How to Manage the Economy in Stellaris

Effective economy management is a crucial skill for players to master in Stellaris. While having a powerful fleet is important, it won’t be useful if you can’t afford to maintain it. This guide will help you understand the game’s economy and provide tips on how to manage it effectively.

In Stellaris, there are 16 different currencies or resources. It may seem overwhelming at first, but this guide will break it down for you. Some resources may not become relevant until later in the game, so don’t worry about them initially.

How Does the Economy Work in Stellaris?

The economy in Stellaris operates on a production and consumption system. Every building and population in your empire will both produce and consume resources. These resources can be either physical, such as minerals, or abstract, like influence.

The key to a strong economy is ensuring that your production outweighs your consumption. The top of the screen displays a guide to your economy, showing your current resources and the predicted monthly change. Try to keep all resources in the positive to maintain a strong economy.

To get a more detailed view of a resource’s production and expenditure, highlight it at the top of the screen. The game will provide a detailed tooltip with all the information you need.

Resources in Stellaris

The primary way to produce resources in Stellaris is through populations, or pops. Pops will take on jobs and generate resources for your empire. Mining stations and other assets are used to supplement their output.

Resources can be divided into two categories: material and abstract. Material resources are the foundation of your empire’s infrastructure and include energy credits, minerals, and food. Advanced and strategic resources are created from minerals and are crucial for advanced technology and military purposes.

Special resources, on the other hand, cannot be fabricated by standard empires. They can only be obtained by building mining stations on their sources in space. Special resources unlock the most advanced components in the game.

Resource Storage

Material resources have a stockpile limit, which is the maximum amount your empire can hold. The default limit is 15,000 for most resources, except for energy credits, which has a limit of 50,000. Resource silos, the galactic market, and researching mega-engineering tech can increase the cap. If you exceed your limit, any extra resources are lost.

Abstract resources, such as research, trade value, unity, and influence, do not have a cap (except for influence, which has a hard cap of 1000). These resources represent your empire’s knowledge, economic activity, shared values, and diplomatic power.

Building a Strong Economy

Now that you understand the different resources, you can focus on building a strong economy. Starting off can be overwhelming, but with proper management, you can reach a point where your economy practically runs itself. This is important because the end game in Stellaris is challenging and requires your attention on other aspects.

Prioritize managing your economy early on to ensure it’s powerful enough to sustain itself later. Procedural generation of maps makes it impossible to provide specific advice, so adapt to changes as needed. Focus on resource production, especially for energy, minerals, alloys, and consumer goods. These resources are vital for fleet maintenance, megastructure construction, and pop upkeep.

Don’t forget about abstract resources like research, trade value, unity, and influence. These resources contribute to the development and expansion of your empire.