Economy

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This article is for the PC version of Stellaris only.

A gas giant with four units of research resources and one unit of the very rare Zro aerosol.

In Stellaris, the economy is based on the production and consumption of resources and services either from a specific planet or throughout the empire. It relies heavily on Pops working on different Jobs, or mining stations built over various celestial bodies.

Resources can vary from fairly common food crops to very rare substances such as dark matter and also physical minerals to "produce" knowledge, such as research.

In that way, resources are very important and ought to be quickly scouted, exploited, and developed.

There are three kinds of resources: Material, Abstract and Strategic.

All material resources and strategic resources (except Trade Value) must be stocked. All empires have a 15000 basic storage capacity for each resource except energy, which has a 50000 basic storage capacity. An empire can build Resource Silos buildings on colonized planets and starbases to expand their stockpile capacity. Any produced resources that cannot be stockpiled are simply wasted.

Material resources

Material resources are the most straightforward and important type as they provide the means to expand both geographically, developmentally and technologically. They are gathered and stockpiled on a monthly basis, but not necessarily on the same day. While they all have a stockpile, how that stockpile and the excess is used varies fundamentally between each resource.

Basic

Basic resources are directly gathered from celestial bodies or resource districts.

Resource	Major uses	Major source	Description
Energy credits	Leader Cost and Upkeep Clear Blockers Cost Terraforming Cost Campaign Edicts Cost Various Upkeep Robotic Pop Upkeep Purchase resources on the Market Purchase Slaves on the Slave Market	Generator Districts ( Technician Jobs) Energy Grid building improves Energy from Jobs Trade Value conversion Mining Stations	Energy Credits () is an energy backed currency accepted by all space-faring races.
Minerals	Buildings and Districts Cost Stations Cost Manufacturing Jobs Upkeep Lithoid Pop Upkeep	Mining Districts ( Miner Jobs) Mineral Purification Plants building improves Minerals from Jobs Mining Stations Lithoid Pops with the Livestock slavery or the Processing purge type.	Minerals () is a collective term for the basic resources we need to construct ships, stations and planetary buildings.
Food	Biological Pop Upkeep Colony Ship Cost for Biological Empires	Agriculture Districts ( Farmer Jobs) Food Processing Facilities building improves Food from Jobs Organic Pops with the Livestock slavery or the Processing purge type.	Food () represents the various nutrients required to sustain and grow Pops.

Advanced

Advanced resources are resources that are produced by refining them from cruder raw minerals.

Resource	Major uses	Major source	Description
Alloys	Starbase and Ship Cost Ship Upkeep Megastructure Cost	Industrial districts and Alloy Foundries Buildings ( Metallurgist Jobs) Ministry of Production building improves Alloys from Jobs Mining Stations (rare)	Alloys are advanced resources with a military application, which we need to construct Ships and Starbases.
Consumer Goods	Gestalt Consciousnesses empires do not use consumer goods except for Rogue Servitors Pops Upkeep Various Specialist Jobs Upkeep Colony Ship Cost (Unless Gestalt Consciousness) Distribute Luxury Goods decision	Industrial districts and Civilian Industries Buildings ( Artisan Jobs) Ministry of Production building improves Consumer Goods from Jobs Trade Value conversion ( Consumer Benefits policy)	Consumer Goods is an advanced resource that represents various gadgets, luxuries and goods necessary to give your Pops a good life and perform intellectual Jobs such as Research.

Trade value

While not technically a type of resource, trade value is an important part of an empire's economy.

Resource	Major uses	Major source	Description & strategy
Trade Value	Gestalt Consciousness empires do not use Trade Value Collected Trade Value is converted into Energy, Consumer Goods and / or Unity based on the Trade Policy	Pops (varies based on Living Standards, Civics and/or Traits) Various jobs Galactic Stock Exchange building increases planetary overall Trade Value Celestial Body deposits (no stations required) Branch Office buildings	Trade Value represents civilian day-to-day economic activity. Starbases collect Trade Value and convert it into resources such as Energy Credits if connected to your capital planet through a Trade Route. Trade Value that is directly collected by your capital Starbase does not need a trade route to generate resources.

Abstract resources

Abstract Resources represent non-physical assets that an empire has access to. They are mostly concepts that represent complex sociopolitical activity within the empire's leadership and population.

Resource	Major uses	Major source	Description & notes
Influence	Claims Cost Starbases Cost Decisions and Edicts Cost Diplomatic Pacts Upkeep Integrating Subjects Influencing Elections Reforming the Government Faction Interactions	Each empire has a base income of +3 and only a few factors can increase it Factions (+2 in total, per faction, affected by Faction Approval) Protectorates (+0.25 each) Rivals (+0.5 each) Other common sources of Monthly Influence Egalitarian: +25% or +50% from Factions Authoritarian: +0.5 or +1 Gestalt Consciousness: +1 Parliamentary System: +25% from Factions The Living State technology: +1 from Factions Autonomous Agents technology: +1 Finishing the Domination tradition tree: +1 Will to Power ambition: +5 Faction suppression: −1 Faction promotion: −2 Integrating a subject: -5	Influence () represents political clout, and is used for many things, like enacting Edicts, making Claims, building Outposts and dealing with Factions. An empire can store only 1000 Influence and the storage amount cannot be increased.
Unity	Traditions Cost Ambition Edicts Cost	Unity Buildings (Jobs such as Culture Workers) Various Ruler, Specialist, and Complex Drone Jobs Various Civics make some Jobs to produce Unity Auto-Curating Vault building improves Unity from Jobs Trade Value conversion ( Marketplace of Ideas policy)	Unity () is used to unlock new Traditions. Unity can be stocked up to two million.
Physics research Society research Engineering research	Researching Technologies Finishing Special Projects	Research Labs buildings ( Researcher Jobs) Research Institute building improves Research from Jobs Research Stations	Physics / Society / Engineering Research () is used to research new technologies. Research speed is based on monthly Research Points production, and only then multiplied by Research Speed modifiers. Research can be stored by not working on any research or special project. The moment a research or special project takes place stored research is used to double the progress speed until the storage is emptied.

Strategic resources

Strategic resources are special rare resources required to both build and maintain advanced buildings and ship components. They are much harder to obtain than the common basic resources and are therefore also much more highly valued. Strategic resources can be obtained by either extracting them from natural deposits or manufacturing them synthetically. Natural strategic resource deposits are always visible but requires specific technology to exploit. Synthetic versions are produced from minerals, albeit at a steep price. All strategic resources can also be manufactured from Dimensional Fabricator buildings.

Resource	Major uses	Required tech	Major source	Description
Exotic Gases	Advanced Plasma weapon components Advanced Shield components Strategic Resource edicts Advanced Buildings Cost and Upkeep Cyto-Revitalization Center Hall of Judgement Energy Nexus Advanced research buildings Hyper-Entertainment Forums Executive Retreat Organic Paradise	Exotic Gas Extraction	Exotic Gas Refineries ( Gas Refiner Jobs) Gas Extraction Wells (rare planetary features required) Gas Giant deposits (rare) Toxic World deposits (rare)	Rare and exotic gases with a variety of uses, particularly in the operation of advanced energy-based weaponry and force fields. Some of the gases can also be used as starship fuel or even as recreational drugs.
Rare Crystals	Advanced Laser weapon components Advanced Hull components Strategic Resource edicts Advanced Buildings Cost and Upkeep Advanced consumer goods buildings Commerce Megaplexes Advanced housing buildings Advanced unity buildings Advanced administrative (bureaucracy) buildings Xeno-Outreach Agency	Rare Crystal Mining	Synthetic Crystal Plants ( Translucer Jobs) Crystal Mines (rare planetary features required) Ice Asteroid deposits (rare) Frozen World deposits (rare)	These crystals have properties that make them extremely effective at focusing laser beams, and they are also a critical component in most advanced electronics. In addition, many cultures treasure them as decorations and adornments.
Volatile Motes	Advanced Kinetic and Missile weapon components Strategic Resource edicts Advanced Buildings Cost and Upkeep Food Processing Centers Mineral Purification Hubs Advanced alloys buildings Fortress	Mote Stabilization	Chemical Plants ( Chemist Jobs) Mote Harvesting Traps (rare planetary features required) Asteroid deposits (rare) Molten World deposits (rare)	These preternatural particles contain a tremendous amount of energy which could be exploited in energy production, as fuel or even as explosives.'
Zro	Psionic Shields component	Zro Distillation	Toxic World deposits (rare) Gas Giant anomalies	An extremely rare aerosol of exotic particles. It has been deposited on a number of worlds through meteor impacts, but its true origin is a mystery. If ingested by psionically-gifted individuals, zro acts as a very potent (and addictive) drug that enhances PSI abilities.
Dark Matter	Dark Matter Deflectors component Dark Matter Reactor component Dark Matter Thrusters component	Dark Matter Drawing	Black Hole deposits	This exotic substance has many properties that seemingly defy several natural laws. Harvestable concentrations can only be found near Black Holes or in certain nebulas.
Living Metal	Strategic Resource edicts	Living Metal	Anomaly deposits Destroyed Contingency Sterilization Hubs Sentinels archaeology site Sold rarely by the Racket Industrial Enterprise caravan	This inorganic metal shows characteristics usually seen only in biological life forms. It will always attempt to regenerate back into the shape it was stabilized into.
Nanites	Nanite Repair System component Nanite Transmuter building upkeep Strategic Resource edicts		L-Cluster celestial bodies	Simple but powerful nanoactuators, allowing for complex manipulations and experiments of macroscopic scales.

Shortages

If an empire's stored stockpile for a certain resource drops to 0 with negative income, a resource shortage will occur. Resource shortages should be avoided at all costs as they impart massive penalties.

The Market can be utilized to overcome a short term deficit but this isn't a long term solution, because the resources you buy from the market will become more and more expensive and what you sell will become cheaper and cheaper overtime.

Energy shortage	Minerals shortage	Food shortage	Alloys shortage	Consumer Goods shortage	Influence shortage	Exotic Gases shortage	Rare Crystals shortage	Volatile Motes shortage
-50% Minerals from Jobs -75% Army Damage -75% Shield Hit Points -75% Ship weapons damage	-50% Alloys from Jobs -50% Consumer Goods from Jobs -75% Robot build speed -25% Lithoid Pop Happiness -75% Lithoid Pop Growth	-25% Biological Pop Happiness -75% Biological Pop Growth	-75% Ship Armor -75% Fire Rate	-25% Pop Happiness -50% Research from Jobs -50% Unity from Jobs	-20% Pop Happiness	-25% Resources from Jobs	-25% Resources from Jobs	-25% Resources from Jobs

References

Game concepts