ConcernedApe's farming simulator Stardew Valley focuses on reconnecting with nature and settling into small-town life, all while getting to know the neighbors and forging new relationships. The retro-style game doesn't predominately revolve around making money, but the new farmer in town will need a lot of cash to fund their progress and success. The expectations of the mayor to become a pillar of the community will begin with rebuilding the Community Center, which requires certain crops, foraged items, fish and more.

Because it's important to be get the farm going again, a great deal of Stardew Valley game time involves trying to find easy and quick ways to earn money, especially in the early game. Players will need cash to upgrade farm buildings and their homes. They also need it to purchase tools upgrades, seeds, gifts, Stardrops, and countless other things. Fortunately, Stardew Valley has more than one way to get rich fast.

Updated on April 17, 2024, by Andrea Sandoval: Stardew Valley has many different ways to make money, but not all of them are fast or easy. We updated this article to include more information about the fastest ways to make money in Stardew Valley and to update changes from Stardew Valley 1.6 update.

15 Crab Pots Provide Both Money And Resources

Crab Pot Fish	Sell Price
Lobster	120g
Clam	up to 100g
Crayfish	75g
Crab	100g
Cockle	up to 100g
Mussel	up to 60g
Shrimp	60g
Snail	65g
Periwinkle	25g
Oyster	up to 80g

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No one ever got rich from passive income endeavors. Nonetheless, Stardew Valley rewards players for streams of money that don't require much active participation on their part. Crab Pots are an easier way to catch fish in Stardew Valley that only requires the player to bait them and check them every so often. Unlocking the crafting recipe for Crab Pots requires the player to reach Fishing Level 3. They will also be available for purchase from Willy at this time, too.

Crab Pots don't just provide income for more profitable ventures in Stardew Valley. They can help the player get their hands on some decent recyclables as well. Maintaining crab pots is a great opportunity to capture a variety of sellable sea creatures, and any trash that gets caught up in there can be recycled in the machine. Recycling is a great way to produce items like torches, wood, coal, refined quartz, cloth and stone, which are all crafting resources that will come in handy later in the game.

14 Seasonal Farming Is The Game's Bread And Butter

Every season brings with it a great moneymaking opportunity for farmers. People will always be searching for their favorite seasonal fruits and vegetables. That means it's important for a farmer to understand what to plant and when to make easy money from crops. Making sensible choices and maximizing seasonal profits is one of the fastest ways to make money in Stardew Valley, particularly in Year 1.

Spring Crops

Crops like strawberries, cauliflower, and potatoes are the best items to farm in the spring, with strawberries being one of the most in-demand crops. Players can purchase strawberry seeds during the Egg Festival for Year 1, which means early on they may not seem profitable, but by Spring Year 2 the berries added to the seedmaker will allow farmers to get an early start on planting and harvesting. Check the Help Wanted board outside Pierre's General Store in the Spring for cauliflower requests, which can yield up to 525 gold. Potatoes may not seem like they'll yield a good profit, but they grow fast and can be used to make a variety of artisan items and sold to Pierre when requested.

Summer Crops

Blueberry, melon, and hops are the most profitable summer crops. Hops can be used to make Pale Ale, which has the highest investment return in the game. Melon may be requested by Pierre, yielding a 750 gold reward, and Demetrius may request a melon by mail for a 550 gold reward. Blueberries can be used as the base fruit for wine, which has great potential as an earner, but to make decent money it needs to age, so it's not practical for making quick money.

Fall Crops

Pumpkins, cranberries, and starfruit are the best fall crops in Stardew Valley. Pumpkins are one of Pierre's highest-paid requests for the general store, earning 960 gold. Dishes made with pumpkins also yield a decent return, so they are definitely a must-grow fall crop for earners. Overall, Fall crops are some of the best ways to make money fast in Stardew Valley.

Starfruit is another big earner, coming in second only to the Sweet Gem Berry as the highest-selling fruit in Stardew Valley. Artisans can turn starfruit into incredibly expensive wine, and then potentially sell it for around 6300 gold. While it's not easy to acquire starfruit early in the game, it is more than worth it. Cranberries can also be turned into wine, as well as several cooking dishes that all sell from 120 to 630 gold.

13 Unlocking The Greenhouse Allows For High-Value Crops At All Times

Items Needed To Unlock The Greenhouse:

Unlocking the Greenhouse in Stardew Valley isn't easy. It's either expensive or arduous, depending on the player's route to doing so. However, it more than pays for itself with its utility. Stardew Valley's Greenhouse allows the player to grow any crops they like, regardless of the season. Used right, this is the best way to get rich fast in Stardew Valley, albeit requiring specific strategies to get the Greenhouse within a year.

The Greenhouse allows players to farm expensive out-of-season crops in Stardew Valley, rotating every time. Alternatively, more optimized players can grow high-reward crops like Starfruit and Ancient Fruit all year round. The Greenhouse is especially profitable because players won't have to replant in the case of perpetual crops like the Ancient Fruit orBlueberries, saving a lot of money, time, and effort. However, planting crops on Ginger Island gets even better results than the Greenhouse, as it's a much larger space, so players should try to unlock this location with Willy as soon as possible. This combined with many other strategies creates an eye-watering amount of money for players willing to put the effort in.

12 Fishing Is An Entire Path In Its Own Right

Fish	Sell Price	Location
Pufferfish	200 - 400g	Ocean
Tuna	100 - 200g	Ocean
Largemouth Bass	100 - 200g	Mountain Lake
Salmon	75 - 150g	River
Walleye	105 - 210g	River, Forest Pond, Mountain Lake
Catfish	200 - 400g	River, Secret Forest Pond, Witch's Swamp
Pike	100 - 200g	River, Forest Pond
Red Mullet	75 - 150g	Ocean
Eel	85 - 170g	Ocean
Octopus	150 - 300g	Ocean
Sea Cucumber	75 - 150g	Ocean
Super Cucumber	250 - 500g	Ocean
Stonefish	300 - 600g	Mines 20F
Ice Pip	500 - 1000g	Mines 60F
Lava Eel	700 - 1400g	Mines 100F, Volcano Caldera

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It's very easy to start fishing in Stardew Valley. Local fisherman Willy gifts the farmer their first rod for free. Players can begin catching fish and making money without investing in seeds or tools. Players also find opportunities to fish early on. They may find themselves at a loose end while waiting for their first harvest.

Fishing is a great way for Stardew Valley players to pass the time and level up on a skill. In addition, it also allows players to make some cash by selling fish to Willy or in the shipping bin while they're waiting for crops to grow. Fishing is also a rare way to earn money in winter in Stardew Valley, when most farming is impossible. Players should invest in bait and bubbles (which can be purchased at Willy's store of crafted), to maximize profits when fishing. For example, the Wild Bait is a great way of obtaining two fishes instead of one per catch. Not only can fishing get the players tons of fish money, but there are also a lot of treasures to be found at the bottom of the sea.

11 Foraging Is A Low-Impact Way To Top Up The Coffers

Stardew Valley's Seasonal Forage Guide:

While Stardew Valley players explore Pelican Town and introduce themselves to the array of characters, there's a perfect opportunity to collect foraged goods. Selling plants and vegetables like Daffodils and Horseradishes helps one quickly make more cash while getting settled into the valley. Players should also remember to collect seashells at the beach, which is also an easy way to make a little extra money.

In Spring, players should head to the bottom of the forest from Marnie's house, near the sewer entrance. There they'll find a scattered field of Spring Onions. Checking back throughout the season to get the most out of this forageable crop is one of the best ways to make money in Stardew Valley. Additionally, during Spring 15-18 and Fall 8-11, players can collect hundreds of Salmonberries and Blackberries. If players then put these fruits in Kegs or Preserves Jars, they will make a ton of money, especially in their first year.

10 Farming Mixed Seeds Comes With Very Little Cost

Mixed Seed Yield When Planted:

When Stardew Valley players first clear their farm of Fiber, they'll end up with a surplus of Mixed Seeds. Players can also find more when clearing Fiber around town. This holds especially true of the forest by Marnie's and the Wizard's places. When planted, Mixed Seeds will grow into a variety of seasonal foraged goods.

Mixed Seeds are entirely free. This makes them a great way to expand fields of crops without the hefty investment of buying seeds from Pierre or the Joja Corporation. On top of that, most Mixed Seeds produce seasonal forageable items, which can be crafted into even more seeds. They won't make players rich, but they can be a good way to make money fast early in Stardew Valley to fund more profitable ventures. Moreover, they can also help farmers complete the Community Center Bundles.

9 Tree Tapping Unlocks A Wealth Of Goods That Can Be Sold and Used in Cooking & Crafting Recipes

Once Stardew farmers have reached Level 3 in Foraging, they'll unlock the recipe for tree Tappers. Players can place these on maple trees to obtain Maple Syrup, oak trees for Oak Resin, and pine trees to get some Pine Tar. Mushroom trees can be planted from seeds purchased from Qi after unlocking his den on Ginger Island, or they can sprout from regular trees during the Fall season. After claiming the Foraging Mastery in the Mastery Cave, players can also get Mystic Syrup from the Mystic Trees. All players need is some Wood and Copper Ore to make these nifty money-makers.

The best way for Stardew Valley players to make money from tapping trees is to clear plenty of space and add more trees. Maple Syrup sells the best at 200g per jar, while Oak Resin makes 150g and Pine Tar brings in 100g. However, players can use the latter for other money-making opportunities. Assuming players aren't using Maple Syrup to win over townspeople, this is a valuable way to make money quickly in Stardew Valley. Maple Syrup is also required to craft beehives, which are another moneymaking opportunity early on in the game that is covered later in the list.

8 Crops That Keep Producing Provide More Money Over Time

Stardew Valley places a strong focus on farming and harvesting crops. Each of the three seasons for farming has a wide variety of crops for players to plant. In particular, each season has luxurious crops that cost a lot but sell for a large amount of money. However, simpler crops remain a much easier way to make money early on.

Several Stardew Valley crops only have to grow once, and then produce fruit or vegetables for the rest of the season. These include Green Beans and Strawberries in Spring; Blueberries, Corn, Tomatoes, Summer Squash, and Hot Peppers in Summer; and Cranberries, Eggplants, Broccoli, and Corn in Autumn. Planting these reduces the cost of buying more seeds and frees up the player's time to make money in other ways.

7 Artisan Goods Sell For A Premium

Item	Sell Price
Pale Ale	300 - 600g
Beer	200 - 400g
Mead	200 - 400g
Cheese	230 - 460g
Goat Cheese	400 - 800g
Cloth	470g
Mayonnaise	190 - 380g
Truffle Oil	1,065g

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Crops and animal products are some of the most basic things to sell in Stardew Valley. However, almost all of them can become something more profitable later in the game. Artisan Goods prove to be a broad category encompassing many things. Some, such as mayonnaise and wine, are specific strategies in their own right.

However, almost any artisan goods become a good way to make money. By design, they're more profitable than selling their base ingredients. Mead is worth more than Honey. Cloth is worth more than Wool. Truffle Oil is an improvement on the already-invaluable Truffles. Artisan Goods require some preparation time to become a valuable income stream. After this legwork, however, they become one of the best ways to get rich fast in Stardew Valley.

6 Raising Chickens Unlocks A New Income Stream

Out of all the animals available to purchase in Stardew Valley, Chickens remain the cheapest and easiest to look after. Building a Coop is relatively easy. It costs 4000g and only requires small amounts of Wood and Stone. What's more, players who choose the Meadowlands Farm will begin the game with a Coop and 2 Chickens. Chickens can be bought from Marnie for 800g each.

Chickens will only lay Small Eggs at first, which fetch prices between 50g and 100g. Once the chickens settle in, they'll start laying larger Eggs worth between 95g and 190g. Players should craft Mayonnaise Machines to increase their profits to between 190g and 380g per tub of Mayo. The result is some of Stardew Valley's quickest money.

5 Gems And Crystalariums Quickly Explode In Profit

Item	Sell Price
Emerald	250g
Aquamarine	180g
Ruby	250g
Amethyst	100g
Topaz	80g
Jade	200g
Diamond	750g
Prismatic Shard	2,000g

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Gems are some of the most valuable individual items in Stardew Valley. This holds especially true of Diamonds, which cost 750g. However, the most efficient way to sell them isn't to just find them in the mines. Using Crystalariums can give players a non-stop supply of diamonds to sell at a profit.

A Crystalarium is a tool that replicates any gem put into it. Gems are useful building items, meaning that they have other uses besides money. Having a single Crystalarium speeds up a player's sales from gems rapidly. Having more can rake in a lot of money even faster. Crystalariums can take some time to unlock. However, they're still a fast way to make money in Stardew Valley if the player prioritizes mining.

4 Fish Ponds Produce The Finest Goods

Fish Ponds can be built quite early in a Stardew Valley playthrough thanks to their cheap price and limited, easy-to-obtain materials. Each pond can only house one type of fish, but they quickly reproduce the amount of fish in the pond. Fan favorite choices include Sturgeons, Rainbow Trout, and Lava Eels.

Sturgeons will produce expensive Roe which players can turn into Caviar in Preserves Jars. Rainbow Trout fishponds have a small chance of producing rare Prismatic Shards. Lava Eels are more likely to produce Gold Ore. Stardew Valley players can also turn fish eggs into pricey Aged Roe with the help of Preserve Jars.

3 Preserves Jars Help Low-Cost Crops Sell For More

Like Kegs in Stardew Valley, Preserves Jars can more than double the price of crops. They turn vegetables into Pickles and fruits into Jams. They're easy and inexpensive to make, requiring only Wood, Coal, and Stone to craft. Preserves Jars have a specific niche compared to the more valuable Kegs.

In Stardew Valley, Preserves Jars double a fruit or vegetable's worth and add an additional 50g on top. Individual crops with high values are better suited for Kegs. However, lower-value crops, particularly those with large yields, are worth more in a Preserves Jar. Players will find it very rewarding to focus on quantity over quality in Stardew Valley.

2 Wine And Cheese In Casks Are Among The Best-Selling Items

Item/Quality	Sell Price
Wine (Base)	3 x Fruit Base Sell Price
Wine (Silver Quality)	(3 x Base) x 1.25
Wine (Gold Quality)	(3 x Base) x 1.5
Wine (Iridium Quality)	(3 x Base) x 2
Cheese (Base)	230g
Cheese (Silver Quality)	287g
Cheese (Gold Quality)	345g
Cheese (Iridium Quality)	460g

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Wine and Cheese are two types of Artisanal Goods that can become even more profitable in Stardew Valley. Fermenting Fruit and Milk in a Keg creates a high-value good. However, Casks can increase their value even further. Aging Wine or Cheese in a cask increases its quality. This caps at Iridium quality, which is worth six times the crop's base value.

This is one of the best ways to make money in all of Stardew Valley. Starfruit Wine remains the single most profitable item from a single crop in the entire game. Players only get to this point in the game after significant investment. However, these products will make the investment back rapidly and take care of a player's financial needs from then on. Due to the lead time on creating them, they can even earn money in Winter in Stardew Valley, an otherwise difficult task.

1 Harvesting Honey Pays Off Nearly All-Year-Round

The crafting recipe for Bee Houses in Stardew Valley gets unlocked once players reach Farming Level 3. This should happen rapidly when players are daily tending to crops. All farmers will need is Wood, Coal, Maple Syrup, and an Iron Bar to craft their first Bee House in Stardew Valley.

Bee Houses can be placed anywhere on the farm. They will produce tubs of Honey every four nights in any season apart from Winter. Basic Wild Honey will fetch a price of 100g. However, Bee Houses provide one of the fastest ways to make money in Stardew Valley's Year 1 with Fairy Roses, which results in 680g per jar. If players plant Fairy Roses next to Bee Houses on Ginger Island, they would have an unlimited stream of Fairy Roses Honey all year round.