémon in its first tier of evolution gets you 100 base Stardust; a second-tier evolution gets you 300; and a fully-evolved Pokémon gets you 500.^{[1]
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- Certain types of Pokémon net you extra Stardust depending on the type of weather that’s occurring in your area. Pokémon affected by this bonus will have a swirl of wind surrounding them.
- Specific Pokémon get you a larger base amount of Stardust, like the Meowth evolutionary line (including the Alolan versions), the Paras evolutionary line, and the Shellder evolutionary line.

2

Hatch Pokémon from Eggs.

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Hatching a new Pokémon earns you anywhere from 400 to 6,400 Stardust. After earning Eggs from Gyms and PokéStops, place them incubators and walk around for the distance specified by the Egg (e.g., 2 km, 5 km, 7 km, etc.). Once you’ve walked this distance, your Egg will hatch and give you Stardust, XP, and Pokémon Candy as a reward. Here’s how much you can expect to earn with different types of Eggs:^{[2]
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- 2-km (Green) Egg: 400-800 Stardust
- 5-km (Gold) Egg: 800-1,600 Stardust
- 7-km (Yellow/Pink) Egg: 800-1,600 Stardust
- 10-km (Purple) Egg: 1,600-3,200 Stardust
- 12-km (Red) Egg: 3,200-6,400 Stardust

3

Open Gifts from friends.

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Receiving Gifts can earn you 100 to 300 total Stardust. Do you have some friends who play Pokémon GO? Ask them to send you a Gift that they picked up from a PokéStop—and send them one in return! Gifts can contain a variety of useful items, including Stardust.^{[3]
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- To send a Gift, tap the Pokéball menu icon and hit the “Items” button. Then, scroll down and tap the “Gifts” option.

4

Feed Berries to Gym Pokémon.

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Earn 30 Stardust for each Berry you feed to a Pokémon. Have you recently captured a Gym, or are you walking past a Gym that’s controlled by your Team? Either way, nourish the Pokémon currently seated at the Gym by feeding them a variety of different Berries.^{[4]
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- Collect Berries by doing things like visiting PokéStops, winning Raids, receiving Gifts, and completing in-game tasks.

5

Complete in-game tasks.

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Tap the binoculars icon on the bottom right corner of your screen. Then, swipe through the “Field” and “Special” tabs to see which tasks you still need to complete. Some tasks offer Stardust (along with other prizes) as a reward.

6

Participate in Raids.

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Beating any kind of Raid Boss gets you 1,000 Stardust. Notice a Raid starting up in your area? Gather up some friends (or take it on solo, if you’re feeling confident) and defeat the Raid Boss with some of your strongest Pokémon to earn some Stardust (among other sweet prizes).^{[5]
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- You need a Raid Pass to enter a Raid. Every player gets a free pass each day by visiting a PokéStop, but you’ll need to spend actual money on PokéCoins to get specialty Raid Passes (like a Premium or Remote Raid Pass).

7

Battle Team Rocket members.

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Fighting Team Rocket members gets you 500 to 1,000 Stardust. Using a Rocket Radar, locate hidden PokéStops and hot air balloons that are manned by Team Rocket Grunts and Leaders. Defeating regular Grunts nets you 500 Stardust, while defeating a Leader nets you 1,000. If you manage to stumble across and defeat Team Rocket Boss Giovanni, you’ll earn 5,000 Stardust.^{[6]
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- Don’t have a Rocket Radar? Defeat Team Rocket Grunts at regular PokéStops until you’ve collected 6 Mysterious Components. When combined, they create a Rocket Radar.

8

Fight in PvP battles.

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To get started, tap the Pokéball menu icon in the app and then select the “Battle” option. Winning a certain number of battles can earn you special prizes, like special Pokémon spawning, Rare Candies, and Stardust.

9

Turn on Adventure Sync.

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Walking at least 25 km a week earns you Stardust. Go into the app, and hit the “Settings” button in the main menu. Then, hit “Adventure Sync” to be redirected to your phone’s settings; there, make sure that “Adventure Sync” is toggled on—this is the function that allows the game to track your footsteps. Each week, the game gives you rewards for the total distance you’ve walked, like:
- 5 km: 20 Pokéballs
- 25 km: 10 Great Balls, 500 Stardust, one 5 km Egg (or 1 Rare Candy)
- 50 km: 5 Ultra Balls, 1,000 Stardust, 5 Rare Candy, 5 Silver Pinap Berries, 5 km or 10 km Egg
- 100 km: 16,000 Stardust^{[7]
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10

Take part in Stardust events.

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Periodically, Pokémon GO runs special Stardust events that give players to opportunity to receive more Stardust. These events are often released around special occasions (like the holidays), and most commonly on the monthly Community Day. Participate in these events to take advantage of Stardust bonuses like, getting double or triple the amount of Stardust per Pokémon caught.^{[8]
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11

Use Star Pieces.

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Use Star Pieces to earn 50% extra stardust for a half hour. Completing certain research tasks can get you Star Pieces, which, when activated, allow you to gain extra Stardust for 30 minutes. If you don’t feel like waiting, buy PokéCoins in the app with actual money, which you can use on Star Pieces.
- A single Star Piece sells for 100 PokéCoins, while 8 Pieces sell for 640. For reference, 100 PokéCoins cost 99 cents.