How To Make Money Fast In Starfield
Earn loads of cash and credits in Starfield.
You'll definitely want to make money fast in Starfield. With all the weapons, gear, and ship that you can buy, it's imperative that you have the credits to splurge. Our guide discusses various moneymaking methods that you can use throughout the campaign.
How to make money fast in Starfield
Get the Commerce skill
We feel that Commerce is one of the best skills in Starfield. Its effect is relatively straightforward: Buy items at lower prices and sell them at higher prices. Considering how much loot you'll find in the game, you're bound to sell a ton of goods to vendors. Just remember to sit and wait for 24 hours in-game to refresh a vendor's stock and cash.
Loot everything and pickpocket everyone
You'll meet countless NPCs and hostile forces in Starfield. Likewise, you'll visit numerous locations on various planets. Given these factors, you should definitely loot every item and pickpocket all sorts of folks. Just try not to get caught. Additionally, you'll want to consider the different ways that you can manage your inventory and encumbrance so as not to fully deplete your stamina each time.
![Buying low and selling high is what you'd get when you level the Commerce skill.](https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/1816/18167535/4185760-starfield-make-money-fast-guide-1a.jpg)
Unlock safes and vaults
Naturally, since you're stealing everything in sight, you might as well unlock safes and vaults. This is improved via the Security skill, which is one of the most useful in the campaign. Once you have at least one Digipick, you can engage in a minigame of sorts where you select the correct pins to unlock a container.
Do quick planetary scans and sell them to Vladimir
Vladimir Sall is a member of the Constellation faction, and you'll find him in a space station known as The Eye. After your initial conversation, he'll ask you to collect complete planetary survey data. The first step involves going to a planet and scanning it while in orbit. Here's the kicker: you still need to scan every fauna, flora, and landmark on a planet, which is extremely time-consuming.
However, if you head to gas giants or asteroids (i.e. places where your ship won't be able to land), a single scan counts as a completed survey. That means you can sell the data to Vladimir immediately, leading to an easy way to make money in Starfield.
![Scanning asteroids and gas giants nets you a completed survey that can be sold to Vladimir.](https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/1816/18167535/4185761-starfield-make-money-fast-guide-3.jpg)
Complete bounty and survey missions
Mission boards are found in different locations, such as bars in cities or the Constellation Lodge basement. These objectives net you different amounts of cash once completed. They range from simple tasks (i.e. taking out a specific pirate ship) or those that are more involved (i.e. looking for a planet with a particular trait/landmark).
Sell stolen items and contraband
Whenever you're checking out bases, outposts, and ships, be on the lookout for contraband. These can be found inside large chests or placed on surfaces. Be forewarned, however, that there's a chance for these items to get detected when you head to a settled system, and you'll only be able to get rid of these by visiting the local Trade Authority building. On the flipside, these fetch a hefty amount of dough, providing a decent way to make money in Starfield. You can learn more in our contraband items guide.
![If you're boarding ships, you'll usually find contraband in the ship's cargo hold or cockpit.](https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/1816/18167535/4185762-starfield-make-money-fast-guide-4.jpg)
Board and take over ships so you can sell them
Last but not least, you'll want to board and take over hostile ships that you encounter in space. Although a destroyed ship has debris and loot floating around, you'll be able to find more goodies inside cargo holds, as well as the corpses of pirates and mercs that you've eliminated.
Similarly, it's worth noting that ships still need to be registered before you can sell them. As such, you'd shoulder the registration fee, but you'd still gain a bit of cash once you've sold the vehicle.
![A captured ship's value isn't always correct, since you still need to pay the registration fee.](https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/1816/18167535/4185763-starfield-make-money-fast-guide-5.jpg)
These are just a few Starfield moneymaking methods. While you're amassing more cash and credits, you might as well check out how to earn more XP. Lastly, you can take a look at the console commands that can be used to cheat your way to an exorbitant level of wealth.
Starfield is a massive game with numerous planets to explore. For other tips and tactics, you can visit our guides hub.
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