How to Make Money in Stardew Valley

Image: ConcernedApe via HGG / Ethan Erekson

Human Made

Penned by Ethan Erekson

Ethan is our resident Stardew Valley expert. He has also covered Genshin Impact, Animal Crossing, and LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

If there’s one thing you need in Stardew Valley, it’s money. You need it to buy seeds and livestock, to build and upgrade farm buildings, and to complete the Joja Community Development Form (if you choose not to go the Community Center route). Even when you don’t need it, it certainly speeds things up.

Fortunately, there’s opportunity around every corner in Stardew Valley. Here’s some of the many ways to go about making money in Stardew Valley and how you can take your earnings to the next level.

Let’s get started!

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Economics 101

The main way to earn money in Stardew Valley is by gathering all sorts of stuff and selling it. It sounds simple enough. Just do whatever works for you — whether that be mining, farming, or fishing — and sell what you can to rake in the cash.

However, several factors play a role in how all of this works, so what should you be doing to optimize how much you earn? What are the best ways to earn money, no matter what you’re doing to earn it?

Shipping Box

There’s all sorts of places to sell your goods, and the various businesses in Stardew Valley are happy to buy your stuff. Each person will only purchase certain types of items, though, and the items they accept usually have something to do with the wares they sell. While getting paid immediately might be nice, it’s still inconvenient to travel all over the place just to get some stuff sold. That’s why you should primarily use the shipping box to sell your wares. All you have to do is put the stuff you want to sell inside, and it’ll be sold as soon as you call it a night and go to bed. That’s all there is to it.

Making Passive Income

Ultimately, you should be working towards generating passive income, as it will give you the time and resources to progress and take things to the next level.

There are several ways to approach this, as you can work towards infinite crop production, gem duplication, baitless traps, and more! We’ve included several of these methods and techniques throughout this article. You’ll be generating maximum income with minimal work in no time.

Earning Extra Cash with Professions

As you level up skills, you’ll have the opportunity to choose professions, which can help you take your earnings to the next level. We’ll briefly touch on some professions that can help you earn some extra cash, though if you want to learn more, be sure to check out our in-depth guide on the topic.

One Man’s Trash is Another’s Treasure

You’ll get a few stares when you go digging through the garbage cans in Pelican Town, but it’s worth it. Every now and then, you’ll come across something valuable amongst the refuse. And if you’ve gotten to the bottom of the mines, then even more valuables show up in the trash. As such, you should make sure to check them frequently.

On top of that, you should head over to the blacksmith’s and upgrade your trash can. When you do, you’ll get a percentage of the sell price back when you trash items. So when you end up needing to free up space when you’re out foraging, mining, etc., you’ll get something back instead of it going to waste.

Making Money from Farming in Stardew Valley

Growing and harvesting crops is a great way to earn money in Stardew Valley. Whether you’re planting in the spring, summer, or fall, there’s definitely profit to be made. If you want to learn more about what you should plant during those seasons, be sure to check our articles on the topic.

However, there’s a little more to farming than just growing crops. Here’s some of the many ways you can generate income through farming.

Honey

The first money-making method we’re going to cover is honey. No, we’re not asking you to install the browser extension (though that version is great, too). Honey is one of the many artisan goods in Stardew Valley and is also one of the more accessible passive income sources in the game. Once you reach Level 3 in the farming skill, go ahead and craft a couple of Bee Houses. Every four days, you’ll get some honey!

If you want to earn even more, you can plant some flowers close to the Bee Houses, and the bees will produce flower honey, which is more valuable than the regular variety. If you want the best honey you can get for each season, plant blue jazz in the spring, poppies in the summer, and fairy roses in the fall. Fairy rose honey is the most valuable at 680g, so make sure to have plenty of Bee Houses and fairy roses when fall rolls around.

Fruit Bats & Fruit Trees

Once you accumulate 25,000g in earnings, Demetrius will pay you a visit and let you know that he’d like to do some research in the cave on your farm. He’ll let you choose between fruit bats or mushrooms. If you go with the fruit bat option, the bats will leave fruit in the cave every couple days for you to collect. This fruit counts as foraged items, which means you can gather more, maximum-quality fruit with the Gatherer and Botanist professions, thereby earning you more money. Overall, this is a great source of passive income.

You can also plant fruit tree saplings and grow fruit. Fruit tree saplings cost a lot and can take a while to mature, but once they do, they produce fruit daily, which is pretty nice. Fruit also sells for quite a bit, so the investment is definitely worth it. Once you have the money, consider planting a couple, and you’ll have another source of income on your farm.

Artisan Goods

Now, if you want to earn even more money, you should try making some artisan goods. Honey is one of these goods, though artisan goods also include things like wine, oil, pickled vegetables, fruit preserves, and more! There’s a lot to it, though the gist of it is you can put crops or animal products in certain machines and make something even more valuable.

Artisan goods can be a great way to take your profits to the next level, and if you have the Artisan profession, then you get a 40% bonus on top of that! It may take a little extra effort, but it’s definitely worth it.

The Greenhouse/Ginger Island

All of these methods are nice, but many of them are limited to particular seasons. What if you didn’t have to worry about that and could plant whatever you want, whenever you want? As it turns out, you can! If you want to do your farming in any season, then all you need to do is unlock the Greenhouse and the Ginger Island Farm. We cover how to do this in our winter crops guide. Crops planted in these locations aren’t affected by the changing seasons, so you can plant whatever you want. And crows don’t show up on the Island Farm or in the Greehouse, so scarecrows aren’t necessary.

Multiple harvest crops like coffee beans and strawberries are particularly great for these locations, as they can keep on producing fruit for as long as you want. Just make sure to use some sprinklers so you don’t have to worry about watering. You can also combine this with the honey method and generate fairy rose honey year round. Now, you can combine the best passive income methods with the best locations, letting you earn more than ever before.

Making Money From Mining in Stardew Valley

Another great way to earn some money in Stardew Valley is to go mining. When you go mining, you’ll find plenty of ore, geodes, and gemstones, which can earn you quite a bit. This is the primary method I used when I was first started playing Stardew Valley. And even though mining is fairly active, there are still ways earn passive income through mining. Here’s some of the many ways you can make bank the next time you go spelunking.

Crystalarium

When you typically go mining for profit in Stardew Valley, you go hunting for gems and geodes. However, you might want to hold onto a couple of those gemstones, as they play a vital role in one of mining’s passive income methods. All you need are a couple Crystalariums.

You can get the Crystalarium by completing the 25,000g bundle in the Community Center Vault, by donating fifty items to the museum, or by crafting it after reaching Level 9 in the Mining skill. If you stick a gem, geode, or foraged mineral in a Crystalarium, it will replicate indefinitely after a period of seven in-game hours to five in-game days. Then all you have to do is sell them for money!

Sticks and Stones

While stuff like gems and ores can be very profitable, you’ll also inevitably collect other things as you go mining. Some of this includes stuff like stone, which sells for a measly 1g. However, stone isn’t quite as worthless as you might think. When you go mining, it’s not uncommon to end up with hundreds (if not thousands) of pieces of stone, and it all adds up. If you have more stone than you could ever use, consider selling it. It may not be a lot for one piece, but if you’re selling thousands, you’ll also end up making thousands. This method also works for other 1g items such as wood or fiber.

How to Make Money Foraging in Stardew Valley

Next up is foraging, which is a plant-lover’s game of Finders Keepers. Or, in this case, Finders Sellers. The most common foraged items are the seasonal ones, though there’s other forageables such as mushrooms and shells. Foraging can take a bit of time, but it’s doesn’t take a ton of effort, so it’s generally worthwhile. It’s also a great way to earn a little extra cash.

Blackberry Season

If there’s one thing you don’t want to miss out on, it’s blackberry season. It takes place during Fall 8–11, and during this time, you can pick blackberries from bushes. You can earn a decent amount of money from picking all the berries, especially if you turn your blackberries into artisan goods. There’s also salmonberry season in the spring (Spring 15–8). Salmonberries aren’t worth nearly as much, though, so just keep that in mind.

On top of that, you can triple the value of blackberries and salmonberries. All you have to do is obtain Bear’s Knowledge by entering the Secret Woods with maple syrup after getting Secret Note #23. If you pair that with the Gatherer and Botanist professions, you’ll be able to make a load of money very quickly.

Wild Seeds

If you ever feel like you don’t have enough of a season’s forageables, then you’re in luck. All you need to do is get ahold of some Wild Seeds. Wild seeds let you grow the seasonal forageables on your farm, letting you have the best of both worlds. You get the convenience and bounty of farming, and you also get the benefits of foraging. We covered the winter seeds variety of Wild Seeds in our winter crops article, and the stuff there also applies to other varieties of Wild Seeds. Be sure to check it out!

Tapping Trees

Trees are another big part of foraging. You can chop them down and get wood, sap, and seeds, all of which are useful materials. However, there’s a much better way to make passive income with trees. All you need are some Tappers, which you can craft once you reach Level 3 in the Foraging skill.

Just attach your Tapper to some trees (Pine, Oak, or Maple), and you’ll get either Pine Tar, Oak Resin, or Maple Syrup after five, seven, or nine days respectively. Maple Syrup is the most valuable, so make sure to tap plenty of Maple Trees.

How to Make Money from Fishing in Stardew Valley

Fishing can be pretty hard, especially since the training rod won’t cut it for catching the more valuable fish. However, it’s something that definitely worth working on, as there are several valuable fish you can catch in Stardew Valley. So if you’re like me and aren’t the best at fishing, just keep at it, and it will become easier as you level up the fishing skill and practice your fishing skills.

Crab Pots

Even if you suck at fishing, there are still some options for you. Just keep on catching seaweed, algae, and trash (this stuff counts towards the fishing skill too) until you reach Fishing Level 3. At this point, you’ll unlock crab pots, which you can buy from Willy or craft yourself. All you need to do is stick them in the water and place some bait inside, and the crab pots will do the fishing for you, albeit with limited options. You can earn some money with minimal effort, and level up the Fishing skill at the same time. It’s a win-win.

If you want to take crab pots to the next level, go with the Luremaster profession at Level 10, as it will make it so crab pots don’t need bait. This turns them into a passive income source that produces every day.

Fish Ponds

Another way to earn money through fishing is to have Robin build some fish ponds on your farm. Once they’re built, throw in some fish to populate the ponds. The fish in each pond will reproduce and provide various items every couple of days. If you get Fish Roe, you can either sell it or turn it into Aged Roe to make even more money. Sturgeon roe turns into caviar, for example, which is worth more.

Alternatively, you can harvest the fish with a fishing rod. However, you should generally keep them in there as they produce better items after you complete quests for them and max out their population. Overall, it’s a great way to get some specialty items and earn some cash along the way.

Making Money from Combat in Stardew Valley

Next up is combat. Combat isn’t a typical money-making method, though it can be a worthwhile one. There’s plenty of challenge to be had when you’re fighting and hunting down monsters. Sure, monsters don’t drop any gold, but if you’re lucky, you can get some valuable drops from certain monsters. Here’s a couple things you can do to make money while your life is on the line.

Monster Loot

The easiest way to make money through combat is by selling monster loot, which are monster-specific drops. Occasionally, monsters will drop other items, some of which can be quite valuable. Monster loot has many uses in a variety of crafting recipes, but if you feel like you have too much, don’t hesitate to sell it off and make some money. Just hold onto your slime, as it plays a major role in another combat money-making method.

Slime Eggs

So what do you need all of that slime for? You’ll want it to craft Slime Eggs, which are an item dropped by slimes after you unlock the Slime Hutch. Slime Eggs are one of the most valuable monster drops, with the prices ranging from 1000g to 8000g. Just one Hutch gives you access to some of the most valuable items in the game.

As we mentioned before, you can also craft slime eggs instead of waiting for them to drop. You’ll need to craft a Slime Egg-Press first, though. Once you unlock the recipe at Combat Level 6, you can craft one with 25 coal, a fire quartz, and a battery pack. Then just put 100 slime inside to get a slime egg, which takes twenty in-game hours. The type is random, and it can be green, blue, red, or purple. Tiger slime eggs can’t be crafted and are exclusively a tiger slime drop. The next time you’re short on cash, just go slime hunting and turn your extra slime into additional eggs.

How to Use Quests to Make Money in Stardew Valley

The final way to earn money in Stardew Vally is through quests, which usually involve you gathering some type of item for a NPC. Upon completion, you’ll usually receive money and friendship, though sometimes there are other rewards involved. There’s several types of quests, though the main ones are story quests, “Help Wanted” quests, and special orders.

Story Quests

Story quests in Stardew Valley are pretty straightforward. A villager wants you to do something, and they reach out and ask you to do it. More often than not, they also play a role in the overall story of the game. However, what makes story quests unique is that there isn’t a time limit, so you can take as much time as you need to complete them. Jodi may have wanted that cauliflower back in spring, but she’ll still be happy to receive it, even if it’s a year or two late.

“Help Wanted” Board

The second type of quest are “Help Wanted” quests, which you can claim at the “Help Wanted” board in front of Pierre’s. It’s usually a simple task, and you’ll have two days to complete it. Quests typically have you slay monsters, fish, gather items, or deliver items. After you complete the task, just talk to the person that posted it and you’ll receive money and friendship.

Special Orders

Finally, there’s special orders, which are unlocked after a cutscene that takes place some time after Fall 2, Year 1. After the cutscene, there will be a new board in front of Mayor Lewis’s house, and you can accept special orders there. Special orders are similar to “Help Wanted” quests, but special orders are usually on a bigger scale and take more time to complete. However, the extra effort is definitely worth it as you can earn quite a bit of money, in addition to getting new recipes and items.

Join the High Ground

We hope you found our article on making money in Stardew Valley informative! Let us know what your favorite money making method is in the comments below, and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you won’t miss any of our Stardew Valley content.

Happy gaming!

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